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Surface Transportation Board getting involved with the CSX/ Hunter Harrison Fiasco

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Posted by schlimm on Tuesday, August 1, 2017 10:12 PM

BaltACD

 

 
schlimm
Strike three!  When's the last time you acknowledged you were 'off base' a bit? 

 

Nope - Snarks foul off pitches that they don't knock out of the park.

 

A high pop foul behind the plate.  Contreras camps under it.  Caught. Out three!

Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, August 1, 2017 10:55 PM

schlimm

 

 
BaltACD

 

 
schlimm
Strike three!  When's the last time you acknowledged you were 'off base' a bit? 

 

Nope - Snarks foul off pitches that they don't knock out of the park. 

A high pop foul behind the plate.  Contreras camps under it.  Caught. Out three!

Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!

Once in 108 years.  Even a blind squirrel stumbles over some nuts. Contreras stumbled over the blind squirrel and didn't make the catch.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by schlimm on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9:09 AM

BaltACD
Once in 108 years.  Even a blind squirrel stumbles over some nuts. Contreras stumbled over the blind squirrel and didn't make the catch.

You'd better stop racing if your vision is that poor.

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Posted by Bruce Kelly on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9:25 AM
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Posted by zugmann on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9:29 AM

Bruce Kelly

Funny how many of the EHH fangirls have suddenly gone silent.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 10:17 AM

Nothing new to add really.. change generally involves some disruption in the short term. We're seeing that. The article also states that.. i.e. paragraph 7..

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Posted by Los Angeles Rams Guy on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 10:58 AM

Ulrich

Nothing new to add really.. change generally involves some disruption in the short term. We're seeing that. The article also states that.. i.e. paragraph 7..

 

Uh, SOME disruption?  How 'bout full-fledged meltdown instead?  And now throw this nasty derailment on top of it all.

http://www.wtae.com/article/homes-evacuated-amid-freight-train-derailment-fire-in-bedford-county-pennsylvania/10401728

 

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Posted by Euclid on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 11:18 AM

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

 

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 11:41 AM

Euclid
If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

The STB writing their letter last week is the 1st step toward some form of government intervention - not to save the company - rather to benefit the shippers and receivers of the goods that the company handles.

The creation of ConRail was not about saving Penn Central - it was about providing transportation service to the areas that Penn Central served.

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 11:56 AM

And we all know the minions in government are more capable than the rest of us..Let's not forget that the Penn Central debacle was in large measure brought on by out of date regulations, not the incompetence of people like Al Perlman who did their best given the circumstances. 

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 12:06 PM

Euclid

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

 

 

Everything is always gloom and doom.. I guess its a sign of the times. CSX is having some switching problems. They've got capable people, but Rome wasn't built in a day. If you can look past the hyperbole and the panic stricken people, this might actually be a good time to buy the stock. 

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Posted by zugmann on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 12:26 PM

Ulrich
CSX is having some switching problems.

 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by Euclid on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 12:28 PM

Ulrich
 
Euclid

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

 

 

 

 

Everything is always gloom and doom.. I guess its a sign of the times. CSX is having some switching problems. They've got capable people, but Rome wasn't built in a day. If you can look past the hyperbole and the panic stricken people, this might actually be a good time to buy the stock. 

 

Well, underlying my question is the question of whether the collapse of CSX is being exaggerated for the benefit of the eternal shippers' grievance toward the railroads they use.

If it is not being exaggerated, then government intervention is urgently needed.

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 12:36 PM

Most definitely exaggerated.. i.e. collapse of CSX.. Keep in mind that freight volumes are very strong across the board right now. Part of the shippers' agst may be due to capacity constraints. Truck capacity in the markets CSX serves is extremely tight right now.. especially in the Southeast. No doubt shippers are growing frustrated, and those frustrations are likely most acute with transportation vendors who are undergoing massive changes over and above tightened capacity. Probably the best time to make those changes is when freight volumes are down.. but.. sometimes the timing is beyond anyone's control. 

 

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Posted by overall on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 1:03 PM

I went out to Radnor yard (in Nashville) yesterday and observed it from the Harding Pike Overpass (a public Right of Way). The hump was idle, as I expected. What I didn't expect was all the cars I saw in the bowl tracks. They were full up. In fact, there were cars everywhere, but not one car moving, anywhere. How are they getting cars into the bowl? From the opposite end? It shows how plugged up CSX is, because of this foolishness.

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 1:08 PM

zugmann

 

 
Ulrich
CSX is having some switching problems.

 

 

 

 

I see problems that can be worked out. 

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 1:17 PM

Ulrich
Most definitely exaggerated.. i.e. collapse of CSX.. Keep in mind that freight volumes are very strong across the board right now. Part of the shippers' agst may be due to capacity constraints. Truck capacity in the markets CSX serves is extremely tight right now.. especially in the Southeast. No doubt shippers are growing frustrated, and those frustrations are likely most acute with transportation vendors who are undergoing massive changes over and above tightened capacity. Probably the best time to make those changes is when freight volumes are down.. but.. sometimes the timing is beyond anyone's control. 

My sources know what it takes for CSX to operate - they have been operating it for years.  CSX is in gridlock today.  Gridlock orchastrated by a failed operating plan and removal of operating resources from operation.

The freight levels today are nowhere near the levels that have been successfully handled in the past.

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Posted by Miningman on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 1:31 PM

Zugmann- " Nothing to see here"...good one! It's perfect.

Now they have a big derailment to deal with. 

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 2:31 PM

[quote user="Euclid"]

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

[/quote above]

Yes, Euclid, Yes.   Not to save the company, but save its customers.  There are areas where CSX is the exclusive raliroad provider, and where highway and/or water transportation is not really feasible for the particular important commodities.

I expect a Government takeover and installation of operating people without any ties to HH.  Unless HH shows some sense and HUMILITY very soon.  I felt he had not one clue how to run CSX (and he would have similar problems with NS).  CSX is a spaghetti bowl compared to the simple networks of IC, CN, and CP.

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Posted by ns145 on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3:12 PM

overall

I went out to Radnor yard (in Nashville) yesterday and observed it from the Harding Pike Overpass (a public Right of Way). The hump was idle, as I expected. What I didn't expect was all the cars I saw in the bowl tracks. They were full up. In fact, there were cars everywhere, but not one car moving, anywhere. How are they getting cars into the bowl? From the opposite end? It shows how plugged up CSX is, because of this foolishness.

According to the latest AAR Railroad Performance Measures stats, Radnor yard right now has the highest dwell time on the whole CSX system - almost 3 days! 

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Posted by schlimm on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3:13 PM

[quote user="daveklepper"]

[quote user="Euclid"]

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

[/quote above]

Yes, Euclid, Yes.   Not to save the company, but save its customers.  There are areas where CSX is the exclusive raliroad provider, and where highway and/or water transportation is not really feasible for the particular important commodities.

I expect a Government takeover and installation of operating people without any ties to HH.  Unless HH shows some sense and HUMILITY very soon.  I felt he had not one clue how to run CSX (and he would have similar problems with NS).  CSX is a spaghetti bowl compared to the simple networks of IC, CN, and CP.

 

[/quote]

Unlikely, IMO.

EHH blames the pushback of a few employees; SMART union spokesperson Risch blames EHH.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-csx-disruptions-idUSKBN1AH4OV

 

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3:59 PM

[quote user="daveklepper"]

[quote user="Euclid"]

 

If all this doom and gloom of one man destroying CSX is true, what should be done about it?  Wouldn’t the destruction of CSX be a national emergency?  Does the government need to intervene to save the company? 

[/quote above]

Yes, Euclid, Yes.   Not to save the company, but save its customers.  There are areas where CSX is the exclusive raliroad provider, and where highway and/or water transportation is not really feasible for the particular important commodities.

I expect a Government takeover and installation of operating people without any ties to HH.  Unless HH shows some sense and HUMILITY very soon.  I felt he had not one clue how to run CSX (and he would have similar problems with NS).  CSX is a spaghetti bowl compared to the simple networks of IC, CN, and CP.

 

[/quote]

 

Trump and co. need to get their house in order first..I doubt anyone in government can do a better job.. ((if they could they would.. pays alot better). 

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Posted by PJS1 on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3:59 PM

ns145
 According to the latest AAR Railroad Performance Measures stats, Radnor yard right now has the highest dwell time on the whole CSX system - almost 3 days! 

According to Railroad Performance Measures, from July 29, 2016 through July 21, 2017, the average dwell time for the Class 1 carriers was 25.1 hours.  The median was 24 hours.
 
The average dwell time for CSX across the system was 27 hours, and the median was 26 hours.  The average dwell times for BNSF and NS were also 27 hours, and the median dwell time for them was 26 hours.  The best dwell time was turned in by CN, with an average and a median of 15 hours. 
 
Over the period the dwell time for CSX ticked-up 9.8 percent, although it increased 10.3 percent from the end of the 2017 1st quarter through the end of the second quarter. However, with the exception of the KCS, which saw a decrease in dwell time of 9.2 percent, every other carrier had an increase in dwell time, ranging from 2.5 percent for NS to 14.8 percent for CN.  The average increase in dwell time for all carriers was 5.1 percent, and the median was 6.7 percent.

On the surface CSX’s dwell times don’t appear to be way off the industry averages, although they have been increasing. 

Change involves pain.  Executive management’s job is to take the long view.  Will the changes bring about a better organization?  Only time will tell, but focusing on one location or for too short a period of time is not a good predictor of the final outcomes.  

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 4:10 PM

I have been through more failed operating plans on CSX than I care to count.  They all have this same sort of appearance until someone wakes up and fires some other one.  Hunter will stay around until Mantle Ridge is no long the tail that is trying to wag the CSX dog (The Chessie cat is upset at the dog analogy.)  If Paul Hilal wakes up and begins to understand the damage is oxygen starved cadaver is doing to his investment then there will be change.  Hilal better not stay asleep much longer or he can kiss the value of his investment good bye.

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Posted by AgentKid on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 4:29 PM

BaltACD
the tail that is trying to wag the CSX dog (The Chessie cat is upset at the dog analogy.)

Well, we can't have that.

The Chessie Cat, in all his/her? reincarnations, is about the only cat I ever really liked.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

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Posted by wanswheel on Thursday, August 3, 2017 12:56 PM

BaltACD

oxygen starved cadaver

Poor guy. I kind of feel sorry for him he can't do a lot of things he used to.

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, August 3, 2017 1:47 PM

wanswheel
 
BaltACD

oxygen starved cadaver 

Poor guy. I kind of feel sorry for him he can't do a lot of things he used to.

Dementia is like that!

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Thursday, August 3, 2017 2:47 PM

BaltACD
wanswheel
BaltACD

oxygen starved cadaver 

Poor guy. I kind of feel sorry for him he can't do a lot of things he used to.

Dementia is like that!

You should hear what is being said about him over on railroader forums like yardlimits and runningtrades.  Some comments would make a sailor blush. 

People don't like you very much if you destroy their workplace culture and careers.  To put it mildly I hope that whatever he has is painful.  And karma's got a long way to go yet. 

And I will shortly be joining the line to dance (among other things) on his grave.

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by Miningman on Thursday, August 3, 2017 7:45 PM

Sd70M-2 Dude- "  To put it mildly I hope that whatever he has is painful.  And karma's got a long way to go yet. 

And I will shortly be joining the line to dance (among other things) on his grave."

I would not go that far...he has a beautiful multi million dollar horse farm...why not pack it in and enjoy life. Donate 2 or 3 million to the T1 fund and smile. That would be a reasonable and fine outcome. 

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, August 3, 2017 8:02 PM

Miningman
I would not go that far...he has a beautiful multi million dollar horse farm...why not pack it in and enjoy life. Donate 2 or 3 million to the T1 fund and smile. That would be a reasonable and fine outcome. 

Indeed.  On the other hand, it's hard to turn down that kind of money to be a puppet.  

I'm fairly certain that it's not EHH who is making these draconian pronouncements - he's just the figurehead for the folks who want to milk CSX dry before moving on to their next victim.

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