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  • Stored rail cars Cause Concern -Wilkes-Barre, PA

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

 #756019  by toolmaker
 
Posted: January 6
WOW! People getting all excited about rail cars stored on tracks.

The Times Leader Wiles-Barre, PA
Updated: Today at 7:23 AM

Rail cars ‘sitting’ in W-B a concern
Council: Mayor should find out why cars are on tracks in residential neighborhoods.
BILL O ’ BOYLE [email protected]

WILKES-BARRE – City council Tuesday asked Mayor Tom Leighton and his staff to find out why hundreds of rail cars have been sitting in neighborhoods for months and to get them removed.

click image to enlargeRail tank cars sit idle on the tracks behind houses along St. Clair Street in Wilkes-Barre. The cars have been sitting along a stretch of track in this residential area for several months causing concern from residents.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Rail_ca ... -2010.html
 #758053  by Bethlehem Jct.
 
I can see their point. Who wants to see rail cars sitting behind their property day after day? On top of that, the residents know nothing about them, so they have no idea if any railroad employees are checking up on them. Plus, the pic shows tanker cars. First question I would want answered is, "Is there anything in those tanker cars?" They're also a prime target for vandalism and are a potential safety hazard.

I only hope that this issue gets resolved rationally.
 #758161  by 56-57
 
Well there happens to be quite a large recession running right now. Shortlines everywhere are cashing in on the car storage business, it can be quite lucrative as the leasing companies pay rent to the railroads for use of track space.

Now let's consider this.. If there were chemicals in those tank cars, don't you think the chemical manufacturer or their customer would want them sitting around wasting time/not making them any money? Or would they want them on their way to being turned into other chemicals/fertilizers/pellets as soon as possible.

It would be nice to see people use some sense when it comes to issues of the railroad nature. Sadly that doesn't happen.

Really this should be sent to the Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre. Sorry to come off as annoyed, but this is quite annoying.

FWIW a railroad can place any equipment pretty much anywhere, without having to answer to local municipalities. As long as federal rules are followed, they are free to do what they deem necessary.

MJK
 #758221  by toolmaker
 
Not far away from my home in New Hampshire railcars showed up last winter and stayed for long term storage. Tank cars and covered hoppers were the only mix. They were parked on "rails" and caused no problem at all. If you tresspass and get hurt climbing on them who's fault is that? I see no problem with this except people buying homes next to active rail lines and complaining because the rails are used.

Gary
 #758346  by RN-16
 
Jesus Christ! These people needs lives...

And you wonder what is wrong with America?
 #758391  by BuddSilverliner269
 
Sorry but I dont sympathize for the Wilkes Barre residents, or any other resident who lives next to the tracks and complain. They moved in knowing the tracks were there. Besides the people of Wilkes Barre shouldnt be acting like the town is like the Taj Mahal, because its one of the biggest dumpiest Northeastern towns I have ever been in, and this is coming from a Philly Boy.
 #758524  by pumpers
 
Come on guys, really. Of course the RR is within their legal rights to do this, and the tracks were there first. But let me make a few points

First, the RR is is a county -owned non-profit and presumably in the end reports to the voters through the political system. It is not CSX. So if the RR authority/leadership had any savvy they would have sent a notice to the town and affected residents ahead of time explaining how long the cars would be there and why and what if anything was in them .

Second, if you are the mayor/city council, one of your primary jobs is public saftety. I was in the volunteer fire dept many years in my town that used to have an industry with chemical tanks, and you can be darn sure we made sure what was going on with them. Nohting wrong with the town governemnt wanting to know that. THey would be irresponsible if they didn't. And anybody in the FD who would have to go deal with it when the accident eventually happens better know that ahead of time too. Second, we all know kids do things their parents tell them not to do. Just because we tell them not to do something they shouldn't, doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything more to try to stop the accidents. Like the laws that you should have a fence around your swimming pool. I'm not saying the RR should fence their tracks, just that a responsible goverment leader shouldn't just stick their head in the sand if there is a strong liklihood accidents were going to happen, no matter what the reason. Finally, probably most residents don't know who owns the tracks and whose cars they are, and they probably are right to wonder if there is any methyl-ethyl bad sh__ (as we used to say in the fire dep't) in the cars whose fumes could be dangerous for their health. The RR might have been their first, but it doens't give them the right to harm the health of residents. WOuld you trust CSX or whatever corporation to make sure what they are parking next to your house for a few months isn't dangerous for you in any way? Ha Ha! (I live in NJ so I am a little cynical about all the environmental damage and pollution left behind by big companies. It is clear what is high on their list and what is low on the list).

OK, now I'll put on my flame resistant suit... JS
 #758527  by pumpers
 
One more thing, regarding the comment that common sense tells you a company wouldn't let product sit around for months in railcars.

Well, rigtht next to Bayway refinery south of Newark Airport, this is EXACTLY what they do. The refinery leaves many many railcars of product sitting on the ex- B&O (?) line to Staten Island next to the site (the line now dead-ends there). And I'm told when the market spot price fluctuates up, perhaps months later, then they sell . (It is plastic pellets or similar so the safety concern is lower in this case). JS
 #758551  by 56-57
 
The railroad is not a 'county owned non-profit'. It is a for-profit company that leases from and operates for the Luzerne County Rail Commission. Whenever you come across a line owned by a governmental agency, it's operated by a for-profit concern, the only reason it's under government ownership is to preserve it as a railroad in perpetuity (hopefully).

I understand the point made about Bayway Refinery storing cars as 'rolling warehouses'. But that is most often done in close proximity to either the shipper or the receiver. The only things arriving in bulk in Wilkes-Barre right now are unemployment checks. Nothing like that going by rail since they pulled RPOs off a few decades ago.

-MJK
 #758616  by Bethlehem Jct.
 
A few things some people are overlooking on this thread:
- The residents knowingly live near rail lines, yes. But the majority of rail lines see rail cars move through, not stay in place for weeks at a time. I get the impression, based upon the article, that was case for this line prior to the car storage. The article makes no mention of "long-standing complaints" regarding the rail line and trains. Their argument is not that the rails are being used for trains, but that cars have been simply sitting there for a couple of months.
- Most people are not rail fans. They don't know anything about railroad rules and operations. More than likely, these residents are unaware of whether or not the railroad is, in fact, allowed to store these cars there. There's no harm in them inquiring about it.
- Building upon the previous point... since these residents are unaware of railroad regulations and such, they also would not know what is and what is not allowed to be inside those tanker cars.

I think they're entitled to an explanation of what's going on with the cars. Maybe the railroad is not legally obligated to do so, but it would be the right thing to do. Telling the neighbors to pound sand will not help anyone. Conversely, the neighbors may not like the explanation, but that's life. But the "boo-hoo, shut up you NIMBY's and get a life" attitude toward them is unwarranted.
 #758618  by 56-57
 
Very valid point. But isn't this what the media and reporters are for? There was a time when the goings on of the local railroads was regularly reported in the news. Those days are over. But I do think it's appropriate to expect at least one reporter up there to have the brains to pick up the phone. Whether or not that will happen is another matter.

MJK
 #758684  by setaf
 
I agree with Bethlehem Jct and 56-57. Quite often education is the answer to ignorance. Ideally, the paper should do an interview with the Powers that Be (RR) and get a bit of background to present in a more balanced story.
 #759204  by 2nd trick op
 
Wilkes-Barre, regrettably, has a long history of economic ignorance, short-sight, and loutish behavior.

A lot of the trouble goes all the way back to the flooding due to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 (an event which, BTW, killed off much of the through freight movement through the area until NS and CP revived the former PRR/D&H "Sunbury Line" in the late 1990's). But the biggest offshoot was that everyone who could moved up to the high-ground suburbs of Mountaintop and what's referred to as the "Back Mountain", Wilkes-Barre proper became home mostly to college students and locals who couldn't generate enough income to move up.

And the two don't get along. A few years ago, a grandstanding mayor pulled a suprise revenue grab, towing a large number of students' vehicles on the pretext of a forgotten ordinance; he got loud cheers.

And anybody who thinks the Times Leader panders to local prejudice ought to get an eyeful of the Citizen's Voice, an "alternative" daily started by the Times Leader's displaced employees after a bitter strike some 35 years ago, and still around. ---- First promise when the paper started up .... no "obit-yer-ees" would be missed.

Some years ago, the Voice published a photo of a couple of tank cars filled with what were described as "dangerous chemcals" sitting on a siding. They turned out to be Englehard Mineral tanks hauling kaolin slurry, which moves almost daily on the Sunbury Line.

As for Luzerne County Rail Corporation, it has been operated as a source of political plums since its inception, rather than sold to an operator who would instill some market discipline. I no longer live in Luzerne County, but if the managers actually found a way to turn a buck in return for car storage, it would be an improvement over the usual thinking.

http://www.coalregion.com
Last edited by 2nd trick op on Thu Jan 28, 2010 4:07 pm, edited 3 times in total.
 #759316  by lvrr325
 
From the sound of it, the county's appropriately named. /Loo-zern/ ...

But if a rail entity operates on county-owned tracks, then the county is entitled to know if they're storing empty cars on the line, if just as a courtesy so that idiotic things like this don't come about later.