Return of an Eyesore? No, Just a Short Visit.

It appeared to be scornful revenge.

A bright red, graffiti-sprayed box car that sat for weeks on a recently built rail bridge prominently placed in the middle of South Norwalk's Reed-Putnam Redevelopment project was moved at the urging of a state senator.

"I want to thank state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker and others for their swift action in removing a graffiti-covered rail car that did not blend well with recent redevelopment improvements in South Norwalk" wrote Bob Duff, D-25th Dist., in an August 23 letter to Redeker.

On Wednesday afternoon it seemed his victory was short-lived. A string of graffiti-covered cars sat across the bridge, seeming to mock the senator's success at getting the earlier car moved out of sight.

But it was to be a short-lived intrusion of freeform "art." An employee of Providence & Worcester Railroad explained the 32-car freight train, carrying sand to Danbury, became disabled when a locomotive's driveshaft snapped. A rescue locomotive was en route to tow the cars to Danbury, he said, and the damaged locomotive would be moved to a siding for repairs.

The rail bridge, which cost $6 million to build, according to Duff's letter, spans Reed Street. From West Avenue, the major artery into South Norwalk, rail cars on the bridge are in clear view and practically on a pedestal because none of the proposed buildings for the intervening two blocks have been built to act as screening.