Eastern Railroad Discussion > Blue Ridge Southern Railroad

Has this new Watco operation started up yet on their former NS lines? If so, anyone have any info. on their operations and what power they are using? Thank you.

I believe the deal closed on July 26 and operations began on that day.
http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?railroad=Blue%20Ridge%20Southern

Yes the first day was Saturday the 26th. They ran a T31 from Asheville to Canton and back as pictured here, a T59 from Canton to Waynesville, and a W84 from Asheville to the Skyland Power Plant on the W line using NS power.

Michael

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Very cool. I'm going to have to make a trip up there in the fall.

djy23 Wrote:
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> Very cool. I'm going to have to make a trip up
> there in the fall.


Not so cool for the NS workers that were furloughed or took a big pay cut to hire on with this shortline.

What's this? A shortline railroad that's NOT G&W orange/yellow, and with flared SD-45s? Seems like a good 3 hour road trip that's worth it.

I'm going to be in Asheville on Thursday. What part of town is their operation located?

Terry Green
Garrett, IN

NS is hiring in many places outside of Asheville, so the NS workers do have options available to consider.

The operation is based in Canton not Asheville, from what I've read. But there is only one yard in Asheville, along the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers.

Scabs

Good luck with that perspective, in a state that ranks 50th in union membership (3%).

nsrlink Wrote:
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> Scabs

I was always under the impression that a scab was someone who crossed a picket line and took the job of someone who was on strike.

In this case, when was the strike and where was the picket line?

I'm going to say that I've never liked the prospect of a Class 1 selling branch lines on which they're not losing money to a short line, knowing that the short line is captive to the Class 1. NS is the only outlet for these 2 lines.

If NS was losing money on the operations, that's one thing. We all know that short lines can operate with lower costs, so if that's what it takes to preserve service rather than have it abandoned, I'm for it. But I've never liked the idea of a Class 1 selling a branch on which it makes money, just to cut back to core lines and eliminate more personnel and maintenance. The Class 1's employees lose out.

The fact is, though, that the customers on the 2 branches will probably receive better service, more attentive service from WATCO than they did from NS. The big railroads tend not to care too much about loose-car customers, whereas that's the short line's bread and butter, so the short line will be more attentive to the customers' needs than perhaps the big Class 1s are.

I just feel bad for the employees. You're doing your job, your company's making money where you work, but they decide it's not enough money, or it's not worth the trouble, and you're faced with relocating or taking a lower-paid job with the successor company.

I don't believe anyone outside NS management knows for certain how much profit the lines produced for NS last year. Apparently, "not enough". Even if someone does have the number, it takes a crystal ball to predict how profitable the lines will be 5 or 10 years from now.