The amount of obsession some people have is unreal. What has become of the steam industry to obsess over someone else’s short comings? Every conversation with anyone in this industry is “how much better I am than the other guy”. Every soul in this industry is obsessed with how they do things better than the rest. This industry has become nothing but toxic. Forums like this should be used to better the rail preservation industry, instead of crushing it down. There are several posts that are very positive and informative. Let’s keep those posts and shut down the posts that obsess about how good or bad someone is?

I would love to see that take place, instead I will probably be chastised because I don’t like to see people rip each other down like high school passing periods. I understand the use in holding people accountable. However it has been made clear that certain people in this forum can only focus on failures and short comings. There’s been several “in this weeks search look what I found.” Or “I just happened to find this online. I need to tell the world so everyone can gossip.”

Get over yourselves. You have all had successes and failures. Let’s all come together and support each other and help each other learn and get better.
The steam preservation industry can really benefit from positivity, not negativity.

*

Superheater says it well. This is far beyond idle gossiping. From the voluminous evidence on the public record from the K&T lawsuit there is ample credible evidence of cutting corners and other non compliant ( with the applicable codes/regulations) work.

Everyone in this industry knows that we're only one serious boiler failure away from being put out of existence and that's why this is as serious as it is. We dodged a bullet here, let's not press our luck any further.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

Last week the federal government added an additional charge - sending falsified payroll records to the park service, and thus issued a new indictment:

Our 2-8-2 is down for a long-term rebuild and the last two summers, each day I'd explain to passengers in layman terms what was wrong with it, and a cursory explanation of the Gettysburg incident as to why you gotta do the FRA-mandated stuff in the cycle we all know well.
Every now and then, someone with a basic grasp of a crown sheet failure I just gave them, would ask what would happen if someone had a classic old-school explosion failure.
Each time, I'd stare off into space for effect for a moment, then say, "Well, if it hurt or killed anyone, which would be very likely, that'd probably be it for steam locomotives in this country, except the small ride-on stuff, anything on someone's property nobody knows of and maybe an amusement park engine or two."
Each time, I'd understandably get open-jaw amazement in response as the idea sinks in.
That said, this industry eats it's own. There's no question about that. The earlier comment about so many saying they're better than anyone else doing steam work is sadly quite accurate. I'd love nothing more than getting several unrelated 'steam guys' into one room and set them upon one another. You could sell tickets to that!

Since this thread veered a little off track... This whole liability thing is just insane! We worry about one in a million incidents. Now the industry is relatively small, so the insurance is going to be higher. Limited amount of insurers. The FRA response was overkill. When we drive it's the single most dangerous thing we do each day. The highest number of people killed on the highways in decades was last year. Do people say oh my god don't drive!? People seem to think perfection is attainable. It is NOT!! As long as people and machines are involved crap will happen. This is really just another way for lawyers and insurance companies to steal from the rest of us. There's a guy on here who's tag line is, just don't be surrounded by assholes.... they are the people screwing up our lives

Thanks, but I changed it to "anuses" due to a comment about inappropriateness which had merit. And, the quote was more about self doubt than outwardly directed.

Our litigious society and manufacturing of "victims" for what can be as little as hurt feelings or unwisely manipulating a hot drink has a lot to answer for in my opinion. There are enough people with real injuries to care for, we don't need to manufacture more.

I hear this all the time, but I always tell folks to really read about that McDonald's case. That coffee was insanely hot (across the board, well over 30 degrees hotter than any other business), they'd gotten hundreds of serious complaints (many with bad burns) before that and that woman got huge 3rd degree burns by it and needed skin grafts.
Hey, I thought the same thing when I first heard about it that it was a crazy suit. But a little legit research (not just googling that which you already agree with, which is what passes for 'research' these days for most) will turn up the info on why that case settled for what it did.
And before anyone wonder, I deal with plaintiff attorneys every day at work (I do insurance claims) and I don't like them either...

the macdonalds coffee thing happened in Albuquerque NM. when we lived there. The bottom line is you have to look out for yourself. Don't spill hot stuff into your lap, watch out for other people, and be nice! On the railroad safety first!

No. The bottom line is that companies should NOT be selling products demonstrated to be needlessly hazardous.

Seriously. Familiarize yourself with the case. It is decidedly not a case of someone "not looking out for themselves". It was a case of someone being given a product that was out of spec and then a company launching a very successful PR campaign to deflect attention away from their own negligence.

Back to the subject of this thread. My layman's reading of the amended charges is that the hole for John Rimmasch and Wasatch RR Contractors keeps getting deeper and deeper.

The listing of the potential penalties if found guilty would certainly convince me that this is far from a joking matter.

I'm sure we'll learn more when the February trial takes place.

Ross Rowland

> The listing of the potential penalties if found guilty would certainly convince me that this is far from a joking matter.

There is an interesting change in wording between the original indictment and this superseding indictment. The original indictment, Line 18 for example, alleges that asbestos was removed by Wasatch employees which was not in keeping with the Scope of Work. The superseding indictment states this a little less clearly - alleging that the work was not done at all, but the wording is very fuzzy.

More simply put, it looks like the government is alleging that Wasatch billed for progress payments for work not actually performed at all, whether by a contractor or Wasatch employees.

One question we have had is whether the rest of the restoration and other tasks were done to the car. The asbestos discussion within the indictment seems to indicate that other work was indeed performed on the car. That may be a positive here, although, as stated, that would have put workers at risk of asbestos exposure.

J.R. May

I wondered how long it would take before John Rimmasch showed up under a phony name. Now we know.

My track record is FAR from perfect and yes, I have suffered my share of failures no doubt. I do like that old saying....a man with no failures sure hasn't done much.

Anyhow, the indictment is not about me, so let's not change the subject.

It will be very interesting to see what new facts emerge during the February trial.

Ross Rowland

And just like that, the suspicious poster disappears...

DC

ad hominem is the lowest form of debate, and in this case, doesn't answer the issues at hand. Mr. Rowland could be the biggest failure in history, and he's not a defendant in a federal criminal matter, so it really does not have anything to do with him.