[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11488-S11489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DAKOTA, MINNESOTA, AND EASTERN RAILROAD CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, this month marks the 10th anniversary of
the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern [DME] Railroad. The DME is South
Dakota's only statewide railroad and operates more than 1,100 miles. I
offer my heartfelt congratulations to the DME. I particularly commend
the many dedicated workers and officials who have worked to make DME
such a successful rail service provider. All associated with DME should
be proud.
I recall back in 1983 when I first became involved in a lengthy
battle to preserve critical rail service slated for abandonment. The
Chicago and NorthWestern was planning to abandon 167-miles connecting
Ft. Pierre and Rapid City. That fight ultimately lead to establishment
of the DME.
At first, many were skeptical about DME's prospect for success. Those
same skeptics are believers today. DME's annual revenue and freight
tonnage have doubled during the past 10 years. So has its number of
employees. And, more than $90 million has been invested in main line
infrastructure improvements during that same period.
I am proud to have played a role both in DME's creation and its
successes. I have enjoyed working closely with rail shippers and DME to
advance this critical transportation service. I remain committed to
doing all I can to promote adequate and effective rail service for our
State.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article by Roger
Larson and an editorial printed in the Huron Daily Plainsman detailing
the DME odyssey be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Huron Daily Plainsman]
Laying Tracks for the Future
(By Roger Larsen)
Larry Pressler says 1989 marked the beginning of what he
now calls his ``DM&E odyssey.''
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad officials are more
direct. Without the senator's intervention, they say, their
corporation wouldn't exist.
And South Dakota's roads would be taking a severe pounding.
``If we weren't here, it would probably take about 50,000
semis hauling on the state and U.S. highways here in South
Dakota, which would certainly cost the state a lot more money
in road and bridge maintenance,'' said Lynn Anderson, DM&E's
vice president for marketing and public affairs.
Looking back on their first 10 years in operation, DM&E
officials say Pressler, at substantial political risk, was
instrumental in the railroad's creation and survival.
It hasn't always been a smooth ride.
The short-line railroad was born out of necessity--and a
sense of urgency--when the Chicago & North Western Railroad
announced in 1983 that it wanted to abandon 167 miles of
track between Pierre and Rapid City.
Pressler received an emergency phone call. Could he send a
representative to a meeting of shippers and others in Philip?
He went himself.
``I worked with local shippers in organizing an abandonment
protest,'' he said. ``That triggered a formal ICC (Interstate
Commerce Commission) investigation.''
As C&NW pushed forward with its abandonment plans, an ICC
field hearing was conducted in September 1983.
``The ICC decision in November denied the abandonment
request,'' Pressler said.
The ruling by the administrative law judge surprised more
than a few people who had become resigned to the situation.
But the judge based his decision on ``the serious impact of
the loss of rail service on rural and community development
or the lack of any viable rail or motor carrier alternatives
to that service.''
``At that time, I was the only public official in the state
who believed the 167-mile stretch could be saved,'' Pressler
said.
Anderson doesn't believe the senator is overstating his
involvement.
``Well, I think he was the key individual that worked to
keep the railroad in place between Pierre and Rapid City,''
he said. ``Without the things he did and the support he
gathered, I think there's a good likelihood the line would
have been abandoned.''
The judge's decision, Pressler said, ``allowed us more time
to work with C&NW to find a long-range solution to the
Pierre-to-Rapid-City line problem. It was the only route west
for years.''
Still, C&NW remained adamant. It appealed the ruling to the
full ICC. In February 1984, it was upheld on a tie vote.
By August, the railroad again announced it would continue
its efforts to abandon the track.
``C&NW made it clear that there was no interest in
compromise,'' Pressler said. ``They wanted to get rid of it.
Early attempts to come up with a long-term solution seemed to
fall on deaf ears.''
Eyebrows were raised in January 1985 when C&NW extended its
abandonment plans all
[[Page S11489]]
the way to Wolsey, pushing the total to 273 miles. The
Aberdeen to Oakes line in northeastern South Dakota was also
being considered for abandonment.
C&NW declined invitations to negotiate. The future of the
rail lines looked bleak.
A breakthrough came when Pressler intervened in a proposed
sale of Conrail to the Norfolk Southern Railroad, a merger
that C&NW claimed would cost it $60 million a year in traffic
diversions.
In return, C&NW approached the negotiating table with a
commitment to find a potential buyer of its South Dakota
track.
And in dramatic fashion, those along the track provided a
huge show of support.
``C&NW joined me in a day-long working train trip in May
1985.'' Pressler said. ``We rode in a rail car between Rapid
City and Pierre. Twelve hundred people turned out along the
way to express their support for continued service. That
really helped turn things around with C&NW officials.''
For the first time, the shortline or regional railroad
concept was introduced.
And that trip across South Dakota's prairie seemed to have
a calming effect on the players.
``It coalesced everyone,'' Pressler said. ``It was the
first time all sides sat down and discussed the issue with
the uniform goal to make the line work. Everyone agreed it
would take some give and take.''
At a rail conference in September 1985, C&NW outlined a
divestiture proposal which led to the birth of the DM&E
Railroad.
A year later, the new railroad's locomotives were pulling
cars full of grain, lumber, wood chips, bentonite clay and
cement.
This summer, 100 miles of deteriorated track between
Wessington and Pierre has been upgraded with new, 115-pound
rail. This $20 million project is being financed by a bond
issue the railroad will repay over 20 years with no state
dollars.
The project is two months ahead of schedule. Crews are in
the stretch run, laying new track between Blunt and Pierre.
In May, DM&E added 203 miles to its system when it
purchased the ``Colony Line'' from the Union Pacific
Railroad.
The line connects with the DM&E at Rapid City and extends
north to Bentonite near Colony, Wyo., and south to Crawford
and Chadron, Neb., where it links with Burlington Northern
Santa Fe and Nebkota Railway.
``We are looking forward to a smooth transition'' DM&E
president J.C. ``Pete'' McIntyre said when the sale was
announced.
The railroad purchased 12 more locomotives and hired 50
employees, increasing the workforce to more than 300.
``These are good-paying jobs and benefits,'' Pressler said.
Also, the railroad announced it is spending more than $32
million for 625 new freight cars, including 325 covered
hoppers to haul cement from South Dakota Cement Plant at
Rapid City.
Others--such as grain elevators along the rail line--have
made major improvements as well.
It's obvious to Anderson that had C&NW been successful in
its abandonment efforts, the line wouldn't have been rebuilt.
``Business would have gone over to the Nebraska line,'' he
said.
But because it didn't--and rail traffic now travels in
South Dakota--it means long-term economic development for the
state, he said.
``The C&NW had rerouted traffic out of the Black Hills to
Nebraska,'' he said. ``When they failed to abandon the line
from Rapid City to Pierre, they decided to sell it.
``After we began operations, and began upgrading the line
and showed the ability to handle the carload business, we
convinced C&NW to reroute that traffic coming across South
Dakota in lieu of Nebraska.''
And then C&NW decided to abandon the Nebraska line.
``The reverse could have happened,'' Anderson said.
Ten years ago, one of the first repainted C&NW locomotives
was named the ``Larry Pressler.'' Since then, locomotives
have carried the names of cities along DM&E's service area.
The railroad also honored him by naming a Rapid City
intersection ``Pressler Junction.''
Pressler admits he was like a kid in a candy store on a
particularly memorable trip back home.
``They let me drive a locomotive a little bit once,'' he
said.
____
DM&E Keeps S.D. on the Right Track
In the middle of the night, a train whistle carries a
mournful, lonely sound on the prairie air.
As homesteaders pushed westward in the 19th century, the
advent of trains signaled hope and opportunity in the
uncertain vastness of Dakota Territory.
Today, they continue to represent a kind of comforting
stability.
They have become as familiar to the landscape as rolling
grasslands and an endless horizon. But trains in much of west
and central South Dakota were nearly derailed by a corporate
stroke of the pen a decade ago.
Chicago & North Western Railroad wanted to abandon its
deteriorating track between Rapid City and Wolsey. It talked
about walking away from its line between Aberdeen and Oakes,
N.D., as well.
In historic fashion, shippers circled their wagons and
waited for reinforcements. And, as their forefathers had done
with other territorial disputes, they pushed for a reasonable
solution.
Into the mix came Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D., who
rightfully used his political standing in Washington to force
field hearings.
In the end, it came down to a little give-and-take. C&NW's
back was scratched when a railroad merger elsewhere in the
country--which could have hurt its bottom line--was opposed
by Pressler. In return, the boys in the C&NW boardroom agreed
to find a buyer for the track it wanted to abandon in South
Dakota.
Thus, the birth of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.
DM&E has been a good corporate neighbor in its first 10
years. It has proven it can handle the needs of shippers,
farmers and other customers up and down its 900-mile line.
And it's doing something else that's certainly long
overdue.
It's putting its money--and longterm viability--where its
mouth is.
With the current track upgrade between Wolsey and Pierre
nearly complete, DM&E has invested some $90 million in
infrastructure. Millions more dollars have been committed to
purchase hundreds of new rail cars.
Trains have had a romantic, endearing quality in this part
of the country for well over a century.
For those who truly care about the future, their whistles
will continue to beckon with faith and anticipation.
____________________