Northwestern Pacific v. SMART Abandoned LP tank cars

[YoHo1975]

Does anyone have any more details beyond this report:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/23/tanker-cars-liquid-petroleum-gas-abandoned-on-sonoma-county-smart-train-tracks/

 

I drove past the train at Schelville last weekend. If the train was always at Schellville, then that article is in error, Schellville is not owned by SMART and so they couldn't have been made about it being on their tracks, but perhaps it was moved. They own from Ignactio wye to Healdsburg.

I'm not sure this is a NIMBY issue per se'. It isn't crude Oil and I assume that SMART has the right to demand permits for a train like this...though as a common carrier, I also assume NWP is required to transport it.

 

I'm mostly curious about the claim of abandonment. Why was the train at Schellville. Had Cal Northern delivered it there and NWP not moved it yet? 

 

I guess I'm mainly just surprised there isn't more news on this. This is the kind of thing people get up in arms about, especially in north bay.

Also, the lady at the Santa Rosa California Welcome center seemed to imply that they had "blocked the railroad" more broadly, but that seems implausible to me. 

[YoHo1975]

People in the comments seem to be suggesting that the tank cars are being stored empty which was what I was assuming, but again, no proof of anything.

[YoHo1975]

Only semi-related article, http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/1863118-180/smart-leaves-businesses-out-of

[mudchicken]

NOR 42148_0 On the STB site. (Latest attached, the issue is far from over and is going to get interesting in the courts [several issues in play]. Much of the hearsay from both sides reported on this forum is just so much baloney.)

https://www.stb.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/9855c1fb354da09b85257f1f000b5f79/60d9d0c63331d54d852580530048bbbd?OpenDocument

[MidlandMike]

Artile in today's Trains NewsWire says they are loaded LPG cars, stored for eventual use at Bay area refineries.

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2016/10/28-sonoma-gas

 

[YoHo1975]

Ugh, I let my trains subscription lapse. May have to fix that. In either case, the STB report seems to imply that Schellville is owned by SMART, but I thought this was not true, that NCRA owns that section. Further it seems like there were rules around car storage on the SMART section which is why this seems confusing on ownership. Does NCRA and NWP own that siding or not? Could they in theory store the cars past the SMART owned section? What a fascinating situation. I bet those grain cars for Petaluma were Hops for Lagunitas, If this causes those shipments to stop and impedes the creation of Little sumpin' sumpin, I will be PUT OUT!