Old Chester Valley connection at Bridgeport removed?

[69chargerse]

I noticed last week that the old Chester Valley Railroad line from Bridgeport to Henderson Road in King of Prussia had the crossing lights removed and the rails cut at the road crossings. Yesterday I saw that the rails and ties were removed, and stacked on the side. Does anybody know what's going on? I know this was a privately owned RR spur.

[JimBoylan]

Which crossings, please? They were in the business of storing freight cars on the line, as reported in a previous post.

[jrevans]

It has been formally abandoned by the East Penn Railroad.

Montgomery County is making it into a trail. Here's the latest STB filing about the trail:
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... enDocument

You can go here:
http://www.stb.dot.gov/home.nsf/Enhance ... orm&Type=F
And search for docket: AB 1020 1 X
to see all of the filings related to the case.

Rumors has it that NW2 #9008 is being cut up and scrapped on site beneath the PA turnpike overpass.

[glennk419]

Another remnant of the Reading gone forever.

Unfortunately, that trail will be going through some rough areas.

[69chargerse]

Thanks for the info jrevans.
Jim, every road the tracks crossed, they were cut away and removed. Work crews have been there the last couple of days. Early last week I saw the crossing signal on Dekalb St being removed. Late last week is when I noticed a track hoe on Ross Rd pulling the rails.

[pistolpete66]

They were in the business of storing freight cars on the line...

They are in the business of making a profit, at all costs.

It appears that the business practices of East Penn's successor, Regional Rail, LCC, are driven by profit. The empire that John Nolan at East Penn built up with sweat is being chipped away at by Robert C. Parker at Regional Rail.

Since purchasing East Penn in August 2007, they wasted little time trying to abandon the Colebrookdale Branch barely six months later, despite there being customers on the line. Berks County saved the line in, buying it in a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation auction for $155,000. Penn Eastern operated it for the county for a short time, then bought it for $177,000. Berks County stepped in and Parker then rasied the sell price based on its scrap value, $2,162,018. When asked in the press, "East Penn officials were unavailable for comment." Not too shady...

Chester Valley line was probably the most expendable. Problem is that is in Montgomery County, who is on a mission to convert as many rail lines into trails as possible, regardless of their location, accessibility and safety. This line is proof of that.

John Nolan was in the railroad business and was more accessible. Parker is obviously a businessman who is in business to simply make money.

Very very sad and very very American.

[Pacobell73]

I have to agree with Pistolpete. That branch was not even two miles long. There is no reason that could not have been used for storage indefintely. NS has been doing it with the Phoenixville I.T. for several years (trains stopped in 2004, approx.). Can't wait to see what branch the Regional Rail chops away at. I think they think they are a Conrail. Abandon their way to profitability.

The orange vehicle had the company name "Lancaster and Northern" on it.

[rob216]

Some people need to see that the amount of traffic or the lack of it, was not even coming close to making a profit for those lines. Also some people need to see that not everything came be "saved". Sometimes you just need to cut your losses somewhere be fore it takes you down. This line did not have any active customers in years and sure didnt have coming at all.

[pistolpete66]

Some people need to see that the amount of traffic or the lack of it, was not even coming close to making a profit for those lines. Also some people need to see that not everything came be "saved". Sometimes you just need to cut your losses somewhere be fore it takes you down. This line did not have any active customers in years and sure didnt have coming at all.

You're right. It's all about profit, nothing more. That type of limited forsight is what doomed American railroads last time around. Leasing lines, storage, speeders RWT, many options. I find it rather peculiar that once Regional Rail came into the picture, they have spent all their energies trimming what few lines they operate. Just because the line is not serving a purpose now does not mean it will not serve a purpose ten years from now. EPR actually upgraded many of the crossings on the Chester Valley line because traffic was still moving on it. The Boyertown line is now in the hands of the county, who has farrrrr more forsight and sees its potential. The only difference is that they are actually working to make the line work. Regional Rail is a shady group. The Boyertown line was controversial and not once did they talk to the press to explain their reasoning. For a company that is in the business of service customers and establishing was one would hope would be a good reputation, they are hostile at best.

[Pacobell73]

This is a very very very American way of thinking: too absorbed in the present to worry about the future. Hastily cutting a loss now will only create a major loss for the future.

[Tom_E_Reynolds]

There is always more to the story then most people are aware of. Politics plays a really big part. The township could have stepped up and saved the line if they wanted, like what happened to the Boyertown line, but they didn't. My bet is the township didn't really want the types of businesses on the end of the line...a recycling center...in the middle of their mall centric commerce zones. But that is just my guess.

And, sorry to say, its rare to find a company that will hold onto an asset (an un-used rail line) and continue to pay taxes and insurance on that asset in the hopes that maybe in 10 years someone might want it. Yes, they were "for-profit" short-line, but even "non-profits" need money to run, and can't have their expenses be higher then what they bring in. In fact, I would like to believe that the rails they took up would be re-used on one of their more active lines.

The line died, and its time has come to salvage what they could. I didn't read the STB filing yet, but as I understand past filings, they have to wait at least 2 years after traffic has ended before they can file. That was two years for a different company to move in, get permits, and use the rail. And it didn't happen.

Sometimes, it takes owning and operating your own business, before you can truly understand the issues of running a company, let alone, the highly regulated railroad industry.

What happened to the recycling plant, did they close?

As a final good by, here is a video of the EPRY 9008 with a full consist of boxcars crossing Rt 202 in about 2006:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGOeu2iBFQY

[lvrr325]

Pray tell who is supposed to pay for the thing if it can't make a profit even when the county takes it over? That's one thing I never see mentioned in these arguments about preserving a line. You can't lease it if there's no traffic; there's no excursion potential; speeders aren't going to use it enough to make a profit; etc.

On the other hand if it becomes a county owned trail, the ROW is preserved and should it be needed for some major traffic source in the future, it's there, as opposed to severed, bridges removed, and structures built across it.

[Pacobell73]

End of the line...
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qpfd1n ... orm=LMLTCC

For starters, East Penn should have put the line up for bid. Solicit buyers. Same way they bought the line during the John Nolan days. Instead, secretive Regional Rail simply files for abandonment. Conrail, NS, CSX...all of them put lines up for bid for potential buyers. Regional Rail bought East Penn, and from Day 1, has pulled a SEPTA and looked to abandon their way to profitability with total disregard to effect a missing rail line may have on the region in the future. Almost overnight, they stripped Boyertown of every yard track, creating extra work for Berks County. Once Boyertown was done and they made their profit, they set their sights on the Chester Valley line.

Nolan upgraded the line in 2008. Crossbucks at most crossings in Bridgeport were upgraded to flashers. Track was also upgraded. Yes, service stopped, but service has stopped previously then started up again. My point is that you do not throw in the towel when one line loses its one customer. The strong lines support the weak ones. That has always been the case and is a smart way to run a business.

Sometimes you just need to cut your losses somewhere before it takes you down. This line did not have any active customers in years and sure didnt have coming at all.

Really? Predicting the future? If this is the mentality, then the Kutztown and Manheim lines will be gone next week. NS would have abandoned the Phoenixville I.T. in 2005 when the sweetner factory shut down in 2004. There is no way the shortest line in the system could take down a company thriving from business on its Perkiomen, Quakertown, Bristol, Lancaster Northern, etc.
http://www.eastpennrr.com/images/espn-map.pdf

Pray tell who is supposed to pay for the thing if it can't make a profit even when the county takes it over? That's one thing I never see mentioned in these arguments about preserving a line. You can't lease it if there's no traffic; there's no excursion potential; speeders aren't going to use it enough to make a profit; etc. On the other hand if it becomes a county owned trail, the ROW is preserved and should it be needed for some major traffic source in the future, it's there, as opposed to severed, bridges removed, and structures built across it.

You obviuosly do not know how politics work in Montgomery County. They LOVE their trails. They forced SEPTA to rip out the Cynwyd and Newtown lines for their trails. Regional Rail was thrilled (see Railpace) when MontCo jumped in with a trail. MontCo rail trails are put in place to confirm that trains never come back, my friend. A trail through rough Bridgeport? Very poor and short-sighted public planning.

Berks County will hopefully embarass Regional Rail in the press when the Boyertown line works out since it is now being given the attention it deserves.

[pistolpete66]

SERIOUSLY! What gives? Nolan grew East Penn in leaps and bounds, and Regional Rail has done zero to grow business...before the ink was dry on the sale of East Penn to Regional rail, they looked to abandon the Colebrookdale and Chester Valley branches. And God help them if they speak to the press.

Sometimes you just need to cut your losses somewhere before it takes you down. This line did not have any active customers in years and sure didnt have coming at all.

Do you have a clue what you are talking about? Trash trains crossed 202 up until Regional Rail took over. Regional Rail stopped service on the line, just like they did to the plastic manufacturer in Boyertown. Even NS ran the Devault branch up until the last customer left town in 2004. And the track is still in place.

Rumors has it that NW2 #9008 is being cut up and scrapped on site beneath the PA turnpike overpass.

A shortline destroying what little assets they have? Could they be anymore mismanaged? They have a tiny handful of engines and they are slicing up the one engine on this property.

Class 1 RRs "cut their losses" on branch lines. Class 3 shortlines never....never...trim what few lines they have. They do the opposite: keep every piece of trackage they have.

Put this all together:
1) quick abandonments after company takeover
2) avoid the press when questions, never returning calls
3) removing freshly laid rail and signals
4) scrapping rolling stock

Here is their corporate motto:
"The vision of Regional Rail, LLC is to acquire or create a core group of shortline railroads and or rail related companies, and to manage these companies according to best practices in the industry" - even if it means to cut lines with active customers
"The business model of Regional Rail, LLC is to realize the synergies of combining these smaller entities into a larger enterprise, thereby reducing administrative costs, increasing marketing opportunities, improving negotiating position with suppliers and connecting carriers, and increasing the purchasing power of the combined entities. This will provide improved customer satisfaction, improved profitability, and facilitate long term growth and continued reinvestment into these companies." In short, be the next CSX. Too big for their britches. Abandon their way to profitabilty.

History:
Formed April 2007
Acquired East Penn Railroad, LLC in August 2007 - and began cutting any lines that did not fit the "vision"
Acquired Middletown & New Jersey Railroad LLC in April 2009
Currently reviewing several expansion and/or acquisition opportunities - really? when was the last time this website was updated? Nowhere on here does it say "cut costs, abandon lines."

I have never seen a railroad of this size abandon a line so quickly and rip in up not even a month later. They filed on 4/5/11. Ripped it up less than 4 weeks later.

Somewhere in here, they attempt to run a railroad. They will attempt to abandon any line they own, because it is cheaper to have trackage rights on other railroads. Their recent "growth" opportunties in December 2010 emtailed partnering with the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad to form the Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad, which would be taking over freight operations in the Lansdale area from CSX. My point - run trains on other people's tracks while abandoning the trackage they own, regardless of the amount of customers.

[rob216]

Where do people get their information on some of this stuff? That's the first I have ever heard about ESPN working with New Hope on that track. Do some people make that stuff? And as with the rest of this topic, some people go way out of control on this stuff. Yes it would have been nice to save the tracks. But it all comes down to, who is going to pay for it? Who has the money to save it?