Thousands of Railroad Ties in Hazen

By Rachel Dahl – There is a pile of railroad ties off to the right at Hazen on the drive from Fallon to Reno.  And not just any pile – there appears to be thousands and thousands of ties stacked neatly between Highway 50 and the rail road tracks. Rusty Jardine, General Manager of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District reported at the most recent board meeting held January 2, 2019, that Omaha Track is storing an unknown number of ties on property adjacent to property they purchased from the District in Hazen, for the purpose of creating a rail-park facility. As part of the sales agreement the District agreed to a continuing revenue source in the form of a fee received for each car that would be unloaded at the rail-park. That fee would be ongoing and in addition to the sale of the land. The property consists of approximately 120 acres. That deal was inked in 2017, and so far, the rail-park remains undeveloped; the district is not receiving the per-car revenue. Eric Olsen, TCID President, and Jardine will be meeting with Omaha Track to discuss the status of the project and a possible alternative to provide the District with income from the sale of the property. During negotiations for the property, TCID agreed to a reduced price on the land in hopes of the long-range gains that would be possible with a fixed rate for every car to be off-loaded in the rail-park. Omaha track continues to work with Union Pacific to develop the park, but changes in the UP organization have slowed plans for developing in Hazen. According to Jardine, in addition to the UP requirements, Omaha Track must finalize access to the property.