Oddly I feel like dancing and singing Yub Nub with a bunch of Ewoks ala Return of the Jedi at this news. Good riddance, and not soon enough.

And to think I once had those guys submit me a project bid *facepalm*

The unfortunate part about this is that of the many groups and people WRC owed money to, it is more than likely that the majority will never see even a fraction of what they are owed. What this means for them is yet to be seen.

-Sam

You may be a little premature on that dancing and singing. If you read the filing, this was for their "Wasatch Railcar Repairs Contractors" division in Shoshoni WY, not "Wasatch Railroad Contractors (WRC)" which is the entity under heavy scrutiny for substandard repairs/workmanship on the K&T 14 in Sterns, KY. Wasatch Railcar Repairs Contractors (WRRC) has made headlines recently with the death of two employees who were killed by an explosion while performing repairs inside a tank car.

DC

Classy.

I think the two companies are practically speaking one in the same, or at least linked as a subsidiary of the other.

Besides, I think the Shoshoni facility has handled historic work too. I hear a car from Steamtown was sent there...

The debtor is Wasatch Railroad Contractors. A DBA is just a name that your business or a part of your business operates under. A DBA offers no legal protections to your registered business, in this case “Wasatch Railroad Contractors”.

They filed a voluntary Chapter 11 which means they’re looking to reorganize their debt, hopefully without going teats up (Chapter 7).

I've always been taught that it is in poor taste to celebrate another mans failure unless your track record reflects your never having made a single mistake.

On the one hand I'm sad because John Rimmasch was a dynamic young man who obviously loved historic railroading especially steam and Lord knows we need all the young talent we can find.

On the other hand there is more than ample evidence that WRRC was guilty of performing substandard work that if not discovered and fixed could have resulted in terrible failures.

As to how those who are owed money by WRRC will fair only time will tell. My WAG is that they'll probably be lucky to get pennies on the dollar.

Most importantly, let's hope that this serves as a wake up call to all those contemplating doing an historic rail restoration to CAREFULLY VET those contractors being considered to do the work.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

I don't find anything to celebrate in bankruptcy or closing of a contractor or supplier. Fewer people in the industry provides less competition leading to higher prices, and loss of employment opportunities. We have permanently lost many small suppliers who decided it was not worth staying in business with the Covid risks, that is already causing many contracts to run late in the railroad industry. Losing more through financial failures just makes it even worse.

And speaking of higher prices, nobody on here seems concerned with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports, which show very bad inflation numbers for several consecutive months now. If these are not "transitory" (the new media favorite term), how many organizations in railroad preservation can remain solvent if the price of all supplies were to double over the next few years?

PC

I had my lawyer neighbor pull up the public court documents. Here they are. This is sad don't gloat. Here is part 1, part 2 is below.

Here's the second part of the bankruptcy filing.

Here is part 3

Here are parts 4 in two documents

Here's the last part

Where I live, the price of lumber is almost back down to what is was before the Covid-19 spike.

Gasoline has only gone up a dime since hurricane Ida. It's too soon to see what Nicolas will do.

So yes, transitory perfectly fits the lumber spike. Assuming the Gulf coast oil infrastructure recovers like it always has in the past, same for gasoline.

Brian