Recovered Railroad Material

Trainlawyer · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:44 am

In its entirety from the Gloucester County (NJ)Times -

Quote:

Railroad equipment seized at Deptford home
Saturday, September 19, 2009
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com

DEPTFORD TWP. From the street, the cozy white rancher with the black shutters looks like any other well-kept home on the block.

Except for two massive railroad signals rising from the back yard.And the big blue and white Conrail signs hanging from a wooden gate.

Hundreds of pieces of railroad property were confiscated from the Windsor Lane home here Friday in a joint operation that included officers from Deptford Township and the FBI along with CSX Railroad Police from three states.

"We are in the process of recovering a significant amount of railroad equipment, not only belonging to CSX but several other major railroads, as well," said Gary Sease, spokesman for CSX.

The multi-agency raid started around 10 a.m. when authorities entered the home with a search warrant.

Gloucester County tax records state that the property is owned by Michael Kaluhiokalani.

An online search of that name brought up the Internet handle "conrail33" associated with Kaluhiokalani's name on multiple railroad message boards. Under Kaluhiokalani's online profile, the interest "railfaning" was listed.

Crews from Conrail's regional train yard at Woodbury worked Friday afternoon to bring down the two massive signals that were wired to the home's electrical system and fully functional.

Authorities were also able to turn signal warning bells off and on during the operation. Throughout the day, multiple truckloads of items were driven away from the home in Deptford Public Works trucks.

As police walked from the property carrying such items as ground signals and giant wrenches used on railroad cars, a Conrail flag flew from a pole in a side yard.Along with multiple signs from various rail yards plus a number of reflective vests, protective helmets and small signal lamps, an air horn from the cab of a locomotive sat on the front yard awaiting police disposition.

Officials are still cataloging the number and kind of items recovered from the raid.

"It's been described to me as a significant amount of railroad equipment," Sease said. "These are items that are used in everyday operations of railroads ... equipment that is usually quite costly."

In the bed of one of the trucks ferrying the railway items were also a number of highway signs, including ones from Maryland and from Interstate 79. That highway runs from West Virginia through Pennsylvania.

Neighbors said that though he had a hot temper, Kaluhiokalani pretty much kept to himself. Many noted that he was employed as a truck driver.

"I just think he's an avid collector," said one man who lives a few houses down. "Some people keep the small trains. Well, he keeps stuff for the real ones."

Many of the Conrail signs identify rail yards in Philadelphia, Allentown and northern New Jersey. One placard was for the Oak Island Yard, the only major rail yard in the New York metro area.

Conrail ceased operations in 1999, so there is the outside possibility that the signs were acquired legally, authorities noted.

The neighbor declined to give his name, as did many of those who live on the block. The man noted that blasts from a locomotive horn on the property would go off at random hours of the day.

Pointing across the way, the neighbor said, "The person who lives in that house had called and complained about the sounds of the horn and was told that, as long as it goes off during certain hours, he could do it."

When a whistle sounded from a Norfolk Southern train bound for Camden a mile away, the noise elicited a quick response from another resident.

"You hear that noise?" she asked. "Can you imagine that in your back yard? It's as loud as that."

This isn't the first time authorities have visited the virtual train depot without tracks, one officer said on condition of anonymity. On at least two prior occasions, items had been removed from the home.

Speaking for CSX, Cease said he was unaware of previous incidents.

As of deadline, Kaluhiokalani had not met with authorities in person.

My suggestion is that any shortlines or museums who believe they may have identifiable artifacts involved contact CSX Police.

GME

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:39 pm

I can foresee an utterly massive prosecutorial problem here.

I can't be the only one on this list who has pulled stuff out of dumpsters. In my case, I've salvaged everything from a cast-iron pair of crossbucks to a PRR keystone whistle post to employee timetables to a lantern to a PRR gooseneck station platform light. Yes, technically, everything I took was "stolen," just as if you took a cigarette butt out of a trash can, it was stolen.

Obviously, if CSX was explicitly targeting this guy, they had reason to believe he was taking things that the company still believed useful, or taking items still in use without permission. But where is the line between removing, say, the Conrail sign for Oak Island before it's replaced versus, say, that spray-stenciled piece of plywood saying "CONRAIL FIELD OFFICE" that I swiped from a dumpster, and did time for a spell as a bookshelf in my dorm room?

I once found a CSX hard hat along the highway, far from any office or terminal. I later made the mistake of wearing it during a contract job that took me onto CSX property, and whatever yardmaster/trainmaster took it as an invitation to waste several man-hours getting in a CSX agent to "bust" me for stealing or receiving stolen property. It ultimately got nowhere, and I just let the jerks (which, I have to say, is exactly what they were being) take it back.

I want to hear the full story and inventory before cheering the police in this case. It'd be just their luck that the locomotive air horn in question is a Westinghouse one that hasn't seen parts made for it in 40 years! (The Westinghouse E-2 I own was discarded because they couldn't open the back to swap out the diaphragms.)

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:55 pm

The issue of a collector versus a "thief" is blurred here, or at least in this article. Technically, anything discarded by the railroad, if it is metal, is scrap. However my father -in-law was told by the company he worked for, to simply take a string of retired track speeders to the dump and toss them in, which (he is no railfan) he dutifully did! And this helped who? I doubt CSX is seriously interested in Pennsylvania or ConRail artifacts. They are interested in missing road signs, tools, and service items. The neighbor had a right to complain about this guy sounding air horns in his back yard. I know of one guy who takes one out on New Years Eve, or on birthdays, and sounds it at midnight in his neighborhood, and another who stole one from an active Geep, and has it mounted in his car, with predicable results (No, I don't know the RR involved or when it was done). Neighbors should get put out, the police should be called in, and the local railroads should be made aware. Antique collectors are one thing, thieves are another.
I agree, museums missing number plates, builders plates, lamps, signals, tools, should become involved.

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

The second those speeders were thrown to the trash heap, they become open and free pickups by anyone, thats legal.

Abandoned property is exactly that, even a cigarette butt.

I believe however there is a problem here, that authorities came a took the equipment away without trying to go thru an identifying process to see what might be stolen or just picked up or abandoned property.

I see a big lawsuit.

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

Unfortunately, even in a dumpster, the item is not abandoned. It is still legally the property of the owner until the dumpster is emptied as I understand it. The reason for this is that anyone could go through anyone else's trash and find information about you individually. It is to protect your privacy and your private information. You have to ask permission to take someone else's trashed items.

I know someone who told the railroad that if the railroad needed a dumpster, they would pay for the dumpster and the removal if they could have anything the they wanted the railroad placed in there. The railroad agreed and Trainmaster hobbies has many Georgia RR and SCL artifacts legally obtained.

That said, the assumption that this fellow stole these items when they do not have a title as with an automobile is guilty until proven innocent. I would like to see what the railroads and the authorities have provided to give reason for the judge to issue the legal documents to search and cease the railroad items.

The article seems to imply automatic guilt. The fact that someone has a signal bridge in his yard does not mean he did not purchase the bridge just because it is expensive. Look at Dan Markoff. He has the 4-4-0 Eureka at his property. Most would spend the money on something other than a "train".

I will wait to see how I feel about this when more facts come out.

Doug vV

Lackawanna 565 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:01 pm

I worked 45 years in the rail service. I saw lots and lots of railroad stuff throne out through the years. As soon as it hits the dumpster it is known as trash, So if he pick these signs out of the trash heap, they were not stolen. Railroad companies replace worn out train singles every once an while , He could had bought them from a local scrap yard. It's been a long time since railroads used Oil lanterns. Heck I own a railroad light and it's mounted to my lamp post. Which I got off the scrap pile out of Scranton yard, now better known as Steamtown NHS. Where dose it end????

Joe

Stationary Steam · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:22 pm

This is very bad news for rail preservationists indeed. This man's rights have been infringed, and even if it is found that all of the items that he has were legally obtained his reputation will be destroyed and he will suffer a great deal of economic harm.

We do not want to see this trend continue. Would you like to see CSX police and the local FBI show up at your rail museum and cart off everything in your depot? Can you prove ownership of much of what is there? Would they buy the story that some unnamed roadmaster gave the museum a signal as long as it was picked up that day and hauled off the property?

Trainlawyer · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:40 pm

I agree there is quite a bit to shake out here, however bear in mind that this was done with a warrant and that warrants are supposed to be specific about what is being searched for and what may be seized. The fact that there was a signal crew dismantling the masts tells me that a CSX attorney was able to convince a judge that those specific masts had been stolen (not just that they could maybe have been stolen) and that they were specifically mentioned in the warrant.

We do not know where the stuff came from. I do know that CSX is not going to spend much time and effort on a junk collector, or despite Brother Mitchell's unfortuate experience, on single hardhats and vests. There is a quantum difference between acquiring a logoed hard hat and occasionally using it as OSHA intended and what the safety and security people fear, which is using the logoed safety equipment to enter the property and do something which they do not want to have done.

I suspect that quite a bit was acquired from junk heaps and dumpsters however enough was not that a judge saw fit to issue the warrants. Instead of any of us saying the police were wrong and debating the where the line is we should look at the inventory when its available and see what if anything can be returned to its rightful owner.

GME

Bob Davis · **Joined:** Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:25 am **Posts:** 1025

I would guess that the laws regarding "salvaging" or "scrounging" vary from place to place, and would determine the point where ownership of a given article ends. In some residential areas, anything beyond the curb line is "fair game". If the item is still on the property, and is removed without permission, that could be considered "theft". On the other hand, most "scrounging" incidents are not worth the resources to prosecute; I would think that the New Jersey case reached a "tipping point", where local law enforcement and railroad authorities could no longer ignore it. One might also speculate that getting on the wrong side of the neighbors doesn't help matters for the person in question.

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

Throwing something away with sensitive material on it is irresponsiblility to the thrower. Having snagged a lamp from a scrap pile and restoring it to me sounds like a good effort by the previous poster.

I've wondered about how this trucker acquired a complete signal mast. This will have to be something to watch how it turns out. Having aquired a Conrail Yard sign, if he unscrewed it from the yard site, that would have been wrong. If it was on the trash pile with permission would have been ok.

He wasn't hiding anything it was all there for anyone to see, so well, very curious.
It may be more of an issue of a complaint from a neighbor.

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

Dougvv wrote:

Unfortunately, even in a dumpster, the item is not abandoned. It is still legally the property of the owner until the dumpster is emptied as I understand it. The reason for this is that anyone could go through anyone else's trash and find information about you individually. It is to protect your privacy and your private information. You have to ask permission to take someone else's trashed items.

I know someone who told the railroad that if the railroad needed a dumpster, they would pay for the dumpster and the removal if they could have anything the they wanted the railroad placed in there. The railroad agreed and Trainmaster hobbies has many Georgia RR and SCL artifacts legally obtained.

That said, the assumption that this fellow stole these items when they do not have a title as with an automobile is guilty until proven innocent. I would like to see what the railroads and the authorities have provided to give reason for the judge to issue the legal documents to search and cease the railroad items.

The article seems to imply automatic guilt. The fact that someone has a signal bridge in his yard does not mean he did not purchase the bridge just because it is expensive. Look at Dan Markoff. He has the 4-4-0 Eureka at his property. Most would spend the money on something other than a "train".

I will wait to see how I feel about this when more facts come out.

Doug vV

I presume the Lantern is pre-steamtown period when the railroad was still there.

Lackawanna 565 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:30 pm

steamtown observer , I don't know who you are, but I'm not Mr. Shaner, in fact I never met the man. But I do know of the things that are said about him. which I don't believed . I radar not listen to rumors. I do know the fact he and his crew is trying to preserve a part of Pennsylvania history, more then you are doing. I was in railroading way before your were even thought of. I took that old railroad light off the scrap pile in 1975 way before Steamtown came to Scranton, PA.

Joe.

steamtown observer wrote:

Lackawanna 565 wrote:

I worked 45 years in the rail service. I saw lots and lots of railroad stuff throne out through the years. As soon as it hits the dumpster it is known as trash, So if he pick these signs out of the trash heap, they were not stolen. Railroad companies replace worn out train singles every once an while , He could had bought them from a local scrap yard. It's been a long time since railroads used Oil lanterns. Heck I own a railroad light and it's mounted to my lamp post. Which I got off the scrap pile out of Scranton yard, now better known as Steamtown NHS. Where dose it end????

Joe

OK Len so your new alias is "Joe" and now you worked for the Lackawanna and have liberated stuff from Steamtown (inferring it occurred before it came under Park Service jurisdiction). Don't you think you've gone too far this time, especially since you are on the very same property for the 565? Will the Park Rangers have to keep an eye on you now?

The preservation community can do without this.

steamtown observer · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:11 pm **Posts:** 371

Lackawanna 565 wrote:

steamtown observer , I don't know who you are, but I'm not Mr. Shaner, in fact I never met the man. But I do know of the things that are said about him. which I don't believed . I radar not listen to rumors. I do know the fact he and his crew is trying to preserve a part of Pennsylvania history, more then you are doing. I was in railroading way before your were even thought of. I took that old railroad light off the scrap pile in 1975 way before Steamtown came to Scranton, PA.

Joe.

Nope, you don't know Len but to honor his work you have decided to make the same spelling and grammar errors he does!

Ray Reter · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:52 pm

I agree with the statement that "dumpster diving" regulations probably vary by locality. Outside my apartment building are a pair of dumpsters which are frequently visited by scavengers. On one occasion my roommate noticed this activity going on in the wee hours of the morning. He called the local police to report the activity and was told the scavengers were doing nothing wrong, as the contents of the dumpster had been "discarded" by their "former" owners. -- Ray

Lackawanna 565 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:06 pm

I'm not perfect, but I see you are.
What a joke!
Joe

steamtown observer wrote:

Lackawanna 565 wrote:

steamtown observer , I don't know who you are, but I'm not Mr. Shaner, in fact I never met the man. But I do know of the things that are said about him. which I don't believed . I radar not listen to rumors. I do know the fact he and his crew is trying to preserve a part of Pennsylvania history, more then you are doing. I was in railroading way before your were even thought of. I took that old railroad light off the scrap pile in 1975 way before Steamtown came to Scranton, PA.

Joe.

Nope, you don't know Len but to honor his work you have decided to make the same spelling and grammar errors he does!