Train tracks sale may have ecological impact

If there's one thing known regarding the next step in the sale of the train tracks running from Gordonville to Delta, it's that nothing is known, said Sam Drusch, one of the owners of the tracks.

On July 24, members of both the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway and the track corporation gathered to discuss the sale of the tracks. Since 1990, the track corporation has owned the tracks on which the train rides.

The groups discussed the track corporation's decision to sell the track that the train rides on as scrap steel. The point of contention is how much potential environmental costs have deterred bids on the track, Drusch said.

Oliver Groseclose, a track corporation owner interested in keeping the tracks, said he thought a bidder from Nebraska was no longer interested because of environmental costs. Drusch said the bidder is still interested. A Michigan company and a local business have also made bids, he said.

Drusch said he is afraid the Environmental Protection Agency could have environmental concerns that would raise the cost of tearing up the tracks.

The wooden boards on which the tracks ride are soaked in a preservative called creosote, Groseclose said. Creosote can be harmful to the environment.