Railway Preservation News :: View topic - Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Chehalis Centralia Railroad has made the difficult decision to suspend all passenger operations until further notice. We appreciate your support and are looking to resume operations as soon as we are able to do so. All tickets purchased for the 2022 Easter Eggspress will be fully refunded. Please allow 1 week for the refund to reach your credit card. Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. --Chehalis Centralia Board of Directors

Since 1967 there have been ten tourist railroad operations in Washington. Only three remain in busyness today.

What is the current status of the Mt. Rainier Railroad?

I'd guess that other carriers won't give a quote must be from the 2019 grade crossing accident. I'm in the auto insurance biz, and I know for sure this info gets shared between carriers.
The insurance thing was mentioned in passing at the annual board/members meeting at the start of this year. It came as a heck of a shock, and the email the membership got on Friday would have come as a massive shock to me were it not that I'd already heard about it a day or two before that.
As a member, I'm keeping my opinions out of it other than to say I'm quite disappointed. Being a brakeman there was one of the few things keeping me sane through the pandemic as absolutely everything I liked doing came to a halt round this time two years ago.
I find it especially ironic that this news comes out less than a week after I heard that the events my living history group attends are all green lit for the first time since the pandemic. So I'll have stuff to do this summer, but it probably won't involve running full size trains...

If in fact the "issue" is a lack of trust by carriers who is in charge of operations at the railroad, there's probably a path forward that does not involve shutting down. It involves putting someone else in charge of operations and overhauling the rules testing and certification program. Not easy, but for the Board, it should be an easy decision as they owe a duty to the continued health of the organization, not necessarily any individuals.

Chelatchie Prairie and Lake Whatcom do not have an operable locomotive

That group out of Shelton was trying to get a section of the Simpson logging railroad running but apparently the town of Shelton recently decided to go with a bike trail on the roadbed and not allow them to run trains, so that plan might be DOA already.

Author:	linkthebutler [ Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:04 am ]
Post subject:	Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
I just see this at Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, WA. Flooting of the Chehalis river earlier this month. http://www.veteransmuseum.org/post.php? ... the-museum It is located on the site of Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Any info if the railroad had floot damages ?

Author:	John T [ Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:46 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
See here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/flood ... ned,282619

Author:	Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Sun Mar 06, 2022 1:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
Posted at the RR's Facebook page today: Quote: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Chehalis Centralia Railroad has made the difficult decision to suspend all passenger operations until further notice. We appreciate your support and are looking to resume operations as soon as we are able to do so. All tickets purchased for the 2022 Easter Eggspress will be fully refunded. Please allow 1 week for the refund to reach your credit card. Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. --Chehalis Centralia Board of Directors In the comments to the post, the respondent stated the issue was NOT the washout damage......

Author:	heatermason [ Sun Mar 06, 2022 2:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Flood damage?
The issue is inability to acquire operating insurance. It could be the end for this operation: https://www.chronline.com/stories/chehalis-centralia-railroad-and-museum-suspends-all-passenger-operations,285621 Timothy

Author:	TrainDetainer [ Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
The quote in the news article states that none of the RR insurance companies would insure them. So what is it, exactly, that the insurance companies say makes this particular operation uninsurable?

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Author:	Rick Rowlands [ Sun Mar 06, 2022 7:56 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
They had an incident in 2019 where they were making a reverse move over a grade crossing and hit an automobile. The train pinned the man in the car and he had to be extricated. The crossing had crossbucks and Yield signs only and the trainman did not dismount to flag the crossing. IMO, the trainman not following the rule to flag the crossing on a reverse move resulting in a collision was also enough to convince the insurers to drop them. Were there other incidents that gave the insurers pause? Perhaps. Don't skirt the rules when it comes to public grade crossings. If you have to shove over one, GET OFF AND FLAG as the rulebook instructs.

Author:	wilkinsd [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 8:45 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
I agree with Mr. Rowlands. I wonder if when the carrier began investigating the 2019 incident, they saw other issues with operating practices that made them pause. The incident was nearly three years ago, but if an organization fails to use such an incident as a mechanism to examine and improve operating practices, they may do so at your own peril.

Author:	John T [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 9:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
Since 1967 there have been ten tourist railroad operations in Washington. Only three remain in busyness today.

Author:	NS 3322 [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 12:37 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
John T wrote: Since 1967 there have been ten tourist railroad operations in Washington. Only three remain in busyness today. I have 5 remaining if you count Yakima Valley Trolleys: Chehalis-Centralia Railroad & Museum (Suspended) Chelatchie Prairie Railroad Lake Whatcom Railway Northwest Railway Museum Yakima Valley Trolleys What is the current status of the Mt. Rainier Railroad?

Author:	p51 [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 1:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
I'd guess that other carriers won't give a quote must be from the 2019 grade crossing accident. I'm in the auto insurance biz, and I know for sure this info gets shared between carriers. The insurance thing was mentioned in passing at the annual board/members meeting at the start of this year. It came as a heck of a shock, and the email the membership got on Friday would have come as a massive shock to me were it not that I'd already heard about it a day or two before that. As a member, I'm keeping my opinions out of it other than to say I'm quite disappointed. Being a brakeman there was one of the few things keeping me sane through the pandemic as absolutely everything I liked doing came to a halt round this time two years ago. I find it especially ironic that this news comes out less than a week after I heard that the events my living history group attends are all green lit for the first time since the pandemic. So I'll have stuff to do this summer, but it probably won't involve running full size trains... NS 3322 wrote: What is the current status of the Mt. Rainier Railroad? It's still being untangled with the issues the operating company had with the IRS and other nuttiness. I know a couple of people who ran there and each say they have no assumptions Mt Rainier is going to be running again at any point in the foreseeable future. The operations at Snoqualmie and Battle Ground are pretty much it for that area. Yakima is on the other side of the Cascades, a long (and difficult for this time of year) drive. I have never even met anyone who's been to Lake Whatcomb since steam quit running there, so I have no idea about that (and that's also a pretty long drive). Snoqualmie has the only currently running steam loco in the state that I'm aware of.

Author:	wilkinsd [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 2:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
p51 wrote: I'd guess that other carriers won't give a quote must be from the 2019 grade crossing accident. I'm in the auto insurance biz, and I know for sure this info gets shared between carriers. The insurance thing was mentioned in passing at the annual board/members meeting at the start of this year. It came as a heck of a shock, and the email the membership got on Friday would have come as a massive shock to me were it not that I'd already heard about it a day or two before that. As a member, I'm keeping my opinions out of it other than to say I'm quite disappointed. Being a brakeman there was one of the few things keeping me sane through the pandemic as absolutely everything I liked doing came to a halt round this time two years ago. I find it especially ironic that this news comes out less than a week after I heard that the events my living history group attends are all green lit for the first time since the pandemic. So I'll have stuff to do this summer, but it probably won't involve running full size trains... Sorry you are dealing with this. If in fact the "issue" is a lack of trust by carriers who is in charge of operations at the railroad, there's probably a path forward that does not involve shutting down. It involves putting someone else in charge of operations and overhauling the rules testing and certification program. Not easy, but for the Board, it should be an easy decision as they owe a duty to the continued health of the organization, not necessarily any individuals.

Author:	p51 [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 2:37 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
As for the flood damage, the board was looking to see if the FEMA grants were gonna come through or not before getting a contractor for the track work. I'm not sure where that is, given the other more pressing issues. wilkinsd wrote: If in fact the "issue" is a lack of trust by carriers who is in charge of operations at the railroad, there's probably a path forward that does not involve shutting down. It involves putting someone else in charge of operations and overhauling the rules testing and certification program. Not easy, but for the Board, it should be an easy decision as they owe a duty to the continued health of the organization, not necessarily any individuals. You might be right why the underwriters for the other insurance carriers won't touch this operation. Again, I'm in the biz, but underwriting is something even other folks in the biz don't understand (I once spent a day with a home/fire underwriter and to this day I can't tell what any of it meant). What is especially ironic is that we've recently gone through a new class on safety and we were all scheduled to take place in a GCOR class to re-certify everyone (regardless when they'd had it last time) to get a common frame of reference. As I understand it, we're still taking part in that this weekend anyway. I doubt it would have made any difference with the (now former) insurance company, but they can show they've re-vamped the certification and training. They also just got a new board of directors from the last annual election. So, before anyone suggests "get rid of the last people in charge," that happened naturally already.

Author:	John T [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
I have 5 remaining if you count Yakima Valley Trolleys: Chehalis-Centralia Railroad & Museum (Suspended) Chelatchie Prairie Railroad Lake Whatcom Railway Northwest Railway Museum Yakima Valley Trolleys As of new only two can run a passenger train, NWRM and Yakima. Chelatchie Prairie and Lake Whatcom do not have an operable locomotive and Chehalis-Centralia can not operate.

Author:	p51 [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
John T wrote: Chelatchie Prairie and Lake Whatcom do not have an operable locomotive I didn't know that. I've only been to Chelatchie Prairie once many years ago when they were running a train robbery train and I went as a robber in my cowboy shooting duds (which scared the living heck out of me on the part of the actions of the other robbers, and I never went back, but it doesn't appear they were invited back anyway after that). It's not an operation you hear anyone talking about visiting around these parts (the area just south of the Puget Sound). I'd never been to Lake Whatcom and haven't talked with anyone who has since they quit running that NP steam switcher. Now I know why. That group out of Shelton was trying to get a section of the Simpson logging railroad running but apparently the town of Shelton recently decided to go with a bike trail on the roadbed and not allow them to run trains, so that plan might be DOA already. Other than Snoqualmie, it's not a good time for operations of this type in Western WA state...

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Author:	PMC [ Mon Mar 07, 2022 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Chehalis Centralia Railroad. Floot damage?
p51 wrote: That group out of Shelton was trying to get a section of the Simpson logging railroad running but apparently the town of Shelton recently decided to go with a bike trail on the roadbed and not allow them to run trains, so that plan might be DOA already. I follow them on facebook, they haven't said a word about it on their page, but I don't have trouble believing it. https://www.facebook.com/PeninsularRailway They spent the pandemic getting an ex-GN lightweight coach (later used as a diner) ready for service, received a donated shop made from a container, and have recently started assembling a donated building, and the NIMBY bobo's think they need another bike trail.