Train cars coming to Brandon rail

Ellis & Eastern Railroad will be re-opening its line through Brandon to trains in 5 to 10 years, said E&E president Clark Meyer last week.

The rail line has been open since 1889 but hasn’t been in use for about 25 years. In June the shortline purchased Southern Minnesota Railway. 

E&E’s plan, Meyer said, is to open operations from Ellis to Worthington, Minn., but that plan is long-term.

“It’s not like 100 cars will be running through town at 40 miles per hour,” he said.

What Brandon residents will start to see soon, Meyer said, is cars parked on the tracks.

“As business in east Sioux Falls grows, those cars normally parked along East Rice Street will start moving up toward the Brandon area,” Meyer said. “A lot of our business is seasonal. Right now construction is busy. In the winter we’ll need a place to store those cars.” 

The conversation between E&E and the city of Brandon started when the city floated the idea of running a sanitary sewer trunk line through E&E’s right-of-way near the intersection of Holly and Sioux boulevards. 

 “We just want to continue coordinating with the railroad as we move forward with discussions,” said city engineer Paul Sanow. “We’re going to keep an eye on it as a city.”

At the June 19 council meeting city leaders expressed concerns about train traffic near the intersection of Holly and Sioux boulevards. The E&E line runs across Holly, which the city plans to widen. The tracks also cross Sioux and Aspen boulevards. 

Meyer said E&E has been working with the city on that intersection and upgrading the crossing there. 

“We’re part of the community and have been good neighbors,” Meyer said.

Some residents who live near the tracks have spoken up against trains running through town and cars being stored on the tracks. Concerns were voiced at the council’s June 19 meeting when city administrator Bryan Read updated the council on negotiations with E&E, which have been ongoing.

“Their plan what they indicated to us is that they’ll begin storing rail cars on that line at least west of the Big Sioux River fairly soon and then they’ll be storing cars in town down to Aspen Park in the near future,” Read said.

“Do we have any control about them storing cars in town? I mean, I don’t want cars stored in town,” said council member Barb Fish. “That’s not what we want our town to look like.”

“I think we all know the power of the railroad,” said council member Blaine Jones. “They have the power to do what they want to do with their rail.”

The railroad pre-exists the city, Read pointed out. “Their easement goes back to the late 1800s, I believe. We do not control the railroads. That’s controlled by the state of South Dakota and the feds.”

E&E hauls rock and gravel for several companies, including Concrete Materials in Sioux Falls. The railroad also transports to the facility north of Corson. 

“The railroad is moving commodities. You’re talking about multi-million dollar projects. That’s not something to blink at,” Sanow said. 

Many in Brandon considered it abandoned, but Meyer doesn’t look at it that way.

“We’ve always owned it, we’ve always maintained it, and it’s always been completely usable,” he said. “Trains have been moving through cities for hundreds of years. You can’t tell me that you buy a house near railroad tracks and think a train won’t ever be running through there one day.” 

Meyer said people may notice some activity near the tracks soon. E&E is currently clearing the right-of-way near the tracks at Aspen Blvd., at the east end of McHardy Park, and plans to upgrade the bridge over the Big Sioux River there.

“We’re purposefully going to be visible,” Meyer said. “We’ve heard a few negatives but tons of people have been positive.”

There isn’t an estimate yet as to what the rail traffic will be when operation resumes along E&E’s lines.