New Railroad? Suffolk & Southern

Please leave me alone !!!!!!

They have a new sign up on the property saying that that got financing for the project so maybe work will start soon.

I can see it now... Black engines, white stripes, and a duck's head instead of a pony. Suffolk Southern... ok..

Well, since this is a Long Island rail project, of course it's running off the rails:

STB Doc
So, we start off OK:

On May 18, 2007, Suffolk & Southern Rail Road LLC (Suffolk), a noncarrier, filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to lease from Sills Road Realty, LLC (Sills), a noncarrier, approximately 11,000 feet of track that Suffolk states Sills is currently constructing in Yaphank, Suffolk County, NY, and to operate over it.[1] Suffolk’s notice stated that as a result of this transaction it would provide common carrier freight service to all potential customers and use the track and related facilities to handle up to 500,000 tons of construction aggregate per year.

But then, of course, the usual shenanigans begin:

On June 15, 2007, Suffolk filed a letter with the Board, stating that it has decided to withdraw its notice of exemption due to a “change in circumstances.” Suffolk did not provide the supplemental information required by the June 1 decision. Nor did Suffolk provide the Board with a substantive reason for its attempted withdrawal.

So, is the S & S dead? We may or may not find out on 23 August:

Suffolk is directed to file, by August 23, 2007, the information required by the June 1 decision. In addition, under the circumstances here, Suffolk must provide a substantive reason for its attempted withdrawal and explain in more detail whether it or Sills anticipates that for-hire service will be provided over the trackage being constructed.

With the STB themselves putting “change in circumstances.” in quotes, sounds like even they are buying this bullcrap anymore...

It's still moving forward. Ground has been broken and a large parcel of woods next to the main line has been cleared away.

There's some big players and big money behind this project. It will probably happen. Just what has taken place so far is worlds ahead of the Pilgrim Intermodal facility, which has been studied to death for what now, 20 years?

Jay

Maybe I can get a job there. I have experience in this field and live right up the street. The guy who ran the track car on the Bushwick lives even closer and told me it is still a couple of years off, you can thank the Brookhaven Economic Development zone for the progress of the project. Does anybody remember that sign on Hoseblock Rd. next to Grucci LIRR siding possible with industrial buildings? It was out there for years, interested to see the wages being offered at new railroad...

I looked at the site and it is moving forward. They might have just decided not to start a new RR and just contract it out with another shortline. There is a sign in front of the gate saying US Rail on it. Their website is: http://www.usrailcorp.com/

Believe it when you see it ...

And when you throw in another Railroad into the freight bill mix, the stink loses its luster:

SSRR -> NYA -> CSXT or ...
SSRR -> NYA -> NYNJ -> NS

Dont think that the penny pinchers wont be looking to squeeze the pennies out of anything out of SSRR.

And what if they're not union? What will the BLET think about that (I think nothing)

Sparkles, Not Yet A Railroad(way) will probably operate the concession. I will ride my bike up to the tracks to watch you switch on the Suffolk& Southern. A another railroad with an ampersand might be doing the switching however! Take it from a freightguy.....

I saw that aerial pic on the front of Newsday! Where is baseball Heaven(across), how recent is that photo? That is like not showing the Heartland Industrial Park on the Edgewood property! Does Dick Amper know about this photo? Any replies would be greatly appreciated....

Well, dude, at least give the rest of the story, wereas US Rail Corp (Ohio) was going the 'federal trumps local government' route (which it may in this case), and neglected to get permits.
The reason given for dropping the Suffolk & Southern RR was because 'the process because unduly complex and complicated'
There's quite a bit more in the article, which actually seems somewhat researched and reasoned, a rarity for Snoozeday...

I'd love to know where the "nearby residents" are located though. The area is zoned industrial, and there are no homes in the immediate area. The closet homes are about 1 mile west, and they're already located close to industry. Geez - if they can put up with Gershow, the railroad should be a no-brainer.

Greg - Baseball Heaven is diagonally across the railroad tracks and the highway from the S&S site.

Jay

Ut oh...

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readin ... enDocument

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readin ... enDocument

I love this..
"Here, there is no evidence in the record that the “Brookhaven Rail Terminal” and the NY&AR would operate over each other’s track, nor do the petitioners argue that the “Brookhaven Rail Terminal” is a “spur” of the NY&AR. Rather, they argue that it is a disconnected “spur” off the main line of U S Rail, whose line in Jackson, OH, is several hundred miles from Brookhaven. "

EGADS! that's seems to me like a lotta legal mumbo jumbo for Sill Road to end run the STB to build a rail spur in yaphank. I'm guessing they shanghaid U.S. Rail, an existing RR, to bring some mearue of RR credence to their plot. My guess is that whatever "product" gets trnasloaded in Yaphank will wind up in Ohio, on U.S. Rail property. Remember boys and girls, Ohio is the landfill of the nation (cough, MSW, cough).

Nice try to RK and the layers at sills road .. if it smells like spam, feels like spam, and tastes like spam .. its not filet mignon.