Confiscated railroad equip from railfan

[Typhoon]

http://www.nj.com/gloucester/index.ssf? ... xml&coll=8

Admin edit: edited subject line.

[ns8401]

It sucks he did that.... On another note I've wanted to have a look at some signals still on the old EL Main in Indiana... Maybe I can wire those up at home How does somebody obtain them in the first place if they are still RR property? and then take them and wire them up without anybody noticing?

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Not that I'm questioning the fact that he probably did steal a lot of the things they confiscated but...how many of us have seen station and yard signs for sale at swap meets that may or may not be very well done reproductions of the originals? Considering we've all seen the links to the Class 1's auction websites, we know they do dispose of things they no longer have a use for. The railroads use a lot of things that anybody can purchase, if they want to badly enough (and have incredibly deep pockets). Is it possible the authorities confiscated a lot of things the guy obtained legally? If so...what's to stop them from coming after any of the rest of us, especially those who have gone through proper channels to obtain railroadania?


On a side note...does anyone know what kind of signals he had wired up in his back yard? 'Massive' could be anything from a couple of searchlights to a complete signal bridge...

[lakeshoredave]

wow. fantasy football guy thinks this dude is a bit crazy. the degenerate gambler betting on the wyoming/unlv game thinks this guy has a serious problem. dude needs to find a better hobby, or just go to a train show!

[intocable83]

I'm confused,, the first part of the article says this ("Crews from Conrail's regional train yard at Woodbury worked Friday afternoon to bring down the two massive signals that were wired to the home's electrical system and fully functional.") Then it goes on to state this in the second half (Conrail ceased operations in 1999, so there is the outside possibility that the signs were acquired legally, authorities noted.)
So Conrail decided to just reorganize for this day to take down the signal's and then cease after they were removed as they had ceased operating in 1999?

[mikerm19]

I really would like to see:
1. their evidence that the equipment was in fact stolen (I would think this would be very difficult to find, unless he stole things from an active rail line)
2. Their evidence of what wasn't stolen. How do they know this Conrail sign wasnt?
3. If they really had the legal right to take his property.

[GTW6401]

So Conrail decided to just reorganize for this day to take down the signal's and then cease after they were removed as they had ceased operating in 1999?

Conrail is still around in New Jersey, along with Detroit through Shared Assets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail_Shared_Assets

[Norm]

LEt some RR Cop or local fuzz try to confiscate my camera or images I have taken. there's going to be one hell of s h8T,fight over that in court.

[hobojim]

I guess it goes to illustrate that if you collect this stuff it would probably be very prudent to keep receipts and records of how it is gotten.

[rrboomer]

In 1978 a BN special agent asked a Edgemont, SD brakeman with approx one year of seniority if he could look at his switch key collection. The brakeman's age was about 35-40 and had held various non railroad jobs around the mid west and north west..

The special agent then confiscated his CB&Q, SP&S, NP and GN switch keys as BN property he was not authorized to possess.

I don't know the final outcome as I left the BN shortly after for greener pastures in North Dakota.

The implication is this might be a good time to review one's collection and make a list of what, where, from whom, and when you legally obtained your items.

[M.D.Bentley]

I guarantee that everyone/anyone that has any railroad collectable, has in their collection, an item or two with a questionable background. For example a timetable that states " FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF EMPLOYEES ONLY" or a box of STUFF from a retired railroader. Just because a railroader hands you something does not mean that they have a right to give it you. It would be hard to prove that you did not recieve the item legally. Ever buy something at a flea market ( RR or otherwise ). Did you get a receipt? NO, is it stolen? I don't know. There are alot of people out there with RR stuff in their yards, switch stands, signals, crossing lights. You cannot judge people by what they have or how they obtained the items. This will be / is a sore spot for many people, myself included. The railroads most of the time cannot prove where the stuff came from and after alot of time and $$$$$ will drop the case. OK, stepping off the soap box and backing away slowly...........

[Garry K]

Oh, oh, now I'm worried. I hope nobody from the Michigan Central RR (from long ago) comes to try to collect my switch key (complete with padlock!), oil can, and other items I inherited from my grandfather who worked for the NYC/MCRR at Livernois Yard in Detroit.

I also worry someone from CN may come and try to claim my DT&I stuff I have from when my (now ex-) wife used to work for the DT&I!

Garry K

[CSX_CO]

There was a blurb on the CSX Employee Gateway about this individual:

"One day back in September 2009, CSX Police surprised a resident of Deptford, N.J., a bedroom community outside nearby Philadelphia, Pa., with a search warrant. The resident, a 32-year-old man, was wanted for suspected theft of railroad property. Not only was a mass of railroad equipment found throughout his house, but his back yard was also adorned in a railroad motif in clear view of neighbors. And it turns out his involvement in stolen property stretched from Deptford, to Philadelphia to Richmond, Va., over a series of months and perhaps years.

Months earlier, CSX Special Agents in Richmond apprehended two suspects in possession of CSX locomotive radios. After further investigation, they found that the radios had earlier been stolen from a rail yard in Philadelphia. Continuing to follow the complex evidence trail CSX special agents, now including those from Philadelphia and South Kearny, N.J., were ultimately led to the Deptford man.

The stolen haul was not a small one and involved materials stolen from several railroads including CSX, Conrail and Norfolk Southern. Valued at an estimated $250,000, the thieves’ inventory included:

* 64 end-of-train devices
* Numerous locomotive and portable radios
* Complete signal assemblies
* Railroad tools
* CSX and other railroad signs
* Railroad personal protective equipment

The thieves were arrested, and the Deptford man was held in the county jail for $100,000 bail.

“This was a long, complicated and ultimately successful investigation,” said Bill Laubenheimer, CSX chief of police. “Besides the close coordination between special agents from our Philadelphia, Huntington and North Units as well as our Cargo Theft Unit, we had assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Deptford Township and Philadelphia Police Departments.”

“This exemplifies the best in cross functional teamwork between railroad police and our public law enforcement partners,” said Laubenheimer. "

This wasn't the railroad chasing down someone with switch keys or a switch lock, but someone who had blatantly stolen thousands of dollars worth of equipment. I mean...what the hell does some railfan need 64 EOT's for? With a new EOT costing $10,000, that's $64,000 worth of equipment right there. They did their homework before moving in on this guy, and wouldn't have if they didn't have proof these items were stolen.

[CSX_CO]

So, in summary, just because you have a signal, switch key, lantern, etc doesn't mean the big bad railroad is going to come knock your door down in the middle of the night. Though, switch keys are supposed to be turned in upon retirement or resignation (not that it always gets enforced). You have several thousand dollars worth of equipment that they KNOW is stolen, and there is a trail, then you can probably expect a knock on the door. There is no reason for someone to have a locomotive or portable radio, especially one carrying a railroad initial and serial number (which they all do).

Practice Safe CSX

[CAT345C]

I like the math, at $10,000 a pop with 64 stolen they get 64,000? whould it be 640,000?

[CSX_CO]

I like the math, at $10,000 a pop with 64 stolen they get 64,000? whould it be 640,000?

You'll have to excuse MY typo, my browsers don't 'scroll' to the bottom when I type, rather it keeps jumping from the top to the bottom and back when I hit a key. Also, I'm sure these EOT's have a depreciated value, but replacement for a new air turbine (which everyone is going to) is $10,000. I've seen the invoices, definately not a cheap replacement.

Besides the point, this individual had thousands of dollars worth of railroad equipment he shouldn't have, all of which was probably reported stolen at one point or another.

Practice Safe CSX

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Thanks for the update. I was definitely curious as to what he'd done to get in that much trouble for his "collection". Reading the update(s), CSX/CRSA/NS sound a lot less like the "big bad railroads". Thanks again for sharing Russ.

[MDH]

So, in summary, just because you have a signal, switch key, lantern, etc doesn't mean the big bad railroad is going to come knock your door down in the middle of the night. Though, switch keys are supposed to be turned in upon retirement or resignation (not that it always gets enforced). You have several thousand dollars worth of equipment that they KNOW is stolen, and there is a trail, then you can probably expect a knock on the door. There is no reason for someone to have a locomotive or portable radio, especially one carrying a railroad initial and serial number (which they all do).

Practice Safe CSX

Thanks for the follow up on this one - sounds like the guy richly deserved to go down for his crimes. It's a-holes like that who give the rest of us more respectable fans a bad image...