2004 - To Date

Port Authority steps in to move rail cleanup along
By TOM GIAMBRONI on 5/18/2004. Lisbon Morning Journal Newspaper.
 
EAST LIVERPOOL — The county Port Authority has taken matters into its own hands to accelerate the cleanup of an accident that occurred along the port-owned railway.
 
Port Authority Executive Director Tracy Drake, speaking at Monday’s board meeting, said he hired R.L. Houlette Industrial Services of Lisbon to clean up what remains of the train accident that occurred two months ago near Signal.
 
He said the cleanup should be completed by the end of the week.
 
“We’ll get the whole thing back in good order.”
 
The port authority owns the former Youngstown & Southern Railroad, which it leases to the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railway (CCPR), a short rail line operator headquartered in Arkansas.
 
On March 8, a train derailment occurred along the section of railway along Lusk Lock and Low roads, spilling three to five truckloads of construction and demolition debris bound for the A & L Salvage landfill south of Lisbon. Neighbors complained, first about the lack of any cleanup, and then the slow pace.
 
Drake said the CCPR hired a company certified by the Federal Railroad Administration, which allowed the railway to remain open while the site was being cleaned up.
 
But the company is in demand and left for another job without completing the cleanup because it was prevented from doing so due to the wet conditions that existed at the time, Drake said.
 
Houlette can do the job but isn’t a certified by the rail administration, which means the port will have to close the railway from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day while the cleanup is under way. Drake said that shouldn’t be a problem for customers since most of the rail traffic occurs after 3:30 p.m.
 
Drake said the residents, while upset with the slow pace of the cleanup, have been understanding.
 
“They have a legitimate beef.”
 
The cost of the cleanup is expected to be about $5,000, with the port authority agreeing to pay half, although the responsibility lies with the CCPR since it operates the railway.
 
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Drake said. “We feel it needs to be done, so we’re stepping in to help out.”
In addition to the removal of the construction and demolition debris, a rail car and a couple sets of wheels are scheduled to be sold as scrap. Drake said they still don’t know what caused the accident.
 
In other action at Monday’s meeting, the port authority board kept its word and voted to give $16,784 to the county Airport Authority to help with a taxiway project.
The port pledged in 2003 to help the airport authority come up with the $25,784 local match needed to secure the state grant to fund the project, which finally got under way this year.
 
The airport authority already secured $9,000 in donations to go toward the local match, and the port authority was asked to contribute the remaining $16,784.
 
“This certainly benefits the entire county and the area. It’s bringing business into the county,” said port authority member Steve Cooper.
 
tgiambroni@mojonews.com

Port officials hire workers to clean up derailment debris
Published: Wed, May 19, 2004
 
Trains won't run while port authority cleanup crews are working.
 
By NANCY TULLIS
 
YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
 
EAST LIVERPOOL — Workers hired by the Columbiana County Port Authority are to have debris from a March derailment in Elkrun Township cleared away by the end of the week.
 
Tracy Drake, director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, said the port authority hired contractor Robin Houlette of Lisbon to clean up the debris.
 
Drake said workers will be at the crossing from about 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, and during that time, Central Columbiana Pennsylvania Railway trains won't run.
 
He said the trains can't run while Houlette's workers are on or near the tracks because the workers aren't certified to work on railroads. Most of the trains that haul construction debris to area landfills run after 3:30 p.m., however, so the work won't interrupt much of the railway's business, Drake said.
 
Debris spill in March
 
Construction and demolition debris spilled March 8 when three railway cars derailed near the intersection of Lusk Lock, Low and Bell roads.
 
When the railway cars derailed, one spilled its contents down an embankment and into a pasture owned by Jim and Lisa Cibula, knocking down a fence.
 
The Cibulas keep several horses in the pasture and have had to keep a close eye on them to keep them away from the debris and the downed fence. They said to fix the fence themselves, they'd have to handle the debris.
 
Drake said Houlette's work crews will replace the fence.
 
Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania Railway hauls rail cars filled with construction and demolition debris from New York and Massachusetts along the tracks near the Cibulas' home en route to local landfills created to handle such debris.
 
The railroad crossing is near Signal in Elkrun Township where Lusk Lock, Low and Bell Roads converge.
 
Some cleanup was done
 
Lisa Cibula said workers spent about six hours soon after the derailment cleaning up the debris. Then they left and haven't returned.
 
According to Drake, railway officials have said the cleanup is being done by a subcontractor whose workers are certified for railroad work. After removing about two-thirds of the debris and two of the three derailed cars, the heavy equipment began sinking.
 
Drake said the workers needed lighter equipment to be used on the steep embankment, but those workers were called to work for another railroad.
 
To remove the debris from the soft ground, Drake said Houlette's workers will lay a temporary foundation of rocks so they can bring in heavy equipment to haul away the debris. They will work from the base of the embankment rather than from the railroad tracks and will likely load much of the debris by hand, he said.

Officials ask for meeting about safety
Published: Thu, Jun 3, 2004

Township officials said they are looking to build a relationship.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — Several recent problems involving the Youngstown and Southern Railway have prompted township officials to invite its operators to a discussion about railroad safety.

Township Administrator Curt Seditz sent a formal letter to Tracy Drake, director and CEO of the Columbiana Port Authority, which operates the railroad, asking Drake to contact trustees about having a meeting. Seditz said the township and port authority have had their differences in the past, but this meeting would be a step toward relationship building.

"First and foremost, we need to seek and build a relationship, that is the bottom line of it," he said. "We have had disagreements over property maintenance issues in the past, and we are not trying to drudge up old battles, but we would like to say, 'Let's just sit down across the table and talk.'"

What prompted request

In the letter, Seditz said the catalyst for the meeting request was the recent train derailment at the Southern Boulevard and Maple Avenue crossing.

Drake said the train went off track at a crossing that was not repaired in a $2 million upgrade over the past several years. He said the crossing was thought to have been in usable condition. The derailment damaged between 300 and 400 feet of track.

Seditz, in his letter to Drake, said township officials are aware that the port authority plans to make the needed repairs after the derailment, but trustees still want to know about any upgrades and/or safety improvements that will be made in the township.

In addition to the train derailment, Seditz said there were two other recent problems that could have injured people and did damage private property.

Hit while mowing

The township, Seditz said, has been taking the initiative to cut the grass along the railroad on Southern Boulevard north of U.S. Route 224 for many years. The grass, he said, is in the county right of way and on railroad property, but township residents demanded the area be kept presentable.

According to Seditz, township crews were cutting the grass the afternoon of April 28 when an unknown object was hit and propelled through the air by the mower. The object went through the front window of a home on Homestead Drive. No one was injured.

On May 6, the letter said, crews were again cutting the grass and hit a railroad spike that was propelled through the air and through the rear window of a woman's car just north of Meadowbrook Avenue. No one was injured.

Seditz said railroad officials have made a conscious effort to pick up railroad ties along the line and cut grass, but trustees want them to be aware of the issues that have arisen and work together to prevent any further problems.

The railway is a 36-mile line running from Youngstown to Darlington, Pa. It was first used in 2001 after several years of inactivity.

jgoodwin@vindy.com

Short Line Railroad Can Be Profitable, Port Authority Learns
Published: June 22, 2004 in the Youngstown Business Journal

By Dennis LaRue

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio -- If the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad in Arkansas, parent of the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad, isn’t up to managing the short line that runs from Youngstown to Darlington, Pa., there is no shortage of operators who think they can, Tracy Drake said Monday night.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Columbiana County Port Authority, Drake, its chief executive officer, discussed the fallout since the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad -- CQPA as federal railroad officials identify it -- filed for Chapter 11 protection in a bankruptcy court in Arkansas June 14.

The port authority is involved in the bankruptcy because it bought the 36-mile short line and leases it to the CQPA, which contracted to buy it; payments are set to begin next month.

Since the news broke, at least four operators have contacted Drake about running the short line, the majority of whose tracks are in Columbiana County, the port authority CEO said. Even before the CQPA filed bankruptcy, Drake said, “On and off, I’d gotten five or six calls saying, ‘If anything ever happens, we’re interested.’ ”

Drake declined to identify the operators.

Many of the short line’s financial problems, he said, can be traced not to insufficient demand but poor service. Customer complaints about the quality of service offered hindered the CQPA’s ability to collect bills, which in turn made it tough to meet its obligations.

“Long-term, the railroad will be healthy and successful in its operations,” Drake assured the five directors of the port authority.

Russell Albright, chairman of the port authority, noted the railroad was “required to do a lot of things they didn’t do” in meeting its debt schedule, providing customer service and making upgrades on the tracks. “The bankruptcy court can replace them [as operator] immediately [once the trustee is named],” he said. “There are several companies that want to replace them.”

The CQPA could continue to operate the short line after the bankruptcy court in Arkansas names a trustee, Drake said, an action expected in three weeks or so. Or the trustee “could bring in a third party” to run its day-to day operations, he added. The federal railroad administration has recommended “five potential operators” to the court, he reported.

A third option, Drake said, is the port authority could name a new operator since the bankruptcy filing, under the CQPA’s contract with the authority, constitutes a breach of contract that allows the authority to take that action.

Railroad bankruptcies differ from most other bankruptcies in that the court and trustee it appoints must be more concerned with the public good -- that is, serving the railroad’s customers -- than that creditors be repaid as quickly and as much as possible, Drake explained.

Thus customers should enjoy at least the same level of service and possibly better service.

The port authority will seek to transfer venue from the bankruptcy court in Arkansas to the court in Youngstown, although Drake concedes he’s pessimistic that will occur.

On the bright side, Drake remarked, the CQPA must pay its new debts “cash on the barrel head,” so that any further upgrades and repairs the port authority makes in behalf of the short line will be paid up front.

The short line’s inability to collect its bills delayed cleanup of a derailment in March and the port authority stepped in to pay the remaining balance.

In its original business plan, the CQPA projected it would haul 1,000 cars the first year and 3,000 the second. That second-year figure was closer to 2,700 and could have been 6,000, Drake said, because of the demand for hauling clean debris to two landfills in Columbiana County and finished product from Darlington Brick. The demand was there but the railroad couldn’t satisfy it, Drake said. The brickyard alone could have filled 2,000 cars annually but inadequate service held it to 1,000 or so.

“They should be able to make money, enough money to repay their debts and show a small profit,” he said.

Calls to the Dardanelle & Russell Railroad in Russellville, Ark., were referred to the railroad’s attorney. The attorney’s receptionist said he was out of the office and he had not returned this newspaper’s call by 3:30 p.m. today.

Contact Dennis LaRue at dlarue@business-journal.com

Four Companies Interested in Rail Operation
Published: June 22, 2004 in the Lisbon Morning Journal.

By TOM GIAMBRONI
6/22/2004

EAST LIVERPOOL — Four companies have inquired about taking over the railroad owned by the Columbiana County Port Authority since the current operator filed for bankruptcy protection last week.

Port Authority Director Tracy Drake, speaking at Monday’s port authority meeting, declined to identify the railroad operators who have expressed an interest in taking over for the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railway (CCPR).

CCPR, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 14, operates the 36-mile rail line it leases from the port authority. CCPR is required to continue operating while under bankruptcy protection.

Drake said he was heartened that four companies have expressed an interest in operating the rail line should it come to that.

The U.S. Rail Commission will submit a list of names from which the federal bankruptcy judge will select a trustee, who will assume operational control while evaluating the situation before making a recommendation on what to do.

Drake said one of three things probably will happen: CCPR will emerge from bankruptcy with a new plan to pay its debts; another operator will be chosen; or the port authority can come up with a new company since CCPR is considered in breach of contract for filing bankruptcy.

The port authority is listed in bankruptcy court paperwork as being owed $464,000, representing money lent directly to CCPR. But the port authority has another nearly $3 million in money tied directly to the success of the fledgling rail line, including $2.9 million borrowed from the state and used to purchase and upgrade the rail line.

These state loans are to be repaid by the port authority to the Ohio Rail Development Commission with lease revenue received from CCPR. Drake said he has been in contact with the commission, which has offered to work with the port authority during the bankruptcy process, which he takes to mean they might be willing to restructure the repayment schedule.

Because the CCPR is required to continue operating since it is considered a public utility, Drake said that means the port authority stands a good chance of continuing to receive lease payments while going through the bankruptcy process.

Drake said the railroad carried about 3,000 cars in 2003 and had contracts to haul about 6,000 this year, which would be enough to generate a profit. But CCPR, for whatever reason, was unable to accommodate the increased traffic, angering customers.

“The demand is there,” he said, which is why the port authority believes the rail line will prove profitable for the right operator.

Drake said CCPR cash flow problems were forcing the port authority to pay for line repairs that were the CCPR’s responsibility, which the port authority felt obliged to pay in order to get what it was owed.

“It got to the point where we were subsidizing them,” he said.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

From the East Liverpool Review Newspaper
Published: June 22, 2004

In other business Monday, the board passed a resolution accepting a $2.1 million loan from the Ohio Rail Development Commission to rehabilitate 29.8 miles of the port's Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railway.

Drake said the loan will fund all necessary repairs and upgrades on the Ohio side of the rail line to meet a class-1 condition. The project should be complete within 75 days of the start of work, which should begin sometime in October.

The terms of the six-year loan provide for no interest during the first two years, 1 percent interest during the third and fourth years, and 2.5 percent in the final two years.

"This will help us accumulate occupational capital for the line so it can be maintenance self-sufficient in the future," Drake said.

According to a press release issued by the ORDC last week, the track improvements are necessary to handle the increase in traffic the CC&P has experienced.

"We have run into a problem that most short lines in the state would like to have," said James E. Seney, executive director of the ORDC. "The car loadings along the line have developed faster than the railroad could make track repairs."

The CC&P hauls about 2,750 carloads per year from nine customers, with the majority of the traffic coming from construction and demolition landfills.

The Parked Rail Cars in Lowellville
Published: Aug 5, 2004 on the WKBN TV27 Web Site

(8/5/04) If you live in Lowellville, trains are just a normal part of the scenery. But it's one particular train that's starting to irritate people. It's filled with debris from construction and demolition sites.

The complaints and questions started in May, when the Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania Railroad started parking cars on a siding, right next to Lowellville High School. They usually sit for a few days until an engine comes to haul them to a landfill in Negley.

The village has an ordinance that only allows railroad cars to be parked for 24 hours.CC&P Railroad officials did not returned our calls today.

Village leaders suspect that at some point they'll have to start issuing citations and hauling the railroad into court. Even then, no one's expecting the solution will come on a fast track.

Most of the debris the train is hauling comes from construction sites in New York, New Jersey and other points on the eastern seaboard.

Problems with Rail Line
Published: Tue, Aug 17, 2004 in the Youngstown Vindicator

EAST LIVERPOOL — The Columbiana County Port Authority may know in a few months how a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee plans to keep a rail line operating.

Tracy Drake, director of the port authority, said that it met Monday with court trustee Richard Cox of Arkansas and representatives of the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad and its customers.

The Central Columbiana uses the nearly 37-mile line that is owned by the authority. The use of railroad has been slowed by derailments. Drake has said repairs are ongoing.

Port authority lines up potential new operator
Published: Thu, Sept 23, 2004 in the Lisbon Morning Journal

By TOM GIAMBRONI Journal Staff Writer

EAST LIVERPOOL - A new operator may have been found for the railroad owned by the county Port Authority.

The Ohio Central Railroad (OCR) is interested in assuming the lease of the 36-mile railroad from the bankrupt Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railway (CC&PR), according to port authority Chief Executive Officer Tracy Drake.

Speaking following Monday's port authority board meeting, Drake told reporters the Coshocton-based company would be an ideal choice to replace CC&PR, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June.

According to the company's Web site, OCR operates 10 short-line railroads - eight in northeastern and central Ohio and two in the Pittsburgh area. The company has been in business since 1988.

What Drake finds particularly attractive is the fact five of OCR's eight rail lines in Ohio are in the Youngstown area and already connect to the port authority railroad, which runs south from Mahoning County to Darlington, Pa., with the majority passing through this county.

Unlike the Arkansas railroad company that operates the CC&PR, Drake believes the OCR has the assets to make repairs immediately without disrupting service.

"They are not strong financially, so they had trouble getting up and running with all of the costs," Drake said, referring to CC&PR.

That is not the case with OCR. "They've got the financial wherewithal to take this on," he said.

The idea of switching railroad operators has been pitched to the bankruptcy court trustee, who is in agreement that a new operator should be brought on board, Drake said.

"So we're just waiting for the trustee to finalize this process," he added. A decision is expected before the end of the year.

The port authority has much more at stake than the $464,000 it loaned to CC&PR and which is listed as a debt in bankruptcy court. The port authority has another $3 million tied up in the project, including the $2.9 million borrowed from the state to purchase the railroad and make improvements. These loans are to be repaid with lease payments received from revenue earned by the railroad operator.

If OCR is approved to become the new railroad operator, Drake said it also would assume the lease with the port authority, which includes a buy-out option in 2006 for $1.2 million.

The railroad currently serves eight businesses, including two landfills that accept out-of-state construction and demolition debris. Drake said the problem has been that every time a washout or derailment would occur, CC&PR was unable financially to immediately make the necessary repairs without borrowing money from the port authority. The delays disrupted service to businesses served by railroad.

"Ohio Central has the ability to come in and fix this overnight" because it has work crews on call to respond to emergency repairs, Drake said.

Drake believes in the railroad as both an economic development tool to attract businesses to the county and in its ability to turn a profit. He said long-range projections show the rail line should be "highly profitable."

"In the scheme of things, keeping the railroad open is the right thing to do," Drake said.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

Train Derailment in City
Published: October 15, 2004 from the WKBN Web Site

Mahoning County
(10/15/04) A train derailment on Youngstown's South Side tied-up traffic for a few hours.

A little before noon a train operated by the Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania Railroad slipped off the tracks and ground to a stop.

A number of roads along Southern Boulevard including Midlothian were blocked until the train could be moved.

Train Derailment in Youngstown
Published: October 15, 2004 from the WYTV Web Site

Youngstown
Gerry Ricciutti

Late morning traffic became a chore Friday after a train derailed on Youngstown’s southside, blocking several intersections.

The train, part of the Columbiana & Pennsylvania line, jumped the tracks along Southern Boulevard.

The cars blocked several crossings, including busy Midlothian Blvd. for almost 90 minutes until crews were able to move the cars out of the intersections.

Local company seeks to buy port authority's railroad
Published: October 18, 2004 in the Youngstown Vindicator

The director said seven companies are interested in the port-owned railroad.
 
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
 
EAST LIVERPOOL — Columbiana County Port Authority officials are negotiating with a local company interested in buying the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad Co., Tracy Drake, port authority executive director, said.
 
Drake said the local company is one of seven that have expressed serious interest in the port authority-owned railroad. He did not identify the local company, adding, however, that the railroad's long-term prospects are good.
 
He said federal transportation officials project cargo handling in the United States will double in the next 15 years, increasing the need for railroad and maritime commerce.
 
The bulk of cargo handling now is done by truck, and highways could not be built fast enough to allow double the truck traffic in that period, he said.
 
The companies contacted Drake after Arkansas Shortline Co., Russellville, Ark., the company that runs the line, filed a bankruptcy declaration in June in federal court in Arkansas.
 
The bankruptcy imperils nearly a half-million dollars of port authority money.
 
Details
 
The Central Columbiana is a single-line railroad that stretches through Columbiana and Mahoning counties. The 37-mile-long railroad has struggled financially despite its being used by about 10 businesses that are served by nearly 5,000 rail cars annually.
 
The Central Columbiana, a subsidiary of Arkansas Shortline Co., operates the railroad for the port authority as part of a 20-year lease that requires the rail company to pay the port authority $9,000 monthly and to help keep the line operational.
 
The Central Columbiana missed lease payments and borrowed $450,000 from the port authority to subsidize operation of the rail line, Drake said. He said the port authority also provided cash to get the railroad line operating again after two derailments this spring.
 
He said the line, which was formerly the Youngstown & Southern Railroad, restarted about three years ago after being mothballed for years.
 
The railroad had deteriorated and needed a lot of work to become operational again. The port authority has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to restore the line, but the Central Columbiana was expected to put up money, too, Drake said.
 
He said money spent subsidizing the railroad is money that could have financed other port authority projects, but the port authority thought it was imperative to keep the line operating and to keep it safe.
 
tullis@vindy.com