Lawsuit rails against train yard's deafening noise levels

BELLEVUE — Bellevue-area residents are employing a full-steam-ahead approach in their quest to quiet noisy train cars.The Murray & Murray law firm on Thursday filed a class-action federal lawsuit against Norfolk Southern to address what lawyers characterized as "one of the most macabre forms of environmental contamination, in the form of noise pollution."Pending legal action aims to hush the shrieks, screeches and squeals loudly echoing — all day, all night every day for almost two years now — from the railroad's Moorman Yard, just off Ohio 4 at the border of Erie and Huron counties.Ear-piercing noises stem from mechanisms called a retarder, which slows down freight cars just before they're sorted into trains.The retarders represent one newer feature from a $160 million investment made by Norfolk Southern, which wrapped up in 2015. Company executives effectively doubled the yard's capacity to meet a rising demand for freight and rail transportation.But they failed to invest and install any device to deafen boisterous noises produced by the retarders.The result?Sound levels routinely exceed 100 decibels, equivalent to a jet flying directly over someone's head."Residents are unable to hold conversations, open windows or hear their televisions," the lawsuit stated. "This has resulted in a nuisance, which has, in turn, decreased property values as well as in stress, adverse health impacts and loss of the enjoyment of life. None of this is necessary because Norfolk Southern has available to it sound-dampening options at a fraction of the cost of its investment."The law firm filed its lawsuit on behalf of two residents: Norm Jacobs and Michael Nottke."If my backyard was a workplace, I would be legally forced to wear ear plugs," Jacobs told the Register in 2015. "There are times when it's so loud inside, it's unbearable, and our doors and windows are closed. The noise will wake you up and keep you up at night."All the residents want, according to lead attorney Dennis Murray Jr., is some peace and quiet."The plaintiffs and I think all neighbors would like this new, intense noise to stop," Murray said. "They were fine with the old yard, but this noise that this new equipment makes is unbearable. What they want is fair compensation for what has been taken from them, namely the ability to live peacefully in their homes and for the significantly diminished value of their property, as determined by a jury."Norfolk Southern company spokesman Dave Pidgeon didn't respond to an email seeking a comment on the lawsuit. In previous Register news coverage, he's avoided directly answering questions related to this topic.What is a retarder?At the Norfolk Southern Moorman Yard in Bellevue, ear-piercing noises stem from mechanisms called a retarder, which slows down freight cars just before they're sorted into trains.The retarders represents one newer feature from a $160 million investment made by Norfolk Southern, which wrapped up in 2015. Company executives effectively doubled the yard's capacity to meet a rising demand for freight and rail transportation.A class-action federal lawsuit filed against Norfolk Southern explains what the device is and does:In 2015, at the culmination of Bellevue yard's expansion, Norfolk Southern installed new retarders at the top of what is called a hump. A yard with a hump operates by pushing trains up and over a hump, after which the individual cars are redirected to different tracks to make up new trains. The cars are slowed on the back end of the hump by a retarder, essentially a giant (braking) system. The retarders installed in 2015 dramatically increased the amount of noise emanating from the Bellevue yard.When in operation, the retarders generate a very loud, unbearable high-pitched squealing sound of metal (brake) shoes rubbing on the steel wheels of the train cars. The noise, also generally described as screeching, is generated every time a car passes through a retarder, and the retarder activates. These events happen hundreds and thousands of times a day, 24 hours a day, nearly every day of the year.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.A heavy snow falls on the Norfolk Southern's Moorman Yard near Bellevue on Friday, March 17, 2017. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Norfolk Southern for excessive noise pollution from the train yard.