Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) Discussion

On "Friends of the Grafton & Upton Railroad"'s Facebook page, there is posted: "A reference was made at the last Grafton Selectmen's meeting (3/18) that Grafton town staff had met with Senator Warren's staff about the propane facility situation." along with this video. "Friends of the Grafton & Upton Railroad" notes the time of the reference in the video as: 116.49.

folks. thanks for the posts. i remain certain that an increase if road gvw to 97k will provide opportunities for g&u. simply, it would position g&u into a hub & spoke environment wherein g&u's superior weight and volume attributes would match those in the delivery environment. i wasn't opining on tofc/cofc. those moves, for a variety or reasons, are not reasonable for g&u. a matching of rail/road in the bulk markets would be the objective. ken patrick

KEN PATRICK wrote:folks. thanks for the posts. i remain certain that an increase if road gvw to 97k will provide opportunities for g&u. simply, it would position g&u into a hub & spoke environment wherein g&u's superior weight and volume attributes would match those in the delivery environment. i wasn't opining on tofc/cofc. those moves, for a variety or reasons, are not reasonable for g&u. a matching of rail/road in the bulk markets would be the objective. ken patrick

KEN, you can't simply increase GVW for the "delivery environment" without also increasing it in the linehaul environment, which would lessen rail's competitive advantage. Your increase in GVW would more likely lead to a loss of business/opportunity for the G&U with the loss of CARLOAD business to over-the-road or TOFC/COFC. That's why professional railroaders don't like increases in truck weight or size limits.

qb52; au contraire. 97k gvw will improve tofc. numbers yield that at 80k tofc carries about 50 tons per flat. at 97k , 74 tons. given 'no greed' railroad pricing, this is a 48% gross margin to play with. can clearly do some damage to long haul trucking. cofc? even better especially when you factor in the costs of off-loading containers to conform to 80K. i maintain that increased road gvw will improve intermodal profitability. unfortunately, the congnoscenti are victims of knee-jerk reactions to anything that improves trucking without thinking of the prositive impact on intermodal. ken patrick

The following was posted by "Friends of The Grafton & Upton Railroad" on Facebook today (03/27/2014). I have been unable to locate a copy elsewhere.

DISCLAIMER: I am unable to locate a copy of this independently. I cannot confirm the accuracy of this information. Anyone taking any action based on this posting does so at their own peril.

Media Release received from G & U Railroad

Grafton and Upton Railroad ·
929 Boston Post Road East ·
Marlborough, MA · 01752

For Immediate Release Contact: Doug Pizzi
March 26, 2014 508-251-2599 (office)
508-314-7988 (cell)

Town of Grafton STB response, inaccurate, misleading

GRAFTON - Representatives of the Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) expressed surprise today to the factually erroneous and misleading statement filed by the Town of Grafton (Town) on Thursday, March 20th, with the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB). Faced with a legally untenable position, the Town has chosen to raise issues that are either irrelevant to the STB’s examination or are completely inaccurate.

At the direction of the STB, the railroad filed additional information last month reconfirming that the G&U has no partners in this endeavor and that it has both the ability to finance and to operate the facility using only its own resources and employees.

Both the railroad and the town’s filings were given in response to the STB’s request for further information in the declaratory order process initiated by the STB. The STB initiated that process at the railroad’s request in order to decide the merits of the Town’s effort to stop the railroad from building and operating a liquid propane gas (LPG) transloading facility at the North Grafton rail yard on Westboro Road.

At issue in the proceeding before the STB is whether local zoning and permitting regulations are preempted by federal law for purposes of the railroad’s construction and operation of the LPG terminal.

“There are so many problems with the town’s filing it’s hard to know where to begin,” said railroad owner Jon Delli Priscoli. “The town’s entire filing appears to be based upon Google searches and incorrect and misleading conclusions.”

The Town’s arguments concerning NGL Terminal of Tulsa Oklahoma (NGL) are particularly troubling because under Town Counsel’s questioning of the G&U during the federal court trial, the railroad specifically stated that NGL Tulsa is not the propane company that the G&U contracted with regarding the establishment of the propane facility. The inaccuracy of the Town’s statements is further clarified in the G&U’s post trial submission that named NGL Supply Co. LTD of Sarnia, Ontario Canada (NGL Canada) as the propane company that was originally involved with the propane facility, and that NGL Tulsa is a separate, unrelated company. It is disingenuous at best for the Town to feign ignorance of the testimony that it brought out at trial by making such a glaring misstatement in its response to the STB. The Town's effort to raise a phantom issue by ignoring facts it has knowledge of speaks volumes about the merits of its position.

-more-

Currently, as stated in the G&U’s February submission to the STB, the railroad does not have any business relationships with NGL Canada and NGL Canada will have no role in the operation of the facility, which will be run solely by the G&U. In doing so, the railroad will hire experienced experts in the transloading of propane.

Furthermore, in an attempt to show that the G&U would not be able to finance and build the transloading facility on its own, the town provides an incomplete and inaccurate picture of Mr. Delli Priscoli’s business holdings. Specifically, the town completely omits some properties, undervalues properties it does list, undervalues business income from those properties and undervalues Mr. Delli Priscoli’s equity position in those properties.

The Town's professed concern about the G&U's ability to finance the proposed propane transloading facility appears to be an attempt to confuse the issues. The Town is well aware that the financial wherewithal of an applicant is not a prerequisite for the application of federal preemption. In any event, it is disingenuous at best to attempt to take a piecemeal approach by using only portions of some of the available public records, out of context and without any ability to understand such records fully, to try to demonstrate the financial resources of a privately held business that has substantial financial assets outside of its railroad business.

The town’s incomplete, inaccurate response only serves to muddy Mr. Delli Priscoli’s financial picture when Mr. Delli Priscoli and his many companies are in very solid financial condition.

“The fact that the Town of Grafton has misidentified who the G&U had a business relationship with and continues to do so should cause serious doubt in people’s minds about the town’s position in this undertaking, “ said Mr. Delli Priscoli. “It is now time for the Town to accept once and for all the fact that the G&U has terminated all relationships with all other propane companies, and that the railroad will construct and operate the propane transfer facility on its own.”

Mr. Delli Priscoli added that he expects a favorable decision from the STB in the near future.

The propane transfer facility the G&U proposes is designed and engineered with every possible safety system and control. The G&U will complete the construction and operate the facility, with the safety of the public as its first concern, just as it has done in the rail yards in Upton and Hopedale.

###

“Ship by Rail,
Ship GURR”

Grafton and Upton Railroad · 929 Boston Post Road East · Marlborough, MA · 01752

DISCLAIMER: I am unable to locate a copy of this independently. I cannot confirm the accuracy of this information. Anyone taking any action based on this posting does so at their own peril.

New on the Friend of the G&U page.
The STB response to the last filling buy the town saying the G&U is almost bankrupt . Basically the G&U says that the town misleads and flat out can't add. Basically they say the town is forgetting that it moves freight to Hopedale and that business is growing.
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... enDocument
Have fun.

This post may attract Trolls

[quote="On Apr. 1, 2014 @ 1:10 am In an article entitled "Upton residents say railroad spill paperwork changes case", Mike Gleason of the Milford Daily News staff"]

UPTON - Seven residents seeking a federal ruling on Grafton & Upton Railroad activities now claim paperwork filed in the wake of a chemical spill proves their case.

The residents in 2012 requested the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) rule that certain work - including wood pellet packaging and transloading - at the Maple Avenue rail yard does not qualify as transportation activities, and would therefore not be exempt from town bylaws.

In a petition to the board filed late last week, the residents claim that paperwork submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about a December spill of the chemical styrene disproves the railroad's claim that it performs transloading duties at the yard.

According to the petition, another company - Dana Container, Inc. - has claimed liability for the spill and is listed as the only party responsible for it, as opposed to the railroad's entity, Grafton Upton Railcare.[/quote]

Read the whole story at: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article ... 12410/NEWS

The Mass DEP filings in question can be viewed here: http://public.dep.state.ma.us/fileviewe ... =2-0019074

To save you from re-looking-up the STB filings etc., they are at: http://www.stb.dot.gov/home.nsf/case?op ... FD_35652_0

"We report, you decide"..

unfortunately for G&U, the town is right. the 'assets' are illiquid, i.e. mortgaged. and not 'owned' by G&U. whatg would take this issue off the table would be an irrevocable bond in the towns favor. i doubt that this could be bonded however. my experience with bonding is that they aren't easily enforceable-if at all.
the alexandria direct from car to truck transload was pre-empted according to stb. unfortuntely, alexandria is challenging this.
i hope stb does the right thing and rule transloads are not pre-empted. ken patrick

Just an FYI - road bed reconstruction is now going on between Hopedale and Rt 140 in Milford. The old ties/rails have been removed. A new base is being graded near Green St.

[quote="On 10 April 2014 In an article entitled "Town accuses Grafton & Upton Railroad for lacking transparency", Richard Price of The Grafton Villager"]

Town accuses Grafton & Upton Railroad for lacking transparency



The following is a press release from the Office of the Town Administrator

In response to recent claims by G&U Railroad that the Town’s recent Safety Transportation Board’s filing was inaccurate and misleading, the Town states as follows.

First, the railroad’s statement that the STB proceedings were initiated at its request is factually inaccurate, In fact, in June of 2013, a Worcester Superior Court judge issued an injunction against the railroad, prohibiting its continued construction of the LPG facility. The judge ordered the parties to initiate STB proceedings, but the Town had been attempting to get the matter before the STB since December of 2012. At that time, the railroad objected and instead attempted to divert the matter to federal court. The Superior Court’s order was issued after the federal court sent the case back to the Supenor Court, ruling that there was no federal court jurisdiction over the matter as the town had argued all along.

In its March 20, 2014 filing, the Town pointed out that, aside from Mr. Delli Priscoli’s own self-serving statements, the railroad has not submitted one single shred of verifiable information (such as balance sheets, etc) demonstrating that it has the financial ability, personnel, or expertise to construct and run what would be the largest LPG facility in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Due to this complete lack of transparency, the Town relied on publicly available documents (such as recorded deeds and mortgages) to demonstrate that the LLCs and assets that Mr. Priscoli relies upon to support his contention that he has the requisite financial ability to construct the facility are actually highly leveraged. In short the documents collected and presented by the Town show a very different financial picture than the one the railroad attempted to paint.[/quote]

Read the whole article at The Grafton Villager,s web site

On reading the whole article, the ending two paragraphs seem to say to me that the town's government realizes that they may lose this battle.. Just my opinion.

They're swinging their sword and then throwing their hands up to proclaim innocence, poking the cat and playing the victim when it swipes. It certainly is a different tone in the last two paragraphs than from the rest of everything leading up to this point. It's interesting to me that they claim they're winning when just about every ruling we've seen has been in the railroad's favor. It certainly seems that the railroad entered this endeavor with a sound plan, and the town is flailing about trying to break it up. The results of that are in the midst of being witnessed.

All i want to say is thank you to Mr. D for bringing many good paying jobs to the area. Amen

I had a look around Milford on Thursday, April 17 2014. There was some active ROW rebuilding going on between South Main and Cape Road in Milford; also some visible from the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church on Hopedale Street in Hopedale. I snapped some photos in the area, but only a few show rebuilding activity:

South Cedar Street: CSX line with detached G&U switch, looking South (toward Bellingham/Franklin along CSX), and at the G&U Milford Yard area (currently with all tracks removed). Large pile of removed ties in the background.
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1572.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1573.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1575.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

South Cedar Street: CSX line looking North (toward Depot Street)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1574.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Vernon Street crossing, looking east (toward G&U Milford yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1576.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Vernon Street crossing, looking west (toward Hopedale yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1577.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Depot St. behind Pinz, looking east (toward Milford yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1578.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Depot St. behind PInz, looking west (toward Hopedale yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1579.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

South Main Street, looking west (toward Hopedale yard) - active ROW work in progress. Rails and ties removed, looks like they were preparing ROW for new track.
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1580.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1581.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1582.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cape Road (Rt. 140) looking east (toward Milford yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1583.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cape Road (Rt. 140) looking west (toward Hopedale yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1584.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"The Driveway" off Green Street
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1585.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Green Street, looking west (toward Hopedale yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1586.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1588.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Green Street, looking east (toward Milford yard)
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1587.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Hopedale Street, from the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church: active ROW work
http://www.p-vector.com/images/GU-2014- ... G_1589.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers,
- Bob

Thanks for the great pix Bob!
Obviously the G&U has got some cold hard cash on hand to have gotten that work done.

CSX/MBTA want this done?