Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX Sucks! (WV Rails Festival Blow)

And all the while, CSX is a sponser of the event! Just out today, a blow to the little festival at the end of the month....

EDIT: Did not see this was posted on Steam Board..sorry for the double posting.

June 15, 2010

For Immediate release

The West Virginia Rails 2010 committee would like to announce that steam locomotive no. 734 will not be able to attend the 100 year celebration of trains in Petersburg, WV. CSX railroad of Jacksonville, FL has declined to move the locomotive 10 miles to the South Branch Railroad from Cumberland, MD. After receiving tentative approval the first part of April, a decision was made that the steam locomotive can not be shipped on CSX rails.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will be sending GP-30 diesel locomotive in place of the steam locomotive. Passengers scheduled to ride behind no. 734 will be treated to an excursion behind vintage 1952 built streamlined Baltimore and Ohio diesel locomotive no. 722. Those passengers will also receive a voucher to be redeemed by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, MD for a ride behind the no. 734 at no additional charge.

The West Virginia Rails 2010 committee is disappointed by the decision of CSX but is committed to holding a great event in Petersburg, WV on June 25-27, 2010. The first steam locomotive, no. 17 will be arriving June 18th to Petersburg, WV from North Carolina. Steam locomotive no. 75 will arrive June 23 from Scranton, PA. The rest of the locomotives will arrive June 24.



This does not come as a surprise given the fact that after the B&O Roundhouse roof caved in back in 2003, CSX was said to have implemented a new rule which would not allow for the movement of steam engines on thier rails. AS many may recall, the B&O was suppose to have thier Fair of the Iron Horse that year which was to have multiple steam engines being brought in from around the country, something CSX was not crazy about at all. Now I know that #734 is an easy one to see or ride just about every weekend out of nearby Cumberland, and unlike Owosso last year, the event in Petersburg will probally not draw as many people from far away, but to sponser a event and then to now allow #734 to be moved 10 miles, this is huge blow to the event and really makes CSX look bad in my opinion. Many people were planning on riding 734 Friday and Sunday and was easily the biggest draw to the show, whereas Owosso had 3 big steam engines to draw them in from around the country. Now this little festival that could is left with very little draw to get people to drive more than a few hours. We'll be there though, 734 or no 734. Hope others will too.

Thier rails, thier rules, nice job CSX.

Chris Bogley
Bowie, MD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/10 12:50 by SVTS.

And it's a surprise that SUXt sucks! I knew that for a long time.

Bart Jennings ran two days of trips on the Southwest PA Railroad the weekend before Memorial Day. The trips used the B&O RDC that's on loan from the B&O Museum to tourist operator Fayette Central Railroad.

The car needed to move over about four miles of CSX trackage from Green Junction, just east of Connellsville, to Broadford, a couple of miles west. Despite having allowed the FC crew to run the RDC under its own power last year, CSX insisted that a CSX locomotive and crew be called to "ferry" the RDC the four miles. Eventually, agreement was reached that SWP power and crews would be used, and that was what was done. Two SWP SD50s and a road crew did the honors.

BTW, the RDC ran just fine under its own power for the remaining 130 or so miles of the excursions.

I give UP a whole lot of credit. They do a whole lot more for PR than anyone out here in the East does. Steam, Heritage units, special paint jobs and community interaction. Good PR goes alot farther than a gallon of fuel !

Im not suprised by this.

fireman74 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I give UP a whole lot of credit. They do a whole
> lot more for PR than anyone out here in the East
> does. Steam, Heritage units, special paint jobs
> and community interaction. Good PR goes alot
> farther than a gallon of fuel !


Michael Allen states in the discussion in the steam
board that BNSF provided services gratis regarding
the movement of SP #4449 to Michigan. Note BNSF also
allows movements of SP #4449 and SP&S #700 as well.

NS has moved #611 and #1218 more then once in recent
times and eventually made it possible for NKP #765 to
get out and stretch her legs as well.

Each line deserves credit as well.

Even CP for running it's steam program and allowing
2MLW #261 access as well.

/Mitch

mjbobb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im not suprised by this.


With less then 2 weeks to the big event, everyone should be
surprised, if not enraged by this. The reason given, as I
understand it, by CSX is a newly enforced ban on "special
moves" in regards to an issue they had moving TAAR switchers
that did not have the latest in modern tech regarding it's
older style couplers. Those units, non the less, were later
moved and a lot further then 10 miles or so.

/Mitch

Great. Just f'ng great. This was my 'big trip' of the year. I'm going with a friend of mine who's retired CSX (and only wanted to go to ride behind the steamer) and now I get to call him to tell him his former employer is screwing him again for old times sake...

:(

Michael

Boy, CSX sure knows how to score brilliant PR coups!

Typical corporate trash....

Mike Cyr
Holiday, FL
Jointed Rail Productions

fireman74 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I give UP a whole lot of credit. They do a whole
> lot more for PR than anyone out here in the East
> does. Steam, Heritage units, special paint jobs
> and community interaction. Good PR goes alot
> farther than a gallon of fuel !

While CP has not run steam in the east of Chicago, it has, for the past few years, run its Holiday Train on its lines in New York and Pennsylvania.

Don't overlook the Reading & Northern. As shown below, R & N offers a several trips in 2010 including several with steam.

http://www.readingnorthern.com/passenger.shtml

R & N has also ran modestly priced benefit excursions for United Way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/10 16:35 by RuleG.

Just another reason why I will drink a cold beer in celebration of the day CSX goes bankrupt or gets bought out.

Why not have an e-mail blitz to the CSX PR folks.

May I suggest an East Coast/CSX version of this?

http://www.moonamtrak.org/

Perhaps the road bridge at Mexico or North Branch?

What route is steam engine #17 taking from North Carolina to Petersburg....arriving on June 18?

I'm sure they didn't want to set a precedent.... oh, oh.

cinder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What route is steam engine #17 taking from North
> Carolina to Petersburg....arriving on June 18?


Probably I-81 to U.S. 220 on a flatbed truck.

Steve Barry
Railfan & Railroad

swcrossbucks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just another reason why I will drink a cold beer
> in celebration of the day CSX goes bankrupt or
> gets bought out.


You are going to be waiting a long, long, long, long time. I mean a LONG time. Did I mention you will have a long wait? This action by CSX irks me as much as anybody, but they aren't going anywhere. Big time mergers are over.

sbarry Wrote:

> Probably I-81 to U.S. 220 on a flatbed truck.
>
> Steve Barry
> Railfan & Railroad

Street running!

/Mitch

While this announcement is disappointing and will also hurt many photo charters they had planned, I was planning to visit moreso to see the repainted 722...YES, that's right I said it...I love cab units just a tad more than steam. Don't ask me to chose between the two, tho :-) AND in this case, the steamer in question isn't far off the beaten path of the event.

Why not have an e-mail blitz to all of are senators
and congressman who are supplying CSX with 98 million
of are tax dollars for clearance work.
What a waste of tax money.
They did not have any trouble moveing the OCS today