Rail Runner: Vandals to blame for cow's death

The New Mexico Rail Runner was headed north on its first Tuesday morning route when a cow tried, unsuccessfully, to cross the tracks. There was no way the train could stop in time. “At a rate of 78 miles an hour, it’s very hard to stop a train on a dime,” said Rail Runner spokeswoman Augusta Meyers. Meyers said someone cut a fence along the tracks, which allowed the cow to get out and go near the tracks. The train is down for repairs, and damages are expected to cost anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000. Rail Runner will also have to pay the cow's owner for his or her loss. "With today's beef market, anything is worth $1,000 just about, and if that was a mother cow that was either fixing to have a calf or has a baby calf, then you're looking at a market value today of $2,000 to $2,500, and perhaps more than that," said Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association. Cowan said fence cutting is a serious problem in New Mexico that costs ranchers thousands of dollars in lost livestock...more