John Rimmasch out of prison

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 2945

I have no personal experience with the situation. I am curious about this laundry list of failures and fraud. It’s my recollection that he was in jail for fraudulent handling of hazmat. But what about these items? $1m of fraud on the Steamtown project? Was that ever prosecuted? Did all of this become a lost cause with the bankruptcy? What’s the backstory? If these allegations are true, why weren’t they pursued?

jasonsobczynski wrote:

livesteam2-6-0 wrote:

I just can't under stand why the repeated post's about John Rimmasch and the redundant comments towards him continue. He has served his time and has paid for it. John as well as others and myself have to live with our actions and choices we make for the rest of our life. I have to agree with Ross's comments and that it is time to forgive and forget and move on, as for myself we are all given the opurtuinties to change and learn and move on and hopefully not make the same mistake. John Rimmasch is a great friend, I and others who are his true friends will continue to support and respect him no matter what the left throws at him.

He who is without sin cast the first stone. The only one who could didin't

Forgive and forget? Are you kidding me?

1) destroyed the boiler on the k&t 14 and fraudulently billed for the project, repeatedly

$700,000+

2) produced an unsafe product and billed for work not performed on Klondike Kate

$450,000+

3) performed numerous unsafe/non-code repairs on the U.P. 844, something that has been very publicly documented

4) Delivered a non-operational diesel to the railroad in hawaii after almost $400,000 in work was "pwrformed"

5) defrauded the federal government for over $1,000,000 on the steamtown car

6) butchered the cosmetic job of the L&N 0-8-0 in Corbin, KY and then sued them for not paying him for work he was not authorized nor asked to do on a caboose

7) performed $450,000 of work, of which the FRA condemned every bit of, on the 4-6-0 in Grapevine after he got the original contractor kicked out as a retaliatory action for being an expert witness against him

All the while he claims all of the above actions he made to be actually be a conspiracy against him.

Next you will say that Jack Kevorkian should have been allowed to continue practicing medicine, or that Eric Robert Rudolph was just mis-understood.

We as an industry have to protect ourselves if we want it to continue, rather you're suggesting that a known wolf be allowed to dress a sheep again.

CRH · **Joined:** Thu Jun 02, 2016 12:35 pm **Posts:** 6

msrlha_archivist wrote:

co614 wrote:

Well Jason with all due respect, as you well know you have your fair share of industry critics that believe that your list of short comings is quite long.

Who among us doesn't have their own list of things they wish were not part of their life story and another list of things we wish were.

As Christ said to the the crowd preparing to stone the woman found guilty of adultry to death, let he who has never sinned throw the first stone. They all left with no stones thrown.

And to all a very Merry Christmas. Ross Rowland

Ross, What good things were part of John's life story? We know the bad. What were the good projects that went well?

Can somebody answer two questions: Did John's company ever reimburse the Big South Fork Scenic for the money owed due to the judgement? And did he pay back the NPS?

Wasatch RR Contractors did restore a Southern Jim Crow era passenger car that now resides in the basement of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1716

jasonsobczynski wrote:

co614 wrote:

Well Jason with all due respect, as you well know you have your fair share of industry critics that believe that your list of short comings is quite long.

Who among us doesn't have their own list of things they wish were not part of their life story and another list of things we wish were.

As Christ said to the the crowd preparing to stone the woman found guilty of adultry to death, let he who has never sinned throw the first stone. They all left with no stones thrown.

And to all a very Merry Christmas. Ross Rowland

The difference being that the assertions of my detractors are neither factual nor quantifiable. Many are sourced from 1 of 2 steam contractors attempting to eliminate competition. My person favorite is the claim that I framed the Tennessee pedophile, granted this was made as an attempt to excuse away his employment by said contractor.

These detractions are derived from the imaginations of just a few and the game of industry telephone vs that of lawsuits, failed projects, and inoperable locomotives that are a matter of generally public knowledge, and in several instances the details of which are available through eother FOIA requests or the transcripts of legal proceedings.

No one I've ever known has asked for cancer to return, first time for everything.

I’m not even in agreement with what happened in Tennessee- but that wasn’t a crime. Trying to get rid of the smartest guy in the room so you look better is dirty, but it’s not a criminal offense.

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Sat Dec 02, 2023 7:25 pm

Bobharbison wrote:

I have no personal experience with the situation. I am curious about this laundry list of failures and fraud. It’s my recollection that he was in jail for fraudulent handling of hazmat. But what about these items? $1m of fraud on the Steamtown project? Was that ever prosecuted? Did all of this become a lost cause with the bankruptcy? What’s the backstory? If these allegations are true, why weren’t they pursued?

John was also charged and convicted for wire fraud. He billed the NPS for work he did not do to the car in question in addition to the hazmat stuff. He essentially used the NPS as an ATM to fund ongoing business practices while not doing any real work on the car to move it to completion.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

msrlha_archivist · **Joined:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:33 pm **Posts:** 139

I was studying some of the projects that WRC completed for clients. I had forgotten about the cosmetic restorations of two former UP locomotives in Wyoming. Out of curiosity, why did WRC make stand-in "mock-up" appliances? It appears that most appliances were in place before restoration started. Were the originals set aside back in the safe hands of the owner someplace or did John make a deal to trade for them in the contract? Just seems odd to have them removed off the locomotives all-together in favor of mock-ups.

Denny_Ryan · **Joined:** Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:54 pm **Posts:** 8

msrlha_archivist wrote:

Out of curiosity, why did WRC make stand-in "mock-up" appliances? It appears that most appliances were in place before restoration started.

The narrative has always been that "These appliances contain asbestos, it's easier to abate them in our shop." Next thing you know, there's a crappy sheet metal stand-in on the locomotive as the valuable appliance that can be sold gets squirrelled away in a warehouse somewhere. Of course, none of that stuff was in the auction... I suspect there's a building somewhere that's packed full.

Kelly Anderson wrote:

What became of Steamtown's coach? Was it ever returned to Scranton, shipped to a new contractor, or is it still sitting in Wyoming?

Last I saw it earlier this year, it was still in Shoshoni.

John Rimmasch out of prison

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