Line that controls communications, lights and crossing gates removed from two miles of track

By Tom Blakey

Transcript Staff Writer

Two local men were booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center Monday, after being arrested by Burlington Northern Santa Fe security agents for the theft of copper wire along two miles of railroad track in Cleveland County.

The thefts caused a temporary shutdown of the railroad route after damaging the track's signal system. The wire carries communications information vital to the safe operation of the railway, officials said.

Danny Ray Felkins, 38, Norman, and Vaniver Hill Young, 41, Lexington, were booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center on criminal complaints including burglary; trespassing; knowingly concealing stolen property; and possession of burglary tools. The two are being held on bonds totaling $116,000, "due to the severity of the crime," officials said.

"What they were doing is very dangerous," said Steve Forsberg, BNSF general director of public affairs. "When the copper line is stolen or damaged, it shuts down train control signals all along the track -- like taking the traffic lights out of commission along a busy roadway. All the trains immediately have to slow down.

"Also, they're taking out a signal system that affects the operation of gates and lights at the crossings," Forsberg said.

The men, beginning Friday morning and continuing Saturday and Sunday, allegedly removed copper line along the double tracks for a distance of two miles, he said.

"Each morning they did this, we were able to get everything back up and running and replace the wire within two or three hours of the theft. Nevertheless, their actions affected the operation of several trains," including the Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, which runs daily between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Forsberg said.

When the men returned Monday morning, they were "spotted by a signal man who got in touch with our security team in Oklahoma City," he said.

BNSF Senior Special Agent Joe White, a retired Washington County deputy sheriff, arrested the men at 7:26 a.m., Forsberg said.

"Apparently they had 14 bales of copper wire in the back of their truck, which had become stuck in the mud," Forsberg said.

The copper was the equivalent of 4 miles of copper wire, taken from along two miles of double track, he said. The pair also had stolen property from another business, located about a half mile down the track from where they were taken into custody, Forsberg said.

Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com