NYS&W Another Era Begins?

I just got an e-mail advising that with the passing of Mr. Rich, Nathan Fenno has formally assumed the CEO's position.

From the rebuilds at AMP and the retirement/sale of the Cartier Alco's, in appears that the railroad will soldier on for now.

Any thoughts?

RichM wrote:I just got an e-mail advising that with the passing of Mr. Rich, Nathan Fenno has formally assumed the CEO's position.

From the rebuilds at AMP and the retirement/sale of the Cartier Alco's, in appears that the railroad will soldier on for now.

Any thoughts?

I agree and I would expect the SU-99/SU-100 to solider on and continue on their normal routing for the foreseeable future!

Since this post may spur some speculation and biased rumors, may I begin? There has been some talk that NYSW would either purchase or lease some GP38's soon... Just a rumor so take it with a grain of salt..

Although this Mr Nathan Fenno guy may not be a buff or have a love for the railroad like Walter did, I wouldn't expect the yellow jacket scheme and major changes to happen anytime soon! Lets hope!

My two cents on the matter now!

The fastest way to have this topic closed down, will be to add rumors to it. Kapische? Keep it real, or send it to one of those "foamer" sites. Regards

The only constant in life is change. So of course there will be changes. Mr. Fenno has, for all intents and purposes, been at the helm for the past several months. The management is in the Board of Directors and the papers of incorporation. Unless there is a wholesale change in personell on both the Board and in managment, there should not be any quick or major changes.

So far as I remember, Mr. Fenno has been with Delaware Otsego management from the 1980's, and I believe a director of the then-public corporation for most of the "public period". I can't speak to his emotional involvement but he's been a key aprt of the process since he was a young(er) man.

Golden-Arm, you're right, I didn't start this to grind out the rumors. But I think reports of the railroad's demise may be premature.

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:The fastest way to have this topic closed down, will be to add rumors to it. Kapische? Keep it real, or send it to one of those "foamer" sites. Regards

Thank you. I was hoping some one would say that.

Isn't the new CEO the owner of O&W 116? I know it was owned by someone in the company and leased to the NYS&W.

It was reported that the NYSW was possibly going to acquier some gp38's from where it wasn't said. But it was due to alot of the local power going down. 1802 just got an new generator/alternator?? 1804 is still down with the same thing, but they can't find a replacement. 2300 blew up, 3042 is down with mysterious mechanical problems. 2062/64 i haven't seen in months. They've been using road power to do alot of switching around little ferry and syracuse. they did use an alco for bingo switching, but its been reported that 3 are in elmira and been sold.

And with the c&d facilities now back up and running things are themselves starting to get back to normal. It will take a lil while, they were closed for upto 2 months and they lost probably quiet a few customers during that time. Give it a few and they'll return.

2062 and 2064 are down here in Binghamton last I heard. Or maybe it was the 2064 and 2066. I don't know, I'll try and check tomorrow.

Yippee! More rumors tonight!

The WNYP picked up two GP-38's on their new DFT run today that the Buffalo line DS called the "leasers."

Coincidence? I think not...

Or, maybe it is.

Golden-Arm, be gentle!

Dave Becker

I'm just taking bets but, I think NYSW will maybe change focus on their freight. Maybe stack trains and autoracks again??? Primarily the whole fleet is yellow jacket just like the stack train days. Maybe the SD70s will come back??? IDK I'm just raising some questions. However, the SD70s are in horrible shape for 12 year old engines. Oh yeah and Southern Tier excursions can hopefully come back!

Well, is it not a fact that Walter Rich borrowed funds from CSX and NS to outright purchase around 80% of the common stock of the railroad, leaving CSX and NS each with 10%, around the time of the Conrail takeover?

I would have to assume only the executor of the estate knows the exact situation with regard to what money is currently owed, if any.

If there is outstanding debt, the stock will probably have to be sold to cover it and settle the estate.

If the debt has been repaid, then it is a matter of how Mr. Rich willed the disposition of the property.

The property may still need to be sold off depending on how it is taxed, to what if any estate tax is required, to what if any additional income tax is required of those who inherit it, and so forth.

If any changes come about with regard to ownership or the operation of specific lines, STB filings will likely be required. If the ownership becomes public again, other filings will be necessary. Until such time as that happens, there isn't much sense discussing it. I would give them a chance to bury the man and read the will and start the paperwork.

I wouldn't expect to know anything for certain for another 3-4 weeks, if then.

There are so many rumors and stories with regard to what money was borrowed when and why and what track it was actually used to repair, it may take some time to sort out all of the legal details. I do believe that unless the contract ran out, the NYS&W is in violation of their Ontrack agreement by not running the RDC shuttles in Syracuse, as just one example of a situation that will require a lot of legal wrangling to settle things.

In the meantime, someone has to run the railroad. Given that Mr. Rich was sick for some time, I'm sure he was able to make some plans to prepare for this eventuality. I doubt you will see any major changes until any final disposition of the property can occur.

Auto racks and stack trains have to come from somewhere and go to somewhere. CSX owns the Little Ferry terminal and it's own routes as far west as the NYS&W goes. NS has it's own terminals and lines the entire length of the NYS&W also. It is highly unlikely a dedicated train would return to the line, except perhaps as an overflow from either of the other roads, particularly if major work is needed on one of their routes. As for excursions, it seems that most of the "toys" have been sold, or donated, away, which makes them unlikely events outside of perhaps the annual Maple Fest trains.

As for the SD70s, they make the road more money where they are now; it's more cost-effective to lease them out and buy older used power that can get the job done and be run into the ground and remanufactured for a fraction of the cost of a new unit, even for a fraction of the cost of lease payments on a new unit.

Fenno is not the owner of the old switcher. One of the older directors who was not an employee of the railroad owns it.

And there's a tremendous amount of incorrect information out there, CSX and NS own 40% each, not 10%.

Susquehaniewikiwokiwani wrote:I'm just taking bets but, I think NYSW will maybe change focus on their freight. Maybe stack trains and autoracks again??? Primarily the whole fleet is yellow jacket just like the stack train days. Maybe the SD70s will come back??? IDK I'm just raising some questions. However, the SD70s are in horrible shape for 12 year old engines. Oh yeah and Southern Tier excursions can hopefully come back!

The stack business has changed alot since NYS&W was a player. I doubt that you will see any stack business on the Susquehanna, unless it is a CSX detour. Stacks are too time sensitive now to be wondering down the tier and southern division.

And there's a tremendous amount of incorrect information out there, CSX and NS own 40% each, not 10%.

That is just not true. NS and CSX each own 10%, Walter Rich's estate owns 80%.

Not intending to start a flame war, but when I tendered my shares in 1997, the proxy specified the acquisition company's ownership as 40/40/20.

http://www.secinfo.com/$/SEC/Filings.as ... sition+LLC

If Mr. Rich subsequently bought out more of CSX and NS ownership, to the best of my knowledge it's not documented anywhere.