Feds sue Durango and Silverton over 416 fire

Mark Hedges · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:55 pm

20 million. Wow. And then possible civil actions too. How can a tourist railroad pay that?

I wonder if this will have any impact on operations at GSMR.

Ed Kapuscinski · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2022 11:40 am

Rick Rowlands wrote:

I think that torrified biomass was a scam. Didn't work out. Note that the one locomotive that heavily tested it has just been converted to oil, and that the CSR people have mysteriously disappeared?

There's an important difference between an experiment and a scam.

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1027

There's some more details in this Durango Herald story:

Durango Herald wrote:

D&SNG, American Heritage Railways and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Monday that the parties had reached a settlement in which the railroad agrees to pay $15 million up front, an additional $5 million plus interest over 10 years, and agrees to modify the company’s operations to reduce future wildfire risk.

Also:

Quote:

The agreement between D&SNG and the federal government announced Monday is separate from a civil lawsuit filed in September 2018 by lawyers for dozens of homeowners and businesses in Southwest Colorado who accuse the railroad of missteps and negligence that led to the 416 Fire and damages to their properties and businesses.

Attorneys in the civil lawsuit were relying on the same Colorado Railroad Statute as lawyers for the federal government to pursue their case against D&SNG.

However, D&SNG and American Heritage Railways have also reached a settlement in the civil case, said Bobby Duthie of Durango law firm Duthie Savastano and Brungard, who filed the initial complaint.

“I'm allowed to say only that the matter has settled,” Duthie said.

Link to the March 21, 2022 article: Durango railroad agrees to pay $20 million for 416 Fire damages

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2022 1:28 pm

Mark Hedges wrote:

I wonder if this will have any impact on operations at GSMR.

It'll certainly delay anything at Mt Rainier even further.

Rick Rowlands · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:21 pm

Ed Kapuscinski wrote:

There's an important difference between an experiment and a scam.

I am hoping that by making a provocative statement someone will break their silence and let everyone know what CSR has been doing for the past two years with this project. The Everett testing was the last time anyone heard from them. As I stated several times in the past, if they develop a sellable product I would be one of their first customers.

The experiments were the Zoo and Everett. The scam was doing the experiments and then disappearing for two years. Unless someone from CSR wants to chime in...

There is certainly a need for a coal alternative, especially now.

R. Hahn · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:01 pm **Posts:** 190

Rick, I suggest you take a look at main players of the Coalition for Sustainable Rail and FMW Solutions and that may be a reason for the lack of updates.

While the radio silence is concerning for the future of the organization, publicly calling them scammers seems a bit extreme. The Everett trials were open to anyone who made a small donation who was interested in what they were doing.

Roger

Dave · **Posted:** Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:12 am

Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. I think they have made their progress clear and explained the results and the path towards further development and experimentation. Scams don't work in transparency. If you need to accuse these people, accuse them of clear scientific methodology rather than a lack of integrity.

Tails · **Joined:** Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:14 pm **Posts:** 136

It's not like there was nothing happening over the last 2 years. Covid was a thing, the last 2 years were a bust for many, and put many things on the sidelines.

As far as an alternative for coal, a solution exists. Convert to oil. Most oil burners use recycled oil to some degree.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sat Jun 24, 2023 10:26 pm

Update:

https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/ ... -coverage/

Quote:

The devastation wrought by the 416 Fire, which torched about 54,000 acres of forest north of Durango in 2018, and the damage inflicted by the rains that caused floodwaters and mudslides to flow from the burn scar were two different “occurrences,” says the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Steadfast Insurance disagrees, saying that the mudslide and flooding damage would not have happened but for the fire.

Who is right in this linguistical conundrum? That’s the $25 million question, which is now to be hashed out in federal court.

D&SNG’s insurance policy indemnified the railroad for up to $25 million per occurrence with a policy aggregate of $50 million. In a complaint filed in United States District Court for the District of Colorado in April, American Heritage Railways, the parent company of D&SNG, and the father-son leadership team, Al and John Harper, allege that Steadfast breached its contract by refusing to cover only liability expenses up to the $25 million single-occurrence limit.

Steadfast maintains that the fire and mudslides were one occurrence.

Feds sue Durango and Silverton over 416 fire

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