Rockland residents blast council over train noises

ROCKLAND – City councilors got blasted Wednesday by neighbors living on both sides of the track who are fuming over the latest noises and odors generated by Maine Eastern Railroad.

“Since the trains showed up my asthma’s gone crazy,” Pleasant Street resident Ed Merrill said, claiming an elderly neighbor he watches over is also having health troubles that may be connected to recent train station activity. He said the 83-year-old woman has recently been diagnosed with chemical burns in her throat.

“We can’t sleep at night because of the hum,” Broad Street resident Sandra Schramm said, referring to sounds coming from generators and compressors being operated at the train station.

About a dozen residents aired their concerns about MERR operations during a public comment session before the council’s agenda-setting meeting.

According to neighbors, the train station recently lost power and is using diesel-run machinery to keep food and beverages cold. The Union Station Grille, located in the train station, is a land-based restaurant that also prepares food for the excursion trains. Residents say the noise from the equipment is disturbing their sleep and affecting their health.

Trains left idling for several days are also at issue.

Not long ago, many of the same residents were complaining to the council that the train whistles were upsetting their home lives. Councilors worked out an agreement with Maine Eastern Railroad so that flaggers would be used at certain hours of the day and night at crossings instead of blowing the whistle.

At that time, residents were told crossing gates and lights would be installed by Aug. 7, Pleasant Street resident and former Mayor Tom Molloy said, noting they still are not in place.

Molloy is worried that Gov. John Baldacci has shifted his passenger train focus to the Lewiston-Auburn area, he said, and he wonders what will happen with future plans for passenger service to Rockland.

He, too, said the train station activities have prevented him from opening his windows at his home, where he has lived since 1965.

“The city has the tools in place,” he said, to inform MERR it is violating city ordinances for the residential zone that prohibit offensive odors, fumes, vapors, vibrations and so on. He urged the council to take action.

“This is an amusement, not a necessity,” Schramm said of the MERR trains, before reading a letter from neighbor Julia Schulz, who could not attend the meeting.

“I’ve always loved the city, but this summer my quality of life has hit an all-time low,” Schulz wrote. “This is saying a lot, since I lived in the North End in the mid-1980s, when summer breezes brought foul smells from the Sea Pro plant that could wake you up from a sound sleep.”

Besides “unbearable” whistles, idling engines and noxious fumes, some people mentioned the unpleasant glow of lights coming from the train station that are almost as disturbing.

And, Catinka Knoth said you can feel the vibrations coming from trains and equipment when you lay your head on your pillow at night.

“Finally, I am concerned about the costs of all of this diesel and the money spent on improving the tracks last summer for a questionable financial return to the citizens of Rockland,” Schulz wrote. “In fact, I begin to fear that our elected officials are allowing the hope of tourists’ visits to outweigh the actual livability of the city for her residents and taxpayers.”

Councilors took no action based on the discussion.