County, city working on stopping train whistles

The train whistle blowing through Cameron could be a thing of the past if Milam County Judge Steve Young has his way.

During the Commissioners Court meeting on April 8 Young said he and Cameron City Manager Rhett Parker are working on a quiet zone for Cameron.

According to Young, he and Parker met with the BNSF Railroad regarding the quiet zone on March 27.

Young said there are currently 42 trains that go through Cameron and blow train whistles that are disruptive to downtown business.

He said there is a possibility of closing certain train crossings that will save some money and there will need to be upgrades to other crossings to make them safe for the possibility of no train whistles being blown.

“The issue is money to upgrade the signal systems,” Young said. “We are not sure exactly what it will cost, but we are going to take the next step and have formal meetings with the BNSF soon.”

Commissioners approved giving Young the authority to write a letter to BNSF on behalf of the county and continue talks with them about this concern.

“Based on our initial meeting I think this is something we can get done,” Young said.

He said there is a possibility of working on a quiet zone through Rockdale if this one works out.