Letter to surface transportation board regarding Class 1s refusal to haul Amish Personal Freight

My facility is not located on a spur or siding. What I need is station to station or team track to team track. The Goods are owned by local Amish and odd size antique furniture from local dealers that is more condusive to be moved in doulble door boxcars. I can not gaurentee a set a amount or a contract or even the same destination or origin everytime. Amish religuios law stipulates that they use the “least mondern means of transport”. When I call CSX they say that they will not handle “personal goods” such as when somebody would like to move there household goods by boxcar and self load. The amish in this case used to do exactly that in that they would move there familys stuff by horse and buggy to the team track and load up the boxcar. Amish have large familys and it is mor ecomicly feasible to load and unload there own freight. "The legal complaint here is that its seems that railroads such as NS and CSX refuse to haul small shippers or individules,They refuse to provide free team tracks without a contract depsite state laws requring railroads to have loading and unloading stations and refuse Less then Carload even if someone wants to pay a full carload rate, The Railroads still have a “Legal Common Carrier oblligation” to serve all shippers be it single one time shippers of personal goods…or a large comglomerate such as AGWAY or GM

RailConsumer@stb.dot.gov wrote:

Paul Rider,

In order for us to answer your questions properly, please advise as to whether or not your facility is located on or near an existing rail spur. Also, what is the nature of the shipments that you would like to move by rail - are the shipments solely personal households goods or will the shipments involve continuous service for deliveries to customers and/or receivers?

Thank you.

Katherine Bezold

Paul Rider trainfinder22@yahoo.com
07/19/2005 07:01 PM

To: railconsumer@stb.dot.gov

I saw nobody had replied to this yet so I did. Only one person has replied to my forum, so maybe you could pay me back by replying. That would be great.

From, The name might be Fred.

Team tracks have all but vanished anywhere and I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody, Class 1, regional or shortline, quotes a rate to or from a team track. Also, the common carrier obligation refers to commodities for which they still have facilities to handle. No carrier has facilities for LCL and almost nobody has facilities for livestock, so railroads cannot be compelled to handle these items.

How about this… Since the Amish need to use the oldest form of transporation available, why not just keep their shipement on the horse and buggy. Forget the team track. Load two horse and buggies onto an eighty-nine flat and tie 'em down. HBOFC?

Please, no replies about animal cruelty,
CC

Did you ask them about shackles?

Gabe

And folks wonder why the general public regards railfans as odd…

Wow, I think you topped the Amtrak missle thread with an even dumber one. Way to go…Freight railroads don’t even like to deal with regular single car shipments. Why in the h*** would they want to deal with a one time LCL load? I’m with Chris30, find and intermodial ramp and look for a car with shackles.

Read his info under his screen name…under a bridge somewhere…humm, dont most trolls live under bridges?

Ed

Good point Ed, I didn’t even notice that. I was too busy trying to controll my laughter.[(-D]

Where else should trolls live? Trolls need a home too you know (fake crying added)[:-,]

Find an intermodal provider who will pick up the load and take it to the local ramp for you.
Why would you want a boxcar? The horse and buggy would get it there faster and w/ less damage.
http://www.intermodal.org/XMEMBER.HTM#MOTOR

If you knew,Peggy Sue, then you’d know why I feel blue. Peggy,my Peggy Sue-oo-oo.

I just placed an order with TTX to build 200 89 foot flatcars with shackles installed.[(-D][(-D] (Joking.)

Think 200 is enough ? Or think you should order some more ?[:D]

Anybody see any weed sprayer trains go by,I’ve noticed the
embankments at ALL the bridges are being overrun with a
bunch of trashy weeds !!![:0][:D]

As we are talking about the Amish, perhaps you could ship the articles via the Strausburg RR which ran through Amish country in Pennsylvania last I heard. I understand they are still entirely steam powered too so it would certainly be the oldest type of suitable transportation.

Billygoat LC

First of all, I don’t think dumpsters could be considered facilities. Secondly, I have never seen one on a spur. Unless of course “facility” is an euphemism, in which case why would you dig a hole in the ground in a spur?

an amish using a computer (dulled sneaky laff)

there are those amish who don’t place themselves entirely on the old way of living.

50 years ago that scenario was possible as the RR’s handled more local traffic.
Road competition with trucks has changed all that.

You would have to now check out a trucking firm to move your stuff.
However, go forward and check out the railroad as I will encourage you to press on to get the railroads wake up to needs to other traffic.

we need that.

OF course the Amish have computers, the newest series they got is from 1994, but its hamster powered.

That’s a great idea! That would make a very interesting modeling subject as well. I might have to do that when I get my layout up and running.

Couldn’t you just see that going down the tracks? A huge flatcar, with a whole amish family on it? Insane…[:p]

I am surprised that the STB did not inform him that he is a lunatic and needs to take a few English classes.

I noticed he does not change is e-mail address as often as his screen name.

Let us see. He has gone from thinking he is a male hobo, to that same hobo’s mother, a hobo again, God, and now an Amish hobo with a computer. What else am I missing? Here is a case to bring back electroshock therapy.