Eastern Railroad Discussion > Stewartstown Pennsylvania

Has there been any recent news about the short line Stewartstown Railroad? Last that I heard is that they were still trying to raise money to reorganize.

One of their Locomotives resides on the Luzerne Susquehanna RR. a short line in Pittston, PA.
Ed K.cp Laurel Run

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m1bprr Wrote:
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> One of their Locomotives resides on the Luzerne
> Susquehanna RR. a short line in Pittston, PA.
> Ed K.cp Laurel Run

Thanks for the information Ed and for your photos through the years.

Got this in an email a few weeks ago. I don't know any more than this, but hope it helps answer your question.

JB


Hi,
I just received news that the Surface Transportation Board has ruled against the Stewartstown RR and in favor of the lawsuit to abandon (scrap) the railroad to pay off the George Hart estate debt owned by the Stewartstown RR.
This puts us in a position to sell or scrap the 1941 Reading Caboose that we own that is sitting in Stewartstorn Pa.
We would like to see our 72 year old caboose go to a good home, but if that is not possible we will have to do the unthinkable and scrap it.

Rich and Joyce Hafer

This is the text from an email I received November 29.

"We may be 80% of the way there!
The Stewartstown Railroad, in existence since 1885, now faces its most difficult challenge ever. Past President George Hart loaned money to the corporation and his heirs are have been insisting on payment or they will foreclose on our assets, and the result will be to sell and scrap the railroad. We have received a final ruling from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on the case for adverse abandonment filed by the Estate of George M. Hart. Effective December 16th, the railroad will be declared abandoned and the Estate will be able to foreclose on our assets. While the Friends’ Capital Campaign has helped immensely in the process of starting to move towards train operations, it has raised only a small fraction of the total debt amount. Unless something is done immediately, the Stewartstown Railroad will cease to exist.

However, our darkest moment might in fact be a turning point into a new era. The Estate has stated several times that it is willing to sell the lien to a third party for the full amount, which is $352,415. A number of interested individuals have stepped up to commit funds to purchase the lien from the Estate. We now have tentative commitments of almost $279,000 from nine different sources. If enough people will commit funds, our goal is to purchase the lien from the estate and ask people to hold their liens for a minimum of 5 years to allow the railroad to restart train operations and generate funds to start paying off the new liens.

We are closer to running trains than we have been in years. The roofs on the stations have been worked on, the track is being repaired, the locomotives are nearly serviceable, one of the coaches is being painted, we are operating motor car trains and having open houses on a regular basis for the first time in ages. We have more volunteer support and interested people than ever before. We are getting some momentum going, and will probably be able to operate full size trains in 2013, nine years since the last revenue train operated. We anticipate that these efforts will accelerate significantly if the fear of abandonment and dismemberment goes away.

This is your chance to play a major role in saving the railroad for the future. It would only take 8 additional people making commitments of $10,000 to raise $352,000. However, we recognize that many supporters may wish to contribute smaller amounts, so a suggested minimum contribution level of $2,500 has been set to prevent the number of people from becoming unwieldy. We have also been approached by people willing to make commitments of $1000, and are trying to incorporate these pledges into our efforts.

As holders of the new liens, individuals will have the same rights that the Estate has currently, including the right to foreclose if necessary. Because of the liens, contributions would be backed by the assets of the Company, which are in excess of $1 million as documented by the official appraisals done by the Estate itself. Individuals who eventually decide to be reimbursed for their contribution can be accommodated if there are other contributors available. Several people have already indicated that they would be interested in being involved, but cannot produce funds immediately and thus would be candidates for replacement funding. At the end of the 5 year period, the railroad will begin paying off the lien at a rate that will be determined by its revenues.
The individuals will assume ownership of liens and the rights and responsibilities that go with it. However, because the goal is to save the railroad rather than dismantle it, we expect that they will work in cooperation with shareholders and management toward a collective goal, which is to put the railroad back into operation. The individuals will not actually own the railroad, but a lien against some or all of its assets. The possibility of an ownership interest in the company may also exist for major contributors.

The Stewartstown Railroad is an important piece of our local York County history and your support is needed if we are going to preserve it. Please help sustain the railroad. This can be done by simply emailing your pledge or forwarding questions to Kenneth Bitten at ken@stewartstownrailroadcompany.com or call at 410-336-1605. If we cannot assemble a large enough commitment, no money will be accepted, and the railroad will almost definitely be sold and scrapped."

Perhaps slightly off-topic and not news, and with concerns of igniting an old debate, a few thoughts:

I tend to love seeing railroad preservation as much as anyone, and would hate to see this lost. And, others here likely know more about this than I do. But from living in southern York County not far from Stewartstown for some time and talking with several folks involved in railroad preservation and other endeavors there, I have to say preserving the Stewartstown was one of the few drives to which I didn't donate. The more I drove around and looked at the shape of the track and equipment, and the more I learned about some past issues in leadership, the more wary I got about whether this would be successful -- even if they were able to buy the lein, major investments would be needed to get it anywhere back to safe operation, from what I saw.

The good news, I think, is that there are other projects in the area that seem to be doing much better -- not to be a cheerleader, but as I've mentioned before, my time volunteering with and donating to the Ma & Pa Preservation Soc'y in Muddy Creek Forks showed me just what a dedicated team of volunteers can do; and I hope the county finally gets on board with the concept of restoring the Northern Central as the Codorus Creek Railway, as a private investor is seeking. (And if I still lived in the area, I'd still be sorely tempted to make an offer on York Tower, which my last check of the real-estate site showed is still up for sale...) To me, those are much more hopeful efforts than the Stewartstown. Of course I'd love to see a miracle happen and it be restored to its prime, but just not sure it's feasible -- and, it could take funds away from some other much more hopeful preservation efforts...

(That said, I am curious about the condition and sale price of the caboose... A long-shot of course, but tempting...)

- Robbie

p.s. Putting two and two together (and hopefully, not violating some rule about links), I wonder if the Reading caboose for sale is this, listed on the Ozark Railcar site? It says it's former Reading and is in PA -- sadly, not able to move by rail and looks like it would need some major work... http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/detail.asp?id=647&n=Reading-Railroad-Caboose

robbie Wrote:
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> p.s. Putting two and two together (and hopefully,
> not violating some rule about links), I wonder if
> the Reading caboose for sale is this, listed on
> the Ozark Railcar site? It says it's former
> Reading and is in PA -- sadly, not able to move by
> rail and looks like it would need some major
> work...
> http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/detail.asp?id=
> 647&n=Reading-Railroad-Caboose


That looks like a caboose on the Union County RR in Lewisberg PA.