The unending ringing at the railroad crossing on Main Street has been remedied. The problem was not due to lack of interest from the folks at Louisiana Southern Railroad. Instead, the resolution lay a little deeper than what might have been thought as faulty wiring in the control box.

On several occasions, railroad personnel would come down to check out the problem and turn off the incessant bell. But, as employees at the Louisiana Political Museum or Winn Parish Enterprise could testify, the bell would start all over again. Or worse, the railroad people would come down and report that the bell wasn’t ringing and they could find nothing wrong…much like when a driver takes his car into the shop for a problem that won’t manifest while the mechanic is listening.

Then when a supervisor asked if a sensor ran from the Main Street crossing, up the rails towards the Center Street crossing by the School Board office, the answer was “Yes, almost as far up as the overpass,” roadmaster Judson Rogers of Louisiana Southern told the Journal. Followup investigation revealed a broken rail at the Center Street crossing. That triggered the sensor, thus the ringing.

Early this week, Center Street was blocked as a crew worked to repair that rail and the crossing. Since no train can pass, the Main Street bell is off, providing peace and quiet at the museum and newspaper. Once repairs are complete, it will be reconnected.

While asphalt was not available Monday, Rogers anticipated delivery Tuesday to complete the repair work and by the time readers see this short story, traffic should once again be driving across the track on Center Street.

Problem solved.