Yadkin Valley Railroad Transloading
At a glance
- What: residents' safety concerns about the Yadkin Valley Railroad's transloading site in town (cars of propane and butane, tank storage, fire planning). The railroad's operator, Gulf and Ohio Railways, gave a presentation to the council on October 12, 2026 and took questions.
- Where it stands: the railroad declined to say what it hauls or describe its security and emergency plans, citing federal rules. Residents left without answers. No council action was taken.
- What's next: nothing scheduled; residents were pointed to federal rail authorities and local emergency responders.
The presentation
- Zoltan Mack and Jason France (captioned as "Zoltan Mack" and CEO "Jason France"; spellings approximate) described the Yadkin Valley Railroad as 93 miles of track with main lines from 1888 and 1890, operated by Gulf and Ohio Railways since March 1, 1994.
- They said the railroad follows federal rules (Federal Railroad Administration, hazardous materials, Transportation Security Administration, National Transportation Safety Board), trains employees regularly, and has transloaded since 2009 with no safety-related incident.
- The security plan is federally mandated and cannot be discussed publicly.
Resident concerns
- A resident living by the tracks asked what is being hauled now, noting past propane and butane shipments and a derailment a few years ago. The railroad would not disclose cargo.
- Another resident said documents obtained from the fire department cap cars near the depot at 19, but she has counted up to 57; the railroad said it knew of no such limit and that federal inspectors check regularly.
- Questions on security (children with sparklers near the site during a fireworks show), outreach to nearby residents about an emergency plan, tanks sitting for three or four weeks ("transfer or storage?"), and who regulates the trucking firm that handles the transfer (captioned "Hilco"). The railroad said the transfer is done by that company, not by the railroad, and would not comment on most of the rest.
- Residents were told to call the hotline posted at crossings or contact federal rail authorities. A council member said people are afraid and want reassurance.
Official minutes (July 13, 2026)
- Councilman Woodcock suggested inviting someone from the Yadkin Valley Railroad to the next Town Hall meeting to address questions and concerns.
Discussion time
About 16 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-12 - Town Council | 16 |
Log
- 2026-10-12 - Town Council - Gulf and Ohio Railways presents; residents press on cargo, car counts, tank storage and emergency planning; railroad cites federal security rules and declines most answers.
- 2026-07-13 - Town Council - Michael Woodcock asked staff to invite the railroad operators to a future session to address community safety and security questions (from auto-captions).
- 2026-07-13 - Town Council - Minutes: Woodcock's suggestion to invite the railroad to a town hall recorded.
- 2026-10-12 - Town Council - Draft minutes note the Gulf and Ohio Railways presentation on operations and safety protocols; questions were limited by national-security restrictions.