If you've always wanted to start a shortline.....

[kenneo]

It takes someone who has administrative experience at (at least) the Division level. Having been in on the formation of one of these businesses, I can tell you that 60% of your time and energies (not to mention money) will be spent on FRA matters, then there is the STB (not in the picture when I did this), insurance (you will need to have to have at least 100% of the purchase price and any upgrade costs(for the banks well being) and then at least 10 millions of deep pockets liability, plus wreck and washout protection. And this is only where it starts.

It's a business like no other. It is transportation, it is warehousing, it is logistics, you get to carry your costomers transportations for at least 60 days so you need to also be a "bank".

I have a set of books that detail just how to do this. It is about 10,000 pages long, in 13 volumes plus 2 volumes for the index.

If you are starting from square zero, believe me, you don't want to do this unless you can hire it done for you. You say you just won the 300 million dollar (after taxes) Power Ball???

[tormadel]

But you didn't know what it takes. What would you do?

Reading alot of trade magazines and books can teach you alot. Especially about history how's and whys. But it doesn't teach you how in modern times the peices fall into place.

So what I'm looking for I guess is advice from people wiser then I in the "Trains" community.