Regrettably, in this case, I can offer the following:

The property shown in the third photo in the City Paper article, upon which sits a large concentration of disheveled construction equipment, a multitude of rails, beams, ties, etc., and a former B&O bay-window caboose, sits adjacent to a mill-cum-warehouse that sits adjacent to both York Road (Md. 45) and the right-of-way of the former PRR/Northern Central between the Cockeysville PRR station (on the other side of York Road to the southeast, still owned by the Maryland MTA as a result of the convoluted acquisition of the Cockeysville Industrial Track for the Light Rail Line in the late 1980s/early 1990s) and the south end of the Northern Central Rail Trail to the north at Ashland Road.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Cockeysvi ... 18&vpsrc=6

York Road used to pass under the main; it was reconstructed sometime after the line north of Cockeysville was abandoned, sometime in the 1980s. I was saying that at one point the property in question did have a coal-unloading trestle, somewhere off the eastern corner of the building.

(EDIT: One of my associates has questioned my allegation of a coal-unloading trestle at this site, and after some back-and-forth, I've concluded that I may be confusing this building with a similarly-positioned, similar-looking-in-many-respects building layout on the former Western Maryland elsewhere in the area, which did sport a trestle nearby. That doesn't affect whether the guy can claim "service," however.)

So at least in theory, his "returning rail service" phrasing has a degree of validity, if he indeed has ownership or lease of said property. Tracks have been relaid to mines in various places in the States which have been missing for far longer than this, as I recall. Of course, I know of no deposits of coal, ore, or whatever in Cockeysville, nor a consumer of railroad scale, but......

I am loathe to ruin an otherwise pleasant train ride to DC this morning by researching all of the Baltimore cases but I believe that there is a piece of wetland which is not directly adjacent to the Former Northern Central ROW and that this was the source of one of the disputes with the county. Otherwise we may be in a Riffinesque discussion concerning whether or not a railroad could have had common carrier authority on the coal trestle and how therefor Riffin and /or Somerset Terminal must be given common carrier authority through a similarly placed hole in the air.
GME

All I needed to learn about Mr. Riffin's motivations are encapsulated in a quote from the 2007 Baltimore City Paper article: "Sometimes I have fun playing with people's minds."

That subject was addressed by a country and western singer. Name of ... Cash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-lGqPoSvO4


The regulatory definition of a railroad is that which travels on rails or electromagnetic guideways. Sounds like all you need is a special wheelchair.
Of course FRA's practice is to dismiss railroads at less than 24" gage, and also ones which do not cross or approach any infrastructure under DOT jurisdiction. So he might need a grade crossing or a freight customer.

< The regulatory definition of a railroad is . . . >

There is a "common carrier engaged in interstate commerce" component that often gets overlooked when defining railroads.

I am afraid that I was actually thinking more in terms of how to affix the rails...

(Note to Moderator: I am fully aware that I am teetering on the edge of a precipice here.)

Now back to a discussion of how to satisfy the creditors, something which Mr. Riffin does not seem to believe is necessary.

GME

Each and every OFA from Riffin begins with: Riffin is a financially responsible person. Riffin has, or within a reasonable time will
have, the financial resources to fulfill all of his proposed contractual obligations.

This is very similar to his numerous assertions of "rail carrier" status. Perhaps he thinks if he keeps saying it, it will come true?

Stephen

I'm not about to editorialize on this. But anyone following this needs to review this decision in US District Court:

http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTA ... slreturn=1

Hence Mr. Riffen is now granted all due consideration and respect of the STB. So ordered.

It should be pointed out that Mr. Riffin currently has a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy proceeding pending in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. A quick perusal of the publically-avaiable court documents on the Federal Court's PACER system indicates that Mr. Riffin is trying to appeal the sale of the Allegheny Rail Line, and other assets.

My guess is that his Chapter 7 Bankruptcy proceding produces a strong presumption that he is, in fact, not a financially responsible party.

I have just finished cutting a trail through a seventy-two page thicket of barely penetrable brief and I will restate my original misgiving - If he has the cash why doesn't he just buy the d****d line? Why do it the hard way?

For this reason alone I do not consider him either credible or financially responsible.The Board, however, has to follow a very narrow definition of financially responsible which is based on little more than cash on hand. I have no idea whether or not he attempted to make a direct cash offer but I suspect that if I could peek under the seal on his financial documents and then turn my accountant loose on it, that the available cash does not pay the note.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7f93537688b8e5852573210004b318/565d9933d5245f3a85257990006d93b4/$FILE/231737.PDF

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7f93537688b8e5852573210004b318/840455526a24f8f8852579900073f56c/$FILE/231745.PDF

GME

Note to bigjim4life - Reading this stuff and knowing that Mr. Riffin's filings share at least some genetic material with Tribbles is why those us of who either have to pay attention to these things or, in the manner of Brother Mitchell, understand their importance in the world of preservation, go screaming toward the shelter of the private bar in our local publick house.

Edited to return an absconding 'us'.

Not a meaningful signal. Donald Trump declared bankruptcy, and I'd bet on him anyday. The #1 cause of bankruptcy in America is not emigrating when you lose medical insurance. Smart businessmen often declare bankruptcy because ventures don't always succeed.

Oh and Trainlawyer, the word you're looking for is "fracking". Not just for natural gas anymore. If you need more, watch Firefly.

Robert,

You are confusing personal bankruptcy with a business filing for reorganization bankruptcy under Chapter 11. There is a big difference between those two. Mr. Riffin is personally declaring bankruptcy, not his business or corporation. Moreover he is seeking a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which extinguishes his personal debt.

If Mr. Riffin, or more correctly, if his corporate entity "Riffco" (which doesn't really exist, as he's operating as "Riffin" as in him personally) were declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to reorganize his debt, I'd be on your boat. In this case, Riffin is personally declaring that he personally cannot meet his debt obligations and thus need the Federal Court to discharge them, while at the same time telling the STB that he personally is a financially responsible party.

Mr. Swinnerton:

PRICELESS!!!!

I fear that Mr. Riffin is not having a good day. The Surface Transportation Board has rejected his petition to reopen the decision allowing Norfolk Southern to abandon its common carrier obligations on the Cockysville Industrial Track. If the decision stands (and I will stand significant wagers that it will) the Cockysville property will not be served by, adjacent to, or even in the close proximity of a common carrier railroad.

Unless Riffin is planning to mount a challenge using a legal mechanism known thus far only to him, I do not believe that he can compel the MTA to move freight with their trolleys. Of course to do that they would have to somehow connect through the Baltimore Streetcar Museum on dual gage trackage to the ramp which CSX was compelled to replace because the PRR might have operated a few hundred feet of the Maryland & Pennsylvania...

Of course he would still need to somehow move that traffic up the trail - bulldozer and lowboy? - to connect with the Stewartstown

http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/60489fcdee0a23dc85257991006ed50f?OpenDocument

GME

P.S. Isn't James the red engine?