Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 4, 1993 TAG: 9302040008
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROUGH SEAS DELAY COAL IN ROANOKE
Q: Why do so many coal cars accumulate for days in the rail yards under the Franklin Road Bridge and then go away almost overnight? Are they stockpiling for some reason? Is it a winter phenomenon? W.R., RoanokeA: That coal is in Roanoke because of storms in the North Atlantic, primarily.
Norfolk Southern schedules its trains to reach Norfolk at the same time ships arrive to carry the coal overseas, said Tom Rappold, assistant vice president for international coal marketing.
Winter is a stormy time in the North Atlantic, though, and ships can be delayed when traveling from Amsterdam, the United Kingdom and even ports as far south as the Mediterranean.
The Lamberts Point export terminal in Norfolk has little storage space, so the coal backs up in Roanoke. That yard full of cars can be in Norfolk in about 24 hours when the ships come in. Lamberts Point can dump 1,400 cars a day - even more than the Franklin Road yard can hold. That's why they disappear from Roanoke overnight.
Rappold said the ideal situation would be for only two or three of those Franklin Road tracks to be filled with cars.
The recent backups had nothing to do with an anticipated coal strike, railroad officials said.
Lights left on all night
Q: Why are so many traffic lights left on all night, instead of blinking? These include Williamson Road at Thurston Street, U.S. 460 at King Street Northeast, Colonial Avenue at Overland Road and Fifth Street at Marshall Avenue. You have to sit there wasting gas when there's no other traffic anywhere. P.M., Roanoke; H.A., Troutville
A: Roanoke's traffic engineer, Bob Bengtson, says traffic lights don't blink anywhere that traffic speed would make it unsafe. That would cover the U.S. 460 location, where the speed limit's 35.
Sensors keep the lights on thoroughfares such as Williamson Road green unless a vehicle approaches from the side street, Bengtson said.
There's a catch here, though: A vehicle from the side street could make a right-on-red turn seconds before you pull up. The light will turn red for you because its sensor was triggered by the turning vehicle. Another possibility could be an equipment malfunction.
None of this makes those stops seem any shorter. It's kind of like waiting for a pot to boil - takes a long time if you watch it.
Youths' names withheld
Q: When and why was the law passed protecting minors from having their names aired? J.H., Roanoke
A: This law has been around for many years, but it's often misunderstood.
People under 18 who are charged with a crime go through the proceedings of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, where authorities are not allowed to release their names to the news media unless a judge OKs it.
The law does not prevent the news media from using a juvenile's name if reporters are able to learn it from other sources, however. Sometimes people under 18 are named in news reports when they're charged with murder, especially if the death occurs in the course of a crime such as robbery.
The intent of the law protecting minors is to give them a chance to outgrow youthful mistakes.
a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.