4th Quarter - North Shore Railroad

North Shore
Railroad Newsletter
2013
Fourth Quarter
2013 Fourth Quarter
2013 Review, Table of Contents
Notes from the President
page 2
Customer Quotes
page 3
Notes from Operations
page 4-5
Notes from Marketing
page 6
Where to Find Us
page 7
Our Railroad Family
page 8 to back cover
Notes from the President
Notes from Gary
This quarter we are highlighting our company’s Freight
Operations Department. This department is composed of
our largest group of employees, Train Service personnel
and the management team who oversees the department.
Last week we had a request from one of our customers
who needed an inbound carload to maintain plant operations. Otherwise, this massive plant would be required to
shut down due to the lack of the inbound commodity
contained on said railcar. After the customer called our
operating department about this situation, we immediately called Norfolk Southern, our Class I partner,
requesting assistance to expedite the carload to Northumberland. Then, based on the feedback from Norfolk
Southern, we developed a revised operational schedule
to get the car to the customer to make sure their plant
continued uninterrupted production.
Our valuable customers all over our rail network see
more of our Train Service employees on a daily basis
than any other group in our company. The Train Service
personnel are the best sales people we have. Their safe,
efficient service is the best selling point that we, as a
railroad, have to offer. Throughout the year, regardless
of weather conditions, time of day, day of week, or
whatever extra effort is required, our Freight Operations
Department meets or exceeds our customers’ expectations. Our bedrock business principle is consistent and
quality customer service; system wide, our Train Service
crews consistently provide that quality service for which
we are noted.
This outstanding effort is typical of our company. Thank
you to our Freight Operations Department for being such
a safe, customer focused group!
Gary Shields
President & CEO
Photo By: Mike Zollitsch
On Track, edited by Blanchard, Briner, and Stotter
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356 Priestley Avenue ~ Northumberland, PA 17857 ~ 570.473.7949 ~ www.NSHR.com
Dedicated to safely and efficiently serving our region's industries for over 29 years.
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We Love our Customers!
Customer Quotes
In the morning, when we fire-up our engines, we have one ultimate goal in mind, serving our customers. Without
our faithful customers there would be no reason for our railroads to run day-to-day. We try our best to serve our
customers’ every need and provide reliable rail transportation. It is our hope that our customers know how much we
appreciate them and how proud we are to serve them. Bottom line is, we love our customers.
This past year some of our customers told us what they thought of us…
"As a valued partner to our fertilizer distribution and
logistics company, JVRR supports our operations by
delivering superior service to our Lewistown, PA
facility. This dedication allows us to continue to pursue
avenues of business opportunity far beyond our
original expectations."
“The services provided by the North Shore Railroad
Company’s family of short lines are the best we have
ever dealt with.”
Tim Chutz
President
Arrow Material Services
Jeffrey R. Stine
President
Sylco Service and Terminal Company
“Our company is KYDEX LLC., located in
Bloomsburg, PA. We are one of the leading
manufacturers in the world of thermo plastic sheet.
We purchase over 20 million pounds of PVC annually
via railcar. The North Shore railroad provides service to
our rail spur for unloading of our railcars. We have
found the people at North Shore go over and above the
call of duty, pertaining to service requirements we need
at KYDEX LLC. The North Shore people are
courteous, friendly and personable, which we truly
appreciate here at KYDEX LLC. On behalf of KYDEX
LLC., thank you for the excellent service you provide.”
“The NBER has proven to be a reliable provider of
service and has shown flexibility in meeting
Graymont’s varying demand requirements.
The NBER has also shown a willingness to partner with
us in the development of new business opportunities.
Their service and support are considered key to our
ongoing success.”
Randy Pletcher
Vice President - Sales and Distribution
Graymont Inc.
Steven W. LeVan
Supply Chain Manager
Kydex, LLC
“Your service is second to none, you help us develop
potential business, solve problems with equipment,
handle our week to week rail deliveries on time, you
keep us informed of incoming cars. Our rail siding
upgrade and unloading system was completely handled
by SVRR. In other words, you’ve helped us grow our
business by using rail and you’ve saved us money and
provided infrastructure improvement.”
“I've been working with this short line since 1988 and
believe that anyone would have a hard time finding a
business that is more customer aware and involved with
the communities than the North Shore System is. All of
their employees that I've worked with, from car maintenance, track maintenance, car hire, dispatch and all of
the crews are professional and ready to serve in any
way.”
Lisa Hoover
Office Manager
Anthracite Industries
Ralph R. Shrawder
Acting Manager
PA Distribution
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Notes from Operations
A Note from Tom
Having joined the North Shore Railroad in 1998, I’ve
seen tremendous changes in the railroad and, in particular, the Freight Operations Department.
weekend. Our customer base has grown to 100 and, in
2013 we will handle more than 30,000 railcar loads of
traffic, taking nearly 250,000 tractor trailers off the public highway infrastructure.
In reviewing the past 15 years, some interesting facts
emerge. In 1998, we employed 25 Train & Engine Service personnel, which equated to 10 train crew starts per
day. All these crew starts took place on daylight shift.
We served 75 customers.
Safety and service are of paramount importance to us,
and as such, we now employ a full time
Safety & Compliance Manager. The
changes have been great, and it is my
pleasure to work with such a fine group.
Today, we employ 53 Train & Engine Service personnel, which equates to 18 crew starts per day. Now, we
work around the clock and service often extends into the
Tom Avery
Director of Operations
A Note from Randy
Today’s business environment demands
a great deal of flexibility from the railroads who serve manufacturing industries. From our train and engine service
employees, to our Director of Operations, each has a “can do” philosophy as
it relates to our customers’ special and
necessary requirements.
this happen. This is a small price to pay to make sure
that our customers are provided with the customer
service that anyone who knows us has come to expect.
In the occasion where a customer requests a railcar delivery outside of normally scheduled operations in order
to avert a shutdown of production, efficiency and familiarity with a broad range of skills and assignments is of
the utmost importance.
On the individual railroad divisions, General Managers
(Jim Mackey, Jason Kift, and Greg Kerstetter) keep in
daily contact with their respective customers. I adjust
crew call times and change connecting train schedules to
facilitate the movement of cars to other terminals. Shane
Smith keeps up on the governmental rules and regulations that affect crew safety and operational procedures,
as well as the movement of certain hazardous commodities. And finally, Tom Avery will contact individual
customers system wide if customers are experiencing
issues that may require contact with our Class I partners
on delayed shipments due to mechanical or operational
issues.
On our entire system, numerous customers have special
requests that are unique to their operation. Our train
crews are able to adjust to customer needs on a daily
basis.
To handle the task, a train crew would be assembled
from personnel who came on duty with assignments on
other railroads. This crew would then be required to
complete both their original and newly assigned tasks
within the FRA mandated limitations on daily hours of
service.
Crew activity would normally include switching out
freight cars from our Class I partners, delivering the
needed freight car to the customer’s facility, positioning
the needed railcar at the customer, and removing any
cars already at the customer siding that need repositioned to allow customer access to the needed railcar,
and returning back to the crew’s home terminal. This
may happen before or after the crew’s original assignment.
Just as some requests are reactive to a situation, most are
proactive to provide the service that is the lifeblood of
our company. Seamless delivery and pickup of cars for
each and every one of our customers is what we pride
ourselves on. Without our flexibility, our customers
would not be provided with the best service in the railroad industry- the service they have come to expect.
Randy Ulrich
Supervisor of Operations
All said, the crew may travel 60 miles or more to make
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Notes from Operations
A Note from Shane
The year of 2013 was one that saw the
ongoing formulation and intensification
of responses to evolving governmental
mandates in training, reporting, and
monitoring of rules and regulation compliance for trainees, brakemen, conductors, and engineers.
safety performance, observing and testing each employee every 90 days.
To comply with federal guidelines on recording and
reporting Hours of Service for each member of the
Operations Department, we switched from a paper-based
system to a computer-based system. Working closely
with a software company to tailor a web based program
to meet North Shore and FRA requirements, each crew
member now enters his or her daily shift information via
a secure account that can then be queried for company
wide or individual records as requested by the FRA or as
aids to operational transparency. This computer based
program should reduce paper records by 80 percent.
In each case we worked closely with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to adopt, revise, expand, and
enact policy and expectations to meet or exceed FRA
requirements in order to promote and enhance employee
and public safety.
In this past year, new employees completed a North
Shore designed, FRA approved, conductor certification
program. Completion of this program means that an individual has fulfilled federally mandated training criteria
and is now qualified to perform certain safety sensitive
functions as a conductor.
We continue to work closely with the FRA, both
through printed media and personal interaction, to make
safety and compliance the top priority for employees of
all levels of experience, each and every day, in all job
assignments, in order to be a responsible partner with the
public that we serve.
In addition, all Freight Operations employees were subject to an (updated) Efficiency Testing program in which
Phil Lucas, our full time Safety and Compliance Manager, traveled system wide to target rule compliance and
Shane Smith
Superintendent
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Notes from Marketing
A Note from Brigid
“I hear the train a comin’, it’s rollin’ ‘round the bend,”
and it’s the sound of the return of rail service to Allenwood and to the southern edge of the Great Stream
Commons business park. So why rail? With companies
wanting varied options for freight transportation, a site
that has both good highway and rail access make it more
desirable. And now, GSC is only one of three known
sites in Pennsylvania that offers highway and rail access
and the option of being able to site a 2 million square
foot building.
The nearly $3 million project was made possible by leveraging federal TIGER II funds to restore the old Reading Railroad line from Leiser Road north to Columbia
Avenue. In order to remain flexible and to meet the site
needs for a user or multiple users, the rail has not been
built into GSC. The Union County Industrial Railroad – one of six operated by
the North Shore Railroad – will be the
serving carrier for the line and the industrial park.
In a recent press release issued by SEDA-COG, Union
County Commissioner John Showers stated, “Union
County’s foremost marketing strategy to sell commercial
real estate holdings at Great Stream Commons industrial/commercial park is predicated on the return of rail
freight service to northern Union County and Great
Stream Commons. Union County’s ability to boast of a
two-million square foot commercial/industrial site pad
that is rail served places us on the short list of such sites
in all of Pennsylvania and the entire Mid-Atlantic
Region. As a result of this redirected strategy, our
Gregg Township location has received more attention
and inquiries in the last two years than in the twelve
preceding years with the exception of the Target land
purchase. The Union County Commissioners are grateful for the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority’s investment
of federal TIGER II grant monies and Joint Rail dollars
into the rebuilding of this critical Union County infrastructure rail link."
Brigid Rich
Manager of Marketing and Car Hire
Pictured here is the first run across the
White Deer Bridge on December 10, 2013
Photo By: Caleb Hoover
Don Alexander, Union County Economic Development
Director, also commented in that same press release,
“The White Deer restoration project has the potential to
positively benefit Union County and local economies, as
the ability to add rail service will benefit commercial
sites in White Deer and Gregg Townships. The more
these sites can offer, the more appealing they will be to
businesses dependent on rail service, which can lead to
greater capital and jobs investments in these townships.
While there is no guarantee of immediate success, early
industrial response to the rail project has been encouraging, with this area of the county having been considered
by at least six known prospects, with another currently
exploring the possibility of locating in northern Union
County.”
We are pleased to announce that Brigid Malek Rich,
Manager of Marketing & Car Hire, was recently
appointed to serve on the Greater Susquehanna Valley
Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for 2014 as a
Director for Region IV. Brigid currently serves the
GSVCC as Chair of the Governmental Affairs
Committee, a Chamber Ambassador, and as a
member of the Transportation Committee.
We would also like to congratulate our Director of
Marketing, Todd Hunter, for his appointed position as
Chair of the Transportation Committee for the
Williamsport Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.
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Where to Find Us
Your Central PA Freight Providers
 Like us on Facebook
or
Visit us online at: www.NSHR.com
Phone: 570.473.7949
Fax: 570.473.8432
356 Priestley Avenue
Northumberland, PA 17857
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Our Railroad Family
2013 New Employees
Aaron Cantolina
March 25th
T&E
Seth Heddings
October 7th
MoW
Justin Ripka
June 24th
T&E
Brandon
Davidson
June 24th
T&E
Randy Jeffrey
June 24th
T&E
Chris Snyder
September 3rd
Cust. Service
Kyle Eck
September 16th
T&E
Nate Johnson
May 6th
Loco Repair
Justin Wagner
June 24th
T&E
Notable 2013 Employment Anniversaries
5 YEARS
15 YEARS
Seth Barth
September 29, 2008
Robert Aungst
July 7, 1998
Harold Beach
March 2, 2008
Thomas Avery
August 10, 1998
Loni Briner
July 14, 2008
Robert Davidson
July 27, 1998
Glen Swope
August 27, 2008
Richard Emerick
January 27, 1998
10 YEARS
20 YEARS
Michael Bailets
April 17, 2003
Brian Robey
Nathan Blanchard
October 14, 2003
John Buttorff Jr.
May 12, 2003
26 YEARS
Jeremy Fronk
April 21, 2003
Randall Ulrich
Caleb Hoover
April 30, 2003
Pete Simcox
May 12, 2003
Shane Smith
January 21, 2003
Roy Toner
May 16, 2003
James Vanemon Jr.
December 10, 2003
March 11, 1993
WOW!!!!
Of our 97 employees,
62 have been with our company
longer than five years!
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Our Railroad Family
2013 Retirements
Harry “Kent” Young
Charles “Chuck” Feinauer
Start Date: August 19, 1996
Retire Date: July 5, 2013
Position: General Car Foreman
Start Date: August 16, 1996
Retire Date: July 1, 2013
Position: General Manager of
Operations (LVRR)
2013 Promotions
—————————
Greg Kerstetter
General Manager of
Operations (JVRR)
—————————
Seth Barth
Assistant Superintendent
of Track
—————————
Eric Kift
Assistant General Car
Foreman
—————————
Loni Briner
Lead Customer Service
Rep./Media Manager
Phil Lucas
Safety & Compliance
Manager
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Jim Mackey
General Manager of
Operations (NBER)
Jeb Stotter
Vice President
—————————
—————————
Pat McGaw
General Car Foreman
Pete Symons
Superintendent of Track
—————————
—————————
Pete Simcox
Director of Engineering
Roy Toner
Road Foreman (DSLE)
Our Railroad Family
Employees in the Community
There is much talent in our company, exhibited during and after work. Many of our employees are actively
involved in their communities. We would like to brag about it!
You only need to talk to NSHR Railroad Conductor &
Engineer Mike Zollitsch for two minutes to know railroading is in his blood. According to his parents, Mike
became interested in trains when he was 18 months old.
When he was eight years old, his parents gave him his
first camera. By the time he graduated high school, Mike
had a particular gift for photographing trains. He took
artistic shots in which the scenery was an integral part of
the picture– a method he continues to employ today.
According to Mike, “Sometimes you need to take a photograph 10-20 times to get the right shot. All the elements have to be just right.” Mike has been contributing
amazing photographs for our company calendar, brochures, newsletter, website, and countless promotional
materials for 13 years. Further, his photographs have
been featured in books, various calendars, and magazines.
In college, he began writing about railroads, and in fact,
since 1995, RailPace Magazine has regularly featured
his column on the G&W family of railroads. Mike has
written four volumes on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, with volume 5 slated for release in
2014.
In 2012, he released a book that extensively documents
dramatic changes in our largest operation, the LVRR. “A
Year on the Lycoming Valley: Five Seasons of Contemporary Shortline Railroading” is a pictorial tribute that
includes over 320 photographs of the LVRR. Mike’s
book affords readers insight into the day to day operations of a busy shortline and it is the next best thing to
being there. We are proud
of Mike’s success and we
are grateful for all his efforts in promoting our
company.
If you are interested in
purchasing one of Mike’s
books, please email him
at:
BPRR3000@aol.com
North Shore in the Community
December 7, 2014 NARCOA (North American Railcar Operators Association) hosted the annual Toys for Tots ride,
which departed from our home office in Northumberland
and traveled up the North Shore line. The many participants collected more than 400 toys and raised more than
$3,000 in donations.
We were very fortunate to have PA State Representative
Linda Schlegel Culver judge the decorated speeder cars.
This past August, North Shore Railroad Company sponsored a
1912 Aultman Taylor Steam Traction Engine exhibit for Snyder
County’s West End Fair. It was a very unusual and neat addition
to the fair’s exhibits.
Thank you to our UCIR customer, PA Distribution, for drawing
this unique opportunity to our attention.
Shown in the picture are Russ and Gary Bingaman, members of
the Central PA Vintage Iron Club.
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