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| Re: RBMN Buys Jim Thorpe Line (1575497) | |||
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Re: RBMN Buys Jim Thorpe Line |
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Posted by kp5308 on Mon May 10 20:43:56 2021, in response to Re: RBMN Buys Jim Thorpe Line, posted by Jersey Mike on Mon May 10 11:25:50 2021. Here is an article from 2016 that will answer your question(s):On Tuesday, members of the (Carbon) County railroad commission discussed at length the possibility of putting the Panther Valley Rail Line, a nearly 20-mile line that runs from near Packerton in Carbon to near the Hometown High Bridge in Schuylkill County, up for sale. Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, which operates the line under the management of Carbon and Schuylkill Railroad, verbally offered to purchase it, as well as the former Packerton Yards property for a combined $1.3 million. The motion in front of the commission was to authorize procurement of a proposal for professional land surveying services of all county railroad property. The motion passed 3-1 with Commissioner William O’Gurek casting the sole “no” vote. Commissioners Wayne Nothstein and Thomas J. Gerhard, and charter member Richard Forgay, who was part of the purchase of the rail line in 1981, voted in favor of the proposal.O’Gurek voiced concerns about selling the rail line, saying it is making money for the county through a track usage agreement with Carbon and Schuylkill Railroad.Gerhard said that the county receives 2 percent revenue from all freight shipped over this portion of the line annually. “I look at the treasurer’s report and see $200,000, and I see we are generating revenue from it,” O’Gurek said. “I am just wondering why we want to sell a resource that is not costing us a dime.”He said the county spent upward of $20,000 on KL Gates to sort out the continuing management issues of the line, in 2014 then stopped the process last year; and is looking to spend thousands on the survey. “At the end of the day, if we sell that railroad, in my mind, we would just be giving up a valuable resource,” O’Gurek said. Nothstein said he understood O’Gurek’s concerns but said it comes down to liability and years of arguing about who manages what.“I think it is a huge liability to the county if something were to happen on the rail line as being a part owner,” Nothstein said. “We don’t know what it’s worth or if it is worth selling. Part of the agreement of getting the survey would help determine where the property lines are (to help sort things out).“We’re not making any money,” he added. “Whatever comes in, goes back into the railroad.”O’Gurek said that was not the case by the treasurer’s report. “But what happens if we have to replace even 1 mile of rail?” Nothstein asked. “Is that $200,000 going to cover the track to replace the rail? Looking at this, my feelings and the liability issue is are we going to be stuck paying out of taxpayer dollars if we have to replace line for operation of the railroad? “I think it is a huge liability and it could cost us a lot of money should we need major repairs. ”O’Gurek said the county has lived with that liability for the past 35 years and the line couldn’t be that bad since Reading and Northern has reported banner years on both freight and passenger services and expects to continue increasing its service over that line. He also said if the county sells the rail line, per the original agreement negotiated decades ago, Lansford would receive 25 percent of the sale. Therefore, $250,000 of the $1 million offer would not stay in the county’s possession. The remaining 75 percent would be required to be put into a restricted fund able to be used only for economic development within the county. Gerhard said he agreed with Nothstein and Forgay, who stayed quiet during the meeting but voiced his desire to sell in the past. “I think we move forward, get it surveyed and go from there,” he said. The commission will now wait to see if it receives a proposal for land surveying services. According to articles published on Oct. 1, 1981, Carbon County became the first county in Pennsylvania to own a railroad after the Carbon County Railroad Commission finalized the purchase of the Nesquehoning line, a line that had been in jeopardy since 1976 after Conrail was formed from seven bankrupt railroads. The purchase allowed businesses that utilized the line to remain operational after many threatened to close up shop and move. The county purchased the line for $991,500 with federal grants and assumed full control on Sept. 30, 1981.The commission hired Carbon and Schuylkill Railroad in 1990 to manage the line’s operations. The county has been trying to sell Packerton Yards for more than a year. In addition to the freight service there was the idea of letting George Hart lease the scenic line for excursions from Jim Thorpe. |
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