Railroads have their charms, conjuring images of simpler times. If a train whistle blows, can a country song be far behind? Paul Simon waxed eloquently about everybody loving the sound of a train in the distance.
But Waco wants to give trains up close the silent treatment. The city and Union Pacific Railroad for years have been plotting to create a “quiet zone” between Peach and 13th streets downtown, and the city recently approved money for engineering work to keep the process rolling. When the zone becomes a reality, motorists and pedestrians nearby better not hear that train-a-coming or Union Pacific could find itself tied to the tracks, figuratively speaking.
Of course, there are exceptions. Casey Jones or a latter-day facsimile thereof can let the whistle rip if something or someone actually wanders or wobbles into a train’s path. Otherwise, the metal beasts are supposed to creep through downtown quieter than that mouse and its cotton ball.
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“It’s a quality of life issue,” said Amy Burlarley-Hyland, who oversees the city public works department and negotiates with Union Pacific on this matter. She said loud train noises may disturb guests at the growing number of hotels downtown, or in the apartments and lofts also proliferating. Officials at the Dr Pepper Museum, with offices some 30 feet from the tracks, have said the quiet zone may mean the end to multiple daily pauses in work to let trains pass.
“I have dealt with this on a number of properties,” said commercial real estate specialist Gregg Glime, who has listings throughout downtown. “Both users and property owners have been unanimously in support of the quiet zone. I believe this provides more opportunities for development, specifically residential uses, as developers won’t have to get over the noise issues the train presents. I have battled that numerous times.”
Carla Pendergraft, who markets Waco to visitors, agreed.
“From a tourism standpoint, the downtown quiet zones will enhance the tourist experience,” Pendergraft said. “The warning horns are very loud, and going to a lower volume will benefit those resting at the nearby hotels, including the upcoming AC by Marriott and Pivovar.”
A five-story, 182-room AC Hotel by Marriott is going up at South Sixth Street and Mary Avenue. The $40 million property will sport a ballroom, conference center, retail space, restaurant and parking garage.
Pivovar is a Czech-themed restaurant, brewery and bakery on South Eighth Street downtown. A boutique hotel occupies upper floors. Pivovar practically hugs the railroad tracks along Jackson Avenue, with Magnolia Market at the Silos on the other side of the tracks.
“We enthusiastically support the quiet zone,” said Alison Moffatt, head of school at Live Oak Classical School, which has facilities that back up the tracks. “Not only do horns disrupt class, but they are incredibly loud when our students are outside playing.”
Burlarley-Hyland said Union Pacific remains committed to improving 10 railroad crossings downtown, making the ban on horn-blowing feasible, but she could not quote a completion date. A timeline included in an information packet the Waco City Council received Nov. 15 says engineering and construction related to crossing improvements may wrap up by April 2024, but cautions “the city doesn’t control the railroad company portion of the timeline.”
Last month, the Waco City Council agreed to make $200,000 available to Union Pacific for engineering related to crossing improvements. Once engineering is done, the council will consider a construction contract with Union Pacific. Burlarley-Hyland said she does not know how much the construction is expected to cost.
“This work includes items such as the addition of accessible sidewalk across railroad tracks, improvements to safety gates, and upgraded controls to the gates and warning systems,” the information packet says.
A $450,000 city study that started in 2017 laid out a $1.7 million plan to get the zone in place. Jackson Avenue, which runs alongside the tracks, was converted to one-way traffic as part of the plan.
Glime recalled a harrowing encounter with a runaway train horn.
“I remember when we were leasing Mary Avenue Market, where Hecho En Waco is,” he said. “I would be touring that building as a vacant warehouse, and if the train came by, we would have to pause the tour for a few minutes while the buildings and our heads rattled from the train horn.”
At that point, any skills a broker has developed go out the window.
“There’s no selling the ‘nostalgia’ of a train horn when it’s blowing in your face,” he said.
Jimmy Dorrell, pastor of Church Under the Bridge, occasionally paused preaching and prayer while a Union Pacific locomotive barreled through nearby, horns blasting. These experiences came when the church left its regular meeting place at Fourth Street and Interstate 35, worshipping instead at Magnolia Market at the Silos while I-35 received a $341 million widening.
“I thought the church might have paid Union Pacific to drown me out,” Dorrell joked. “Did you hear me say that the church voted to sing, ‘I hear that train a comin’ since no one could hear anything for at least 45 seconds.
“Personally, I am very excited for the quiet zone to happen, even wishing it was a more lengthy zone. The horns are so loud that I hear them almost every early morning at my house, which is several blocks away. I’m sure the residents even closer are awakened and frustrated.”