A lengthy legal battle over North Judson’s short line railroad has ended with the town sticking with the line’s current operator. During a special session Monday, the town council approved an operating agreement with the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad Company (CKIN). Town Attorney Justin Schramm says it lets the company continue operating the railroad for 10 years with two five-year automatic renewals.
The town had previously decided to end its relationship with Chesapeake and Indiana, and lease the line to Michigan-based Lake State Railway. However, Chesapeake and Indiana refused to vacate the railroad and ended up suing the town.
Schramm points out that lease with Lake State was never actually finalized. “We were in the process of trying to negotiate a new operating agreement with Lake State,” he explains. “The town, up until the point when we finalized the agreement with CKIN still retained the right to, of course, not follow through with that original lease with Lake State, and we chose not to do this. We thought this was the more advantageous route because it settled the ongoing litigation that had been going for two years, and it was in both sides’ best interest to do that.”
A news release from Chesapeake and Indiana explains that the museum “has agreed to demonstrate that proper insurance is in place, and that all railroad safety regulations are followed.”
He says the agreement should also help the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, which has been blocked from operating its excursions beyond English Lake. “The settlement agreement that we had reached also ensures that HVRM can resume their excursions from North Judson to LaCrosse,” he says. “There were certain things that had to be talked about between HVRM and CKIN, but it’s our understanding that’s all been worked out. So all parties benefit from this agreement, including HVRM, because they’re able to resume their excursions.”
The Town of North Judson also took a financial hit during the dispute, as its Railroad Capital Improvement Fund was frozen. That forced the town to find other ways to pay for railroad expenses. Schramm says that with the new operating agreement, those funds are no longer encumbered. “So the Town of North Judson’s able to use those funds for whatever purposes they see fit. So some of the liabilities that had been accumulating over the past several months are able to get paid. Again, that fund’s unfrozen now, so the Town of North Judson’s working on a new fund to transfer those funds to, where we can start using it for town projects.” Schramm adds that town officials are just happy to put the dispute behind them.
Although the agreement was approved during a public meeting Monday, Chesapeake and Indiana waited until Thursday night to send a press release announcing it. Even then, they requested that the contents not be released to the public until Friday morning.
Powell Felix, president of Chesapeake and Indiana parent company Indiana Boxcar Company said in the press release that the agreement is good for the company, the town, and the museum, but also local farmers who use the railroad to get grain to major markets. Felix went on to say, “We had always hoped for cool heads and rational judgement on this dispute, and we feel this agreement is a demonstration of that.”
