by Gilbert B Norman
There is no longer a Forum for general discussion of railfanning, but I believe this New York Times article appearing this past Wednesday, has reporting that anyone railfanning should keep in mind:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/busin ... ecret.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Brief passage:
Even 'back in my day' when I was employed within the industry, I quickly learned that any information appearing on a waybill, such as lading, rates, and routing and be it one car or a unit train, is privileged and can only be released to the public on a need to know basis. I was long gone from the industry before both 9/11 and the proliferation of handling crude oil, on which clearly, as the article describes, there has been a learning curve regarding safe movement of such.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/busin ... ecret.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Brief passage:
- Jodi Ross, town manager in Westford, Mass., did not expect she would be threatened with arrest after she and her fire chief went onto the railroad tracks to find out why a train carrying liquid petroleum gas derailed on a bridge in February.
But as they reached the accident site northwest of Boston, a manager for Pan Am Railways called the police, claiming she was trespassing on rail property. The cars were eventually put back on the tracks safely, but the incident underlined a reality for local officials dealing with railroads.
“They don’t have to tell us a thing,” Ms. Ross said. “It’s a very arrogant attitude.”
American railroads have long operated under federal laws that shield them from local or state oversight and provide a blanket of secrecy over much of their operations. But now a rapid rise in the number of trains carrying crude oil — along with a series of derailments and explosions — has brought new concern about the risks of transporting dangerous cargo by rail.
Even 'back in my day' when I was employed within the industry, I quickly learned that any information appearing on a waybill, such as lading, rates, and routing and be it one car or a unit train, is privileged and can only be released to the public on a need to know basis. I was long gone from the industry before both 9/11 and the proliferation of handling crude oil, on which clearly, as the article describes, there has been a learning curve regarding safe movement of such.