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Views & News 

Upcoming Events 

CSX 

Short Line Workshop 

March 3-5, 2013 

St. Augustine, FL 

Railroad Day On Capitol Hill 

March 14, 2013 

Washington, DC 

ASLRRA 

Centennial Convention 

April 27-30, 2013 

Atlanta, GA 

February 13, 2013 

Volume 82, No. 3 

IN THIS ISSUE 

ASLRRA Welcomes More New Members 

RR Day Room Block Sells Out, Registrants Now 

Booking Nearby Rooms 

Deadline Is This Friday To Nominate For ASLRRA 

Marketing, Safety Awards 

Resumes Now Being Accepted For ASLRRA 

President's Job 

Thanks To The 2012 ASLRRA Regional Meeting 

Sponsors 

News From FRA: Szabo Notes Safest Year, FRA 

Website Redesigned, Emergency Relief docket 

Established, Policy and Development Job Posted 

STB Proposes Changes To URCS 

USDOT Debuts Hazmat Response App 

Kel MacKavanagh Recognized For Sandy Assistance 

Thanks To All Who Donated Their Spare Calendars 

For American Heart Month, Know The Heart Attack 

Warning Signs 

Corrections To Our Last Edition 

Members In The News 

New And Changing Railroads 

Rail Industry Meetings And Events 

Traffic Stats 

Regulatory Compliance Deadlines 

Helpful Links (Including A New One!)

ASLRRA WELCOMES MORE NEW MEMBERS 

We welcome the following new railroad members: 

East Side Freight Railroad is part of the Ballard Terminal family of railroads. It operates 

between Snohomish and Woodinville, WA, totaling approximately 42 miles of line. Its contact 

information is as follows: Ballard Terminal Railroad Co. LLC, 4725 Ballard Avenue NW, Seattle, 

WA 98107, Phone: (206) 782-1447, Fax: (206) 782-7724. 

Heart of Texas Railroad operates the lines of the former Gulf Colorado & San Saba Railroad. A 

Class III carrier assigned Reporting Mark HTR, the Heart of Texas operates approximately 69 

miles of line and interchanges with BNSF in Lometa, TX. Its contact information is as follows: 

Heart of Texas Railroad L.P., P.O. Box 750, Brady, TX 76825, Phone: (325) 597-2359, Fax: (325) 

597-3571. You may reach Director of Operations Glenda Sutton at glendalou1961@yahoo.com. 

And with equal appreciation, we welcome the following new associate business members: 

Pettibone manufactures a full line of fixed-boom and transfer-boom rough-terrain telehandlers, 

Cary-Lift pipe and pole material handlers, and Speed Swing railroad maintenance cranes. Their 

contact information is as follows: Pettibone, 1100 Superior Ave., Baraga, MI 49908, Phone: 

(906) 353-6611, Fax: (906) 353-6325, Web: www.gopettibone.com. Please reach Director of 

Marketing John Major at jmajor@gopettibone.com. Be sure to visit Pettibone at Atlanta 

Convention Exhibit Hall Booth #1606! 

REO-USA Inc. manufactures components for two main areas of rail: Auxiliary converters, 

including transformers from 16-2/3 up to 30kHz, Boost/Buck converters, EMC filters, sinusoidal 

filters, current transformers, charging resistors from IP 00 – IP 65 (also available for 

watercooled systems); and main drives, including EMC HV chokes, leakage transformers, flow 

controls, main chokes, components for onboard power supplies, damping resistors, and current 

transformers. Its contact information is as follows: REO-USA Inc., 8450 E. 47th St., Indianapolis, 

IN 46226, Phone: (317) 899-1395, Fax: (317) 899-1396, Web: www.reo-usa.com. You may reach 

Vice President Barbara Miller at barbara@reo-usa.com. 

For ASLRRA membership information, please contact Cheryl Huyck at chuyck@aslrra.org or call 

her at (202) 585-3431. 

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RR DAY ROOM BLOCK SELLS OUT, REGISTRANTS NOW BOOKING NEARBY ROOMS 

Railroaders and their shippers, suppliers, and other partners are continuing to register to 

attend Railroad Day On Capitol Hill, to be held on Thursday, March 14. 

Although the room block has sold out at the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel where 

Railroad Day activities will be based, rooms remain available at the many other hotels in the 

Washington, DC area, now the seventh largest metropolitan area in the U.S. A hotel very near 

to the Renaissance is the Grand Hyatt Washington at 1000 H Street NW, which many will recall 

as the hotel where Railroad Day was based in the years immediately preceding 2012. Also, a 

good source for accommodations is the hotel page of Washington, DC’s official travel website, 

http://reservations.washington.org. Hint: If you prefer a hotel outside of downtown, you may 

want to find one that locates near a station of the Washington Metro subway’s Red, Green or

Yellow Lines, which will then allow you to travel directly and without changing subway trains to 

the Gallery Place Station, which is only two blocks away from the Renaissance. 

A reminder that: 

 

 

 

To get started and to register, link to the Railroad Day section of the ASLRRA website at 

http://www.aslrra.org/meetings___seminars/Railroad_Day_on_Capitol_Hill/. For 

questions about registration, contact ASLRRA’s Kathy Cassidy at aslrra@aslrra.org or at 

(202) 628-4500. 

To set up congressional appointments, contact Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell's Jeff Van 

Schaick at jeff.vanschaick@cch-llc.com or (202) 715-2915. Be sure to tell Jeff if there 

are specific senators, congressmen or states that you want to be scheduled with. 

To increase your prominence among those attending, excellent sponsorship 

opportunities have been established, some of which are still available at this writing. 

To secure one, contact ASLRRA's Jenny Bourque at jbourque@aslrra.org or (202) 585- 

3449. 

ASLRRA urges every one of its member organizations to send at least one representative – and 

as many more as may be possible – to this important rail industry event. 

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DEADLINE IS THIS FRIDAY TO NOMINATE FOR ASLRRA MARKETING, SAFETY 

AWARDS 

The deadline is this Friday, February 15, to nominate for two ASLRRA award categories: the 

2013 Marketing Awards and the 2013 Safety Awards. 

From Jenny Bourque comes this reminder about the Marketing Awards: 

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association is currently accepting entries for its 

Eighteenth Annual Marketing Awards Competition. All member railroads are invited and 

encouraged to participate. Eligibility and outcome will not be affected by either the size of a 

competing railroad’s project or the size of its operations. 

Since its introduction, submissions to the ASLRRA Marketing Awards Competition have improved 

each year. We have every reason to expect that this year will surpass all others, both in terms 

of the quality and quantity of entries. From among the received applications, a panel of six 

distinguished judges will have the difficult task of selecting three top marketing initiatives. 

Each winner will receive an engraved plaque at the ASLRRA Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA. 

We encourage all member railroads to participate in this competition. Short line and regional 

railroads have some of the most innovative and successful marketing initiatives in today’s 

railroad industry. ASLRRA’s Marketing Awards Competition is a prime opportunity to 

demonstrate this fact to your peers, while also proving to present and potential customers how 

effectively you operate. 

All entries must be mailed and received by ASLRRA before Friday, February 15, 2013. Please 

send six copies of your submission to the following address: 

ATTN: Jenny Bourque, Director – Marketing

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association 

50 F Street, NW, Suite 7020 

Washington, DC 20001 

Feel free to contact Jenny with any questions or requests for additional information at 

(202)585-3449 or jbourque@aslrra.org. 

And from Dave Whorton comes this reminder about the Safety Awards: 

The Safety Person of the Year Award goes to an employee, except those considered to be 

professional safety management employees, of a member railroad who: 

• Has never had a reportable personal injury in their career 

• Works with management of their company to make their safety programs effective 

• Exhibits a high degree of safety awareness 

• Contributes off-duty time to activities promoting safety awareness in the community 

The Safety Professional of the Year Award is open to any railroad management employee of an 

ASLRRA member railroad who is responsible for safety programs, training and the overall 

management of safe behavior and actions on their railroad(s), who: 

• Is an excellent communicator, motivator and organizer 

• Is selfless in their actions, doing the job for results, not recognition 

• Consistently produces documentable safety achievements, and 

• Is respected by peers, senior management and subordinates alike 

Nominations, which should be submitted in typewritten or electronic Word document format 

and not exceed two pages in length, should be emailed to Dave Whorton at 

dwhorton@aslrra.org. All nominations must be received by Friday, February 15, 2013. For more 

information and for an email copy of the information brochures for these awards, please 

contact Dave at (202) 585-3430 or dwhorton@aslrra.org. 

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RESUMES NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR ASLRRA PRESIDENT'S JOB 

Resumes and letters of interest continue to be accepted for the position of ASLRRA president. 

The successful candidate for this position will succeed Rich Timmons, who has announced his 

intention to retire no later than August 31, 2013. 

Resumes and letters of interest will be accepted by the ASLRRA Presidential Search Committee 

through Friday, March 1, 2013. They must be submitted no later than 12:00Noon ET that date 

and be emailed to aslrrasearch@gmail.com. 

A link to the search announcement on the ASLRRA website, which includes a further link to the 

complete job description, may be found at: 

http://www.aslrra.org/images/news_file/Presidential_Search_Committee_Announcement.pdf. 

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THANKS TO THE 2012 ASLRRA REGIONAL MEETING SPONSORS

Thank you to our sponsors for their contributions to the 

2012 Regional Meetings! 

Their generous support truly made these events possible. 

We know there are many vendors in the marketplace from which to choose, but we encourage 

you to buy from your Associate Members and support the folks that sustain your organization. 

Central/Pacific Region Meeting 

Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Event Sponsors 

A & K Railroad Materials, Inc. 

Atlas Railroad Construction, LLC 

Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc. 

Bartlett & West, Inc. 

BNSF Railway 

Chet’s Safety Supply 

CSX Transportation 

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. 

HDR, Inc. 

L.B. Foster Company 

McCarthy Rail Insurance Managers, Inc. 

NARS/National Academy of Railroad Sciences 

National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association 

Nevada Railroad Materials Inc. 

Omega Rail Management 

Parallel Infrastructure LLC 

Pioneer Railcorp 

Progress Rail Services, Inc. 

PS Technology, Inc. 

Railway Auditing & Management Services 

RailWorks 

RMI, a GE Transportation Company 

Union Pacific Railroad 

Unipar LLC 

Watco Companies LLC 

Zurich 

Supplier Group 

Aon Risk Services 

Bowers & Company CPA’s, PLLC 

Crouch Engineering, P.C. 

GATX Rail 

Markel Corporation 

OmniTRAX, Inc. 

Osmose Railroad Services, Inc. 

Progressive Railroading Magazine 

RailTerm 

Short Line Data Systems, Inc. 

Unitrac Railroad Materials, Inc.

Eastern Region Meeting 

Scranton, Pennsylvania 






Cambridge Communications & Signal Systems 

Canadian Pacific 


Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad 

GATX Rail 


Hatch & Kirk Inc. 

HDR, Inc. 


Lincoln Transportation Insurance Brokers, Inc. 

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc. 




N.E. Bridge Contractors 

Norfolk Southern Corporation 







RailWorks 



Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. 

Unipar LLC 

UTC | RAS Rail Systems Group 


Zurich 




Capehart Scatchard 


GATX Rail 

Koppers Inc. 





RailTerm 

Stella-Jones Corp.

Unitrac Railroad Materials, Inc. 

Southern Region Meeting 

Birmingham, Alabama 









HDR, Inc. 

Hilliard Enterprises, Inc. 


Leotek Electronics USA Corporation 

Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc. 




Norfolk Southern Corporation 






Railroad Signal International 


RailWorks 


Snap-Tite 

Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. 

V & H Inc. 


Zurich 




GATX Rail 

Hatch Mott McDonald 

Lincoln Transportation Insurance Brokers, Inc. 


National Salvage & Service Corp. 




Quality Turbocharger Components 

RailTerm 


Stella-Jones Corp.

Unitrac Railroad Materials, Inc. 

Golf Outing Sponsors 

GATX Rail 

The Greenbrier Companies 

Koppers Inc. 

National Railway Equipment Company 


Pointer Smith Contracting Corporation 


Quality Turbocharger Components 



Stella-Jones Corp. 

Be Sure to Save the Date for 

this year’s Regional Meetings! 

Eastern Region Meeting 

September 8 – 10, 2013 

Norfolk Waterside Marriott 

Norfolk, Virginia 

Southern Region Meeting 

October 20 – 22, 2013 

Omni Charlotte Hotel 

Charlotte, North Carolina 

Central/Pacific Region Meeting 

November 10 – 12, 2013 

Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa 

Newport Beach, California 

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NEWS FROM FRA: SZABO NOTES SAFEST YEAR, FRA WEBSITE REDESIGNED, 

EMERGENCY RELIEF DOCKET ESTABLISHED, POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT JOB 

POSTED 

News from the Federal Railroad Administration includes the recent appearance of its 

Administrator, Joe Szabo, at the Railway Age and Parsons Transportation Group’s International 

Conference on Communications-Based train Control on February 5. Although preliminary safety 

statistics for Full Year 2012 will not be available until next month, Mr. Szabo previewed that 

2012 would be the safest in the rail industry’s history. Mr. Szabo also commented on work to 

establish regulations called for by the Railway Safety Improvement Act of 2008, noting that FRA 

has completed 13 of 22 RSIA-mandated rules and has issued notices of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM) for five more. He added that, “Whether it comes to rail safety, or rail development, we 

will continue to build on the progress we’ve already made – and expect the industry will as 

well. As America’s rail network continues to grow, so must our efforts to continually strengthen 

railroad safety.”

Also, the FRA recently debuted its redesigned website. Among its features is a “Grants & 

Loans” webpage that highlights federal competitive discretionary programs, dedicated grant 

programs, and loan programs administered by the FRA. Included are descriptions of each and 

links to application information for those programs currently accepting applications. The link 

continues as before, www.fra.dot.gov. 

Also, FRA Administrator Szabo has declared an emergency event for the recent Winter Storm 

Nemo, with accompanying activation of the FRA Emergency Relief Docket. The declaration 

reads as follows: “Pursuant to Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 211.45, the 

Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Administrator, Joseph C. Szabo, has determined that 

the severe winter storms and blizzards in the Northeast United States, including Connecticut, 

New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine constitutes an 

'emergency event' as related to railroad operations. In making this determination, the 

Administrator notes that Governors of affected States have declared states of emergency 

and/or have activated Emergency Operations Centers. Therefore, the Administrator has 

activated the Emergency Relief Docket (FRA-2013-0001) as of February 8, 2013, and the 

emergency relief provisions of 49 CFR § 211.45 are in effect.” The declaration may be linked to 

at http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L04295. 

Finally, the FRA has announced that it is recruiting for the senior executive position of Director 

of Office Planning and Policy Analysis in its Office of Railroad Policy and Development. The 

position opened on the www.usajobs.gov website on February 6 and will close March 7, 2013, 

by which time all interested persons must apply. Additional details regarding this vacancy, 

including how to apply, can be found on the USAJOBS link at 

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/337142300. For questions regarding the vacancy 

or application procedures, please contact Nancy Coyle in FRA’s Office of Human Resources at 

nancy.coyle@dot.gov or (202) 493-6119. The vacancy announcement may also be found on the 

FRA’s website at http://www.fra.dot.gov/wapp/jobs.aspx. 

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STB PROPOSES CHANGES TO URCS 

The Surface Transportation Board has proposed several changes to its general purpose costing 

system, officially known as the Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS). URCS enables the 

Board to determine a railroad’s variable costs of providing rail transportation, to determine the 

jurisdictional threshold in rate disputes between railroads and their customers, and to 

determine whether challenged rates are reasonable. URCS also is used in proceedings involving 

proposed rail line abandonments. 

The Board is proposing to adjust the manner in which URCS calculates certain system-average 

unit costs to better reflect rail operations. The Board is also proposing to make a number of 

related changes to URCS that it says “would result in more accurate movement costs” and, 

also, to change two of its reporting requirements to support these proposals. 

Further details of the Board’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning URCS may be 

found on the STB website, www.stb.dot.gov. Once at the home page, select the “E-Library” 

tab, then “Decisions & Notices” for February 4, 2013, and then Docket EP-431. 

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USDOT DEBUTS HAZMAT RESPONSE APP 

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a new app for smartphones. The app, 

which is available for the iPhone and Android, is the digital version of the 2012 edition of the 

Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) that is published by the Office of Pipelines and 

Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The debut of the app, which may be downloaded 

from iTunes and GooglePlay, follows the distribution of more than two million free hardcopies 

of the ERG to firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and law enforcement officers. 

USDOT has said that the new app “will put this on-the-scene resource in the hands of even 

more first responders, making it easier for them to quickly look up the information they need, 

even at night when a hardcopy could be tough to read.” 

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KEL MACKAVANAGH RECOGNIZED FOR SANDY ASSISTANCE 

Kel MacKavanagh, the retired rail industry executive now leading MacKavanagh Consulting and a 

longtime friend of ASLRRA, was recently recognized with a special award by the Association. 

Mr. MacKavanagh was recognized for his assistance before, during and after Hurricane Sandy, 

which made landfall on the Eastern Seaboard last November. Basing at an office helpfully made 

available by Conrail Shared Assets in Mount Laurel, NJ, he volunteered his time to contact those 

short line railroads that had been in the storm’s path to assess their situation. He regularly 

relayed on situational updates, any needs for assistance by railroads, and any offers of 

assistance by railroads. He further provided updates from public safety authorities that were 

useful in assessing overall conditions affecting these railroads and their employees, including 

highway closures and power outages. 

Mr. MacKavanagh was presented the award at a recent meeting of the New Jersey Short Line 

and Regional Railroad Association by Dave Mears, who along with Steve Sullivan, Tom Streicher 

and Dave Whorton worked with him to coordinate the Association’s actions and initiatives in 

response to Sandy. It reads as follows: “The American Short Line and Regional Railroad 

Association extends its sincere thanks to Kelvin MacKavanagh; for his tireless facilitation of 

communication, steadfast tactical support, and expeditious collaboration with the Association 

and our member railroads in New Jersey; before, during and after Hurricane Sandy, November, 

2012; Signed, Richard F. Timmons, President.” 

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THANKS TO ALL WHO DONATED THEIR SPARE CALENDARS 

ASLRRA would like to thank all who sent us their 2013 calendars. Many are now in service in our 

offices. Those beyond what we could dutifully use have been sent to the Little Sister of the 

Poor, a nursing and convalescent center in Washington, DC. This charitable organization, which 

provides housing for those aged and in need, earlier wrote the Association to request any spare 

calendars for use by their residents, including those who are memory-challenged and for whom 

keeping track of the date is an important cognitive need. For the third year in a row, we have 

been happy to accede to their request, and have made this calendar donation in the name of 

all ASLRRA members who thoughtfully provided them. 

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FOR AMERICAN HEART MONTH, KNOW THE HEART ATTACK WARNING SIGNS 

February is American Heart Month. While you likely already know that the key to maintaining a 

healthy heart involves practicing good values of diet, exercise and stress mitigation, do you also 

know how to recognize the warning signs of the worst happening – a heart attack? 

As noted by the American Heart Association, some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but 

most of them start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Here are signs that can mean a heart 

attack is happening: 

 

 

 

 

Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that 

lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like 

uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. 

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: Symptoms can include pain or 

discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. 

Shortness of breath: This feeling often comes along with chest discomfort. But it can 

occur with or without chest discomfort. 

Other signs: These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or 

lightheadedness. 

If you or someone you’re with has one or more of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately. Get to 

the hospital right away; if you’re the one having symptoms, and you can’t access emergency 

medical services (EMS), have someone drive you to the hospital right away. Don’t drive 

yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option. 

Also during Heart Month, you may want to consider taking CPR-AED training, either for the first 

time or to re-qualify if your certification is not current. Several ASLRRA employees have taken 

this training and are certified to administer CPR and operate an AED. To its larger meetings, 

the Association brings with it an AED donated by the late Walter Rich, a device still fully 

operable and at ready. For more information on CPR-AED training in your local community, 

consult the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org or call 1.800.RED.CROSS. 

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We correct our last edition as follows: 

CORRECTIONS TO OUR LAST EDITION 

Under “ASLRRA Welcomes More New Members,” a corrected street address for the San Antonio 

Central Railroad has been furnished. It is 102 Dunton St., San Antonio, TX 78226. 

Under “Railway Age Opens Nominations For Short Line And Regional Railroads Of The Year,” 

these awards will be presented at the ASLRRA Centennial Convention on April 30, but at a 

luncheon instead of at dinner that evening. 

And finally, under “Members In The News,” a quote by Todd Hunter is attributed to Railway Age 

Magazine. It is in fact from Progressive Railroading Magazine, specifically, their January, 2013 

edition, Page 29. 

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MEMBERS IN THE NEWS 

Have something to share for the benefit of other ASLRRA members? We welcome all press 

releases and related news, not only for mention here in “Members In The News,” but 

possibly also for posting in the “Hot Tracks” section of the ASLRRA website. Email your 

info to Cara Lione at clione@aslrra.org. Please be sure to include a link to your company’s 

website that may be referenced for further information. 

Florida Central Railroad’s Manager of Safety and Training Matthew Schwerin is one of the 

winners of the 2013 Rail Safety Seminar Scholarship Award, as selected by Progressive 

Railroading Magazine. Mr. Schwerin will be recognized for his achievement at the Rail Safety 

2013 International Seminar and Expo in Orlando, FL in April......Florida East Coast Railway has 

appointed Francis Chinnici its Senior Vice President of Engineering and Purchasing. Mr. Chinnici, 

who was formerly with CSX, succeeds Robert Stevens, who is retiring......Indiana Rail Road 

recently announced the following appointments: Mike Engle as Senior Vice President and Chief 

Financial Officer; Bob Babcock as Senior Vice President of Operations and Business 

Development; and Eric Powell as Manager of Intermodal and Economic 

Development......Metrolink will acquire 20 new, low-emission, EPA Tier 4-compliant 

locomotives. A Metrolink spokesman said that the acquisition would make it the first commuter 

rail system in the U.S. to procure new Electro-Motive Diesel Tier 4 locomotives, which will also 

allow for the retirement of its Tier 0 locomotives over a three-year period......A video of a 

little girl full of excitement for taking her first train ride on the "Music City Star" commuter 

train has gone viral. The video, which may linked to at 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gma-play-day-girl-loves-trains-18429041, was featured on 

“Good Morning America” and has received nearly one million hits. The "Music City Star" is 

operated by the Nashville and Eastern Railroad......The Huey P. Long rail-highway bridge 

across the Mississippi River in New Orleans, LA will be fully opened to drivers on June 16. $1.2 

billion in improvements to the bridge are more than doubling its driving surfaces, from the 

original 18-feet wide to 43-feet wide on both sides of the bridge. The bridge is owned by the 

New Orleans Public Belt Railroad......North Shore Railroads recently began utilizing a new 

coal transloading facility on its Shamokin Valley line. The new facility features a dumping ledge 

for trucks to unload coal into open top hoppers, a 2,000-foot siding track, and a 1,500-foot 

runaround track. NSHR Director of Marketing Todd Hunter reports that these have generated 

the first rail car loadings of anthracite coal on the Shamokin Valley line in over ten 

years......Also from North Shore Railroads is a new company newsletter entitled “On Track.” 

Included in the newsletter’s first edition is a review of the NSHR’s 2012 

achievements......Progressive Railroading Magazine is soliciting nominations for its first 

“Rising Stars” recognition of up-and-coming leaders in the North American rail industry. 

Candidates are those railroaders under the age of 40 who are making a positive impact on their 

company, organization, department or team, and are viewed by others as “rising stars” of the 

rail industry. Further information, including how to nominate, will be featured in the next 

edition of this newsletter......Railinc President and CEO Allen West has been elected 2013 

Chairman of the North Carolina Technology Association, the statewide membership association 

for the technology sector. Mr. West previous served as this association’s Vice 

Chairman......Attorney John Heffner of Strasburger Price LLP is scheduled to present oral 

arguments on behalf of Indiana Box Car Company on February 21. The case is being argued in 

the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC and involves a Railroad Retirement Board ruling 

that calls for extending Railroad Retirement coverage to employees of short line holding 

companies additional to employees of the railroads they hold......Utah Transit Authority has 

partnered with the City of Draper, UT to build a railway heritage exhibit at the Draper Town 

Center TRAX light rail station. The exhibit includes a retired Pacific Fruit Express refrigerated 

box car in recognition of Draper once being known as the “Egg Basket of America” and 

pioneering the production and distribution by rail of its “milk-white eggs"......Vermont

Governor Peter Shumlin has a proposed a FY2014 budget for his state that includes funding to 

revive passenger service between Rutland and Burlington, VT, over the Vermont Rail System. 

Gov. Shumlin said that VRS has “…expressed strong support…” for a return of passenger service, 

which would extend Amtrak’s “Ethan Allan” train north of Rutland......Watco Companies has 

appointed Mike Stickel its Vice President of Marketing. Mr. Stickel, who will base out of Indiana, 

was most recently the Vice President of Locomotive Leasing for CIT Rail and was earlier with 

the Indiana Rail Road. 

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NEW AND CHANGING RAILROADS 

A new railroad is Chessie Logistics. Assigned Reporting Mark CLCY and AAR Rule 260 Code 167, 

it will operate approximately one mile of track in Melrose Park, IL and interchange with the 

Indiana Harbor Belt at RVT Jct., IL. It was expected to start operations on or about February 5, 

2013. Its contact information is as follows: A.R. Thompson, General Manager, Chessie Logistics 

Co. LLC, 1001 Green Bay Rd. Unit 204, Winnetka, IL 60093, Phone: (888) 730-2054, Fax: (847) 

386-2082, Email: arthompson@chessielogistics.com. 

Attendant with the startup of the Heart of Texas Railroad (see “ASLRRA Welcomes More New 

Members” above), the AAR and Railinc have expired the Reporting Mark (GCSR) and Rule 260 

Code (285) of the Gulf Colorado & San Saba Railway. 

Another new railroad is the Ohio Terminal Railway. Assigned Reporting Mark OHIO and AAR 

Rule 260 Code 988, it will operate approximately 12 miles of line between Powhatan Point and 

Omal, OH, and interchange with Norfolk Southern at Clarington, OH. It was expected to start 

operations on or about January 30, 2013. Its contact information is as follows: Beth Forest, 

Customer Service Manager, Ohio Terminal Railway Company, 519 Cedar Way, Building 1, Suite 

100, Oakmont, PA 15139, Phone: (412) 426-2800, Fax: (412) 426-8800, Email: 

customer@carloadexpress.com. 

And finally, another new railroad is the Western Washington LLC. Assigned Reporting Mark 

WWR and Rule 260 Code 659, it will operate eight miles of line between Blakeslee Jct. and 

Chehalis, WA. It will interchange with the Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad and Tacoma Rail at 

Blakeslee Jct. and with the BNSF and Union Pacific at Chehalis. It was expected to start 

operations on or about February 1, 2013. Its contact information is as follows: Toby J. Van 

Altvorst, Managing Member, Western Washington Railroad LLC, P.O. Box 6720, Aloha, OR 97007, 

Phone: (541) 912-1261, Email: toby@wwrailroad.com. 

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RAIL INDUSTRY MEETINGS AND EVENTS 

February 28-March 2, 2013: American Association of Railroad Superintendents (AARS): 41st 

Winter Meeting: To be based at the Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel And Conference Center, 

3805 Lenox Road NE, Atlanta, GA. For more information, email 

aars@railroadsuperintendents.org. 

March 3-5, 2013: CSX Short Line Workshop: To be held in St. Augustine, FL. For more

information, contact Len_Kellermann@csx.com. 

March 4-6, 2013: ShipXpress User Meeting: To be held in Atlantic Beach, FL at the One Ocean 

Resort and Spa Atlantic Beach. For more information, contact Sharon Middleton at 

sharon.middleton@shipxpress.com or (904) 241-5850. 

March 5, 2013: 18th Annual AAR Research Review: To be held at the Pueblo Convention Center, 

Pueblo, CO. For more information, email annual.review@aar.com. 

March 11, 2013: University of Tennessee Railroad Track Inspection And Safety Standards 

Workshop: To be held in Chattanooga, TN. For more information, link to 

http://ctr.utk.edu/ttap or email Jenny Jones at gohjones@utk.edu. 

March 14, 2013: Railroad Day On Capitol Hill: Hosted by ASLRRA, AAR, NRC, REMSA, RSI, RSSI 

and RTA. To be based at the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel in Washington, DC. 

For complete details, link to 

http://www.aslrra.org/meetings___seminars/Railroad_Day_on_Capitol_Hill/. 

March 18, 2013: University of Wisconsin Introduction to Railroad Engineering and Operations 

Course: To be held in Chicago, IL. For more information, link to 

http://epd.engr.wisc.edu/webN738. 

March 19-21, 2013: University of Tennessee Railroad Track Design Workshop: To be held in 

Knoxville, TN. For more information, link to http://ctr.utk.edu/ttap or email Jenny Jones at 

gohjones@utk.edu. 

March 21-23, 2013: Transportation Research Forum Annual Meeting: To be held at the 

Doubletree Annapolis Hotel in Annapolis, MD For more information, contact 

jack.ventura@verizon.net. 

April 15-17, 2013: Joint Rail Conference: Hosted by the University of Tennessee Center for 

Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. For more information, link 

to http://www.asmeconferences.org/JRC2013/. 

April 16, 2013: NRC Rail Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction: To be held at 

Blackmon Auction’s facility in Little Rock, AR. For more information, contact Ashley Bosch at 

abosch@nrcma.org. 

April 16-18, 2013: 2013 Eastern Region (see note) Highway-Rail Crossing Conference and 

Exposition: To be held in Worcester, MA. For more information, link to 

www.nerailroadclub.com. Note: This event is hosted by the New England Railroad Club and the 

Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and is not affiliated with the ASLRRA Eastern 

Region. 

April 17, 2013: New Jersey TransAction Conference 2013: To be held at the Tropicana Hotel, 

Casino and Conference Center in Atlantic City, NJ. For more information, email 

njtransaction@aol.com. 

April 27-30, 2013: ASLRRA Centennial Convention: To be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis 

in Atlanta, GA. Save the dates - and watch for more details coming soon!

May 8-10, 2013: Association of Car Accounting and Car Services Officers (ACACSO) Spring 

Meeting: To be held in Las Vegas, NV. For more information, link to www.acacso.org. 

May 22-24, 2013: University of Tennessee Timber and Steel Railroad Bridges Workshop: To be 

held in Knoxville, TN. For more information, link to http://ctr.utk.edu/ttap or email 

gohjones@utk.edu. 

May 28-31, 2013: FRA Region 5 Seminar: Hosted by the Brownsville & Rio Grande Railroad. To 

be held at the Isla Grand Beach Resort, South Padre Island, TX. For more information, email 

Irma Garza at igarza@brgrr.com or Norma Torres at ntorres@brgrr.com. 

June 10-12, 2013: GE Transportation Optimization Solutions 24th Annual client Conference: to 

be held in Atlanta, GA. This is the former RMI User Group And Commercial Conference. Save the 

dates – and watch for more details coming soon! 

June 17-19, 2013: 2013 AAR Damage Prevention and Freight Claims Conference: To be held at 

the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, TX. For more information, email 

gary.held@aar.com. 

June 17-19, 2013: Norfolk Southern Short Line Meeting: To be held in Roanoke, VA. Save the 

date – and watch for more details coming soon! 

August 26-28, 2013: Union Pacific Short Line Conference: To be held in Omaha, NE. Save the 

date – and watch for more details coming soon! 

September 8-10, 2013: ASLRRA Eastern Region Meeting: To be held at the Norfolk Waterside 

Marriott in Norfolk, Virginia. Save the date – and watch for more details coming soon! 

October 13-15, 2013: ASLRRA Southern Region Meeting: To be held at the Omni Charlotte 

Hotel, Charlotte, North Carolina. Save the date – and watch for more details coming soon! 

October 22-22, 2013: BNSF Short Line Meeting: To be held in Fort Worth, TX. Save the date - 

and watch for more details coming soon! 

November 10-12, 2013: ASLRRA Central/Pacific Region Meeting: To be held at the Newport 

Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa, Newport Beach, CA. Save the date – and watch for more details 

coming soon! 

Return To Top 

TRAFFIC STATS 

Class I Rail Traffic, Per AAR 

For the week ending February 2, 2013 and ranking with the comparable week last year: 

- U.S. carload rail traffic totaled 274,700 units, up 3.4 percent 

- U.S. intermodal rail traffic totaled 249,231 units, up 7.2 percent

- Canadian carload rail traffic totaled 75,178 units, down 2.6 percent 

- Canadian intermodal rail traffic totaled 49,713 units, down 2.9 percent 

- Mexican carload rail traffic totaled 15,434 units, up 16.2 percent 

- Mexican intermodal rail traffic totaled 9.842 units, up 1.1 percent 

For the month of January, 2013 and compared with January last year: 

- U.S. carload rail traffic totaled 1,339,604 units, down 6.3 percent 

- Carloads excluding coal and grain in January were up 1.8 percent; notable traffic increases in 

January included petroleum and petroleum products up 54.1 percent, lumber and wood 

products up 14.6 percent, and crushed stone, sand and gravel up 6.1 percent; and notable 

traffic decreases in January included iron and steel scrap down 18.7 percent, coal down 14.5 

percent, and grain down 11.0 percent. 

- U.S. intermodal rail traffic totaled 1,168,630 units, up 5.3 percent 

- Canadian rail traffic totaled 372,517 units, up 1.8 percent 

- Canadian intermodal rail traffic totaled 251,231 units, up 6.3 percent 

- Mexican rail traffic totaled 68,426 units, up 6.9 percent 

- Mexican intermodal rail traffic totaled 43,539 units, down 3.6 percent 

Short Line Traffic, Per the RMI RailConnect Traffic Index 

The RMI RailConnect Index is waybill-based and totals shipments billed by non-Class I railroads 

using RMI billing products. This data is calculated weekly. 

-For the week ending February 2, 2013 and ranked with the comparable week last year, carload 

and iintermodal units totaled 139,863 units, up 5.83 percent 

- For the first five weeks ending February 2, 2013 and ranked with the first five weeks of last 

year, carload and intermodal units totaled 676,818 units, up 5.61 percent 

To view the complete index, which includes data for 426 railroads, link to 

http://www.rmiondemand.com/files/rci/archive/2013/railconnect_index_05_2013.pdf 

Return To Top 

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE DEADLINES 

January 1, 2013: 

• All wideband (25KHz) railroad radio transmissions prohibited, per FCC (questions to Dave 

Mears) 

• 24-hour Hours of Service interpretation in effect, per FRA (questions to Tom Streicher)

• Accident reporting threshold now $9,900, per FRA (questions to Tom Streicher) 

January 31, 2013: 

• Class III railroads' proposed conductor certification programs due for approval, per FRA 

(questions to Tom Streicher) 

April 1, 2013: 

• Class III railroads' conductor certification programs in effect, per FRA (questions to Tom 

Streicher) 

July 1, 2013: 

• Roadway Worker Protection adjacent track regulations in effect, per FRA (questions to Tom 

Streicher) 

July 1, 2015: 

• Highway-rail grade crossing emergency notification systems and enhanced signage must be in 

place (questions to Tom Streicher) 

November 28, 2015: 

• All locomotives and freight cars must carry reflectorized markings (questions to Dave Mears) 

Return To Top 

HELPFUL LINKS (INCLUDING A NEW ONE!) 

Railway Accounting Rules: The latest version of the Railway Accounting Rules, as of 

December 1, 2012, is now available online as a PDF on the Railinc website. To read and/or 

download it, link to www.railinc.com, then select the "Products and Services" tab, then 

select "Railroad Clearinghouse," and then at bottom, select "Railway Accounting Rules." 

ASLRRA: For the ASLRRA public website, link to www.aslrra.org. For the members-only website, 

link to https://members.aslrra.org. 

Buy American Requirements: The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched a webpage 

that provides information about the federal requirements for transportation infrastructure 

projects that must incorporate American-made products. The webpage consolidates access to 

the Buy America provisions across all USDOT agencies. Link to the webpage at 

www.dot.gov/buyamerica. 

Car Hire and Car Service Rules (OT-10): The OT-10 details the rules of car hire and car service, 

which regulates the flow of freight cars throughout the U.S. Railinc’s Jim Moran notes that 

“…Circular OT-10 is the official source of Car Service and Car Hire Rules, the Car Service/Car 

Hire Subscriber List, Special Car Orders and Car Service Directives, OT Circulars 3, 5 and 28, and 

Car Hire and Superstructure Rate tables.” To download the PDF of OT-10 off the Railinc 

website, link to https://www.railinc.com/rportal/alf_docs/Circulars/OT-10.pdf. 

FAMES: An introduction to the work of the Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-Way Employees 

and Signalmen Working Group, a.k.a. FAMES Committee, is available at 

http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0245. 

FRA: The Federal Railroad Administration now has social media sites. For its Facebook page, 

link to www.facebook.com/USDOTFRA. For its Twitter, link to 

http://www.twitter.com/USDOTFRA.

Funding Sources: AASHTO and ASLRRA have collaborated to prepare profiles of financial 

assistance programs offered by states to help short line and regional railroads. These profiles, 

which are listed in state order, may be reviewed by linking to 

http://rail.transportation.org/Pages/rail_success.aspx. 

Narrowband Migration: The AAR Spectrum Management Office, which manages railroad radio 

frequencies and is coordinating the industry’s changeover from wideband to narrowband radio 

operation, now lists Class I railroad narrowband migration schedule at 

http://www.aar.com/aar_rf.php. The ASLRRA website also features an informational page on 

the transition to narrowband. It includes key dates, related website links and documents, and 

important topics. Link to the ASLRRA narrowband page at 

www.aslrra.org/regulatory/narrowbanding/. 

Railinc and Embargo/OPSL Notes: For the Railinc website, link to www.railinc.com. To use the 

Railinc AAR Embargo/OPSL Notes & Permit System, which includes both embargoes and open & 

prepay station (OPSL) notes, link to http://aarembargo.railinc.com. 

Railroad Retirement and Job Vacancies: For the Railroad Retirement Board website and to 

check the Railroad Retirement Board’s Railroad Jobs Vacancies page, link to 

www.rrb.gov/PandS/Jobs/rrjobs.asp. 

Railroaders’ Guide To Healthy Sleep: The website gives information on how railroaders may 

gain better sleep and sleep habits. It contains videos and numerous other tools to help railroads 

stay safe on the job, including instructions on how to listen to your body clock and how to 

recognize sleep apnea, and also has an interactive feature that allows one to test their reaction 

time. Link to the website at www.railroadersleep.com. 

SOFA Quarterly Reports: Statistical reports for the FRA’s Switching Operations Fatality Analysis 

(SOFA) initiative may be reviewed by linking to 

www.aslrra.org/safety___training/SOFA_Reports/. 

Return To Top 

Views & News is published by the 

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association 

(202) 628-4500 FAX (202) 628-6430 aslrra@aslrra.org 

Dave Mears, Editor 

Special thanks to Jenny Bourque, Kathy Cassidy, Cheryl Huyck, Elizabeth Petty and David Whorton for their 

contributions to this edition

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