Fancy that: a trans-Atlantic railroad. I wonder how they handled the gauge difference in Ireland.

If this guy, "Lackawanna 565", is actually Mr. Shaner writing under yet another alias, whatever goodwill and respect he MIGHT have gained by filling in for Steve Boonstra just went right down the tube.

And I may be a bit dyslexic, and I'm most certainly getting older, but if I worked for an outfit for as long as "Joe" did, I'd be able to spell their name correctly.

Give us all a break- (Or at least tell us where the swibble pin is-)

Me thinks you are incorrect here.

The law, as I understand it, is what expectation one has when something is tossed out. And, no one expects the trash to be protected once it is set at the curb.

I believe you are correct. It is still legally yours until it leaves your property. I misworded my response. That's what I get for not proof reading the post.

Doug vV

Gents,

This past year here in NJ the ownership of trash was defined.

Yes, yes, begin the jokes now.

Anyway, the trash is yours when it goes to the curb. Then it belongs to the town. You can retrieve things from it if you realize you tossed out something in error, but no one else can.

Why?

When scrap metal prices went up, entrepreneurs were dumpster diving for metal. And the more they took, the less there was for the town to cash in on.

Rob

Here in California the big problem is people dumpster diving for beverage containers with a CA redemption value, since that reduces garbage contractors' income, as well as often forcing them to redeem the material from the scavengers. There are local ordinances against this practice.

I suspect that for large railroad debris the issue would more likely be people trespassing to get the stuff since most large scrap isn't set out for curbside pickup.

How on earth did this decline to discussion of that damn swibble pin?

Those of you concerned with the probability that the forces of offended righteousness will descend upon your domicile and reclaim that cast iron crossbuck or rip your treasured Chessie System reflective vest of off your body may rest easy.

There are two things I have heard back channel since I stated following this. One is the allegation that despite the claims that this gentleman is a former Conrail employee that this is not the case. The second is that the driving force behind this was not the signals in the yard or the airhorns but involved a significant amount of far more sensitive equipment.

GME

Simple, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean that they're not out to get you......................:)

I'm going to be straightforward about this:

In the hands of a terrorist intent upon specific kinds of domestic terrorism, there is a lower cabinet about ten feet away from me CHOCK FULL of "sensitive" material and literature, much of it current even to this day. Track charts. Employee timetables. Locomotive diagrams. Operating manuals. Signal diagrams (obsolete, as far as I know). You name it. And if I really wanted to cause another spectacular wreck like the 1953 Federal into Washington or a runaway down a mountain, I possess the know-how to do so, in multiple ways.

I still shake my head at the fact that, a few years ago, someone (a railroad equipment broker) was able to drop me off at the back side of Chicago Union, and I was able to walk up the platforms to the crews of the Amtrak train I was to ride, with a railroad grip with a company-issue lantern hanging off of it, and ask the crew if they could switch me from "30" to "50" instead. I think what saved me was the grungy railroad-issue cap, the work boots, the railroad-issue safety-award belt buckle, and the tired, bored attitude.

Sandy, relax.

The jist of the story as published concerned what the reporter (who appears to be a fan) could see from outside the house and what could fit in his allotted space. Everything I have gotten back channel so far indicates that this was not about railfan ephemera or any of the types of material which are in the never-never land between abandoned and scrap. There were apparently significant numbers of current serially numbered items of high value (thousands of dollars each) which had never been authorized for disposal and were in fact on the books as missing or lost. This is also apparently not the first time.

This is not a precedent for going after railroadania collections or recovering scrap metal, nor was it done on the basis of his not proving the material was his. CSX convinced a judge that the specific items were theirs. The signals were just a side show.

GME

Are the search warrant, and possibly the application for it, public records that may be copied and posted here?

Entirely a different proposition.

I have among my associates an Amtrak employee who has managed--apparently at least more than once--to "bust" with police help persons at railroadiana shows attempting to "fence" stuff that he knew from one look at it was either stolen or never officially decommissioned.

-smacks head- greed for someone elses trash, why a town might change an ordinance about trash (we want the damn money!)

Its turning into corrupt politics again.

I would presume if Steamtown found that same lantern they would have taken it and restored it themselves (good job there)

The whole issue is terribly muddied up. There is a right and a wrong about it.

I was wondering how long Lenny could keep his multiple personalities under check on this board, and was impressed that he seemed to be going legit with his Steamtown assistance. But, it looks like he fell off the wagon again....

Speaking of recovered railroad material, this was posted on the Railpics yahoo group today:


Somebody stole active dwarf CPLs???? Crazy.

That really is insane! And I'd almost have to assume that had to be a fan... You can make a healthy bit by punting those CPLs, too!