Railroad troubles

[barticus73]

I have a small 40 acre farm that we raise Boer goats on. The railroad acquired land right through the center of my ground through Eminent Domain a few years back to build a new single rail line. In doing so, they had to build up the dirt rail bed about 14 feet by my house for slope purposes. The rail bed is now causing water to be a problem as it is not allowing it to drain as it used to. The railroads initial fix was to install 2 cement catch basins and tie these to a main drain. Well, they didn't install the basins in the low spots so water just pools up on the surface when it rains. This is making my yard very swamp like. I buried a pickup to the axle the other day driving though it. I have been in contact with the railroad for the past year to get this fixed and they said they would take care of it when things dried up a bit. Well, last week they send a crew out and a couple hours later a railroad representative all dressed up shows up and shuts down the job and tells my wife they suspect my septic is leaking and can't fix the drainage because of it. He got loud with my wife (I was at work) when she questioned why he thought it was a septic leak. The only thing he could come up with was an odor. He also said the previous land owner said that area was always wet before construction. I have lived there for 5 years now and that area was never wet. This spot has been wet for over a year now with a row of straw bales and plastic set up at the bottom of the rail bed slope. I would say the odor was rotten straw when they picked up the bales and they are using this as an excuse to not do the job as they are over budget now. So, I did a septic dye test using twice the called for red pills. I ran water at 5 gpm for 30 minutes as directed and have been checking for four days now and no indication of dye. Since they removed the straw bales there has been absolutely no odor at all. Now for my question. How do I go about getting this situation remedied? If the railroad refuses to cooperate, what are my rights and who can I contact. I would like to avoid attorney fees if possible as I suspect a simple perforated pipe with shale is all that is need to fix the problem (maybe 300 feet or so). I don't want to end up going to court for years and having the swamp get worse and end up paying more than it would be to fix it myself. It’s almost like the railroad knows this and is banking on us just dropping because they know it won't be cost effective for us to fight it. What are your thoughts on it?

 

[JerryG]

Write letters and e-mails to anyone and everyone that has anything to do with the railroad.

 

[texbaylea]

Do you have a local newspaper or TV station that has a "consumer" reporter. Tell your story and see if you can generate some negative publicity. That tends to get quick action as people like to see the "big guy" get caught.

Vernon

 

[midlf]

Determine who the Govt regulators at the state and fed level. Then write letters, very business like and without any threats or emotion. These letters are addressed to the president/CEO of the railroad. Send copies to the govt regulators. Note the CC's on the bottom of the letters in the standard business way. I have used this method sucessfully with insurance companies. CEOs do not like to have to deal with this stuff (possible regulators questions) and tend to make the problem go away, budget overrun or not.

If you decide to go this route I would suggest you post the letter here first for comment. My idea of "no emotion" never comes out right in my first drafts. I always have someone else review it for me before I send it.

 

[barticus73]

I have been sending e-mails for the past year and they have been telling me they were going to fix it. I have even been documenting pictures and attatching them as well.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have been sending e-mails for the past year and they have been telling me they were going to fix it. I have even been documenting pictures and attatching them as well.

You need to document every contact, names, date, subject discussed, etc and keep it up to date. When it comes time for lawyers (and it will) you will be out on a limb if all you have is 'well I talked to someone last month and he said..."

Harry K

 

[EddieWalker]

Step one is to find out who your wife spoke with and file a complaint against him with the company. He was rude and out of line. Make sure you always do it in writing, and it might be a good idea to have a copy notarized and send it to the district manager with a registered, so they have to sign for it.

I've never dealt with the railroad, but I bet it's similar to other organizations. Find out who controls them. For some reason, our gas pipelines are controled by the Railroad Commision. Do they handle the railroads too? I have no idea, but if you call them about the pipelines, you get results imediately!!!!!!! People come a running the next day.

Document everything. This is a battle that you can win if you put in the effort. If you let them bully you, they will just ignore you and take advantage.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[PitbullMidwest]

--WARNING! DISCOURAGING POST AHEAD!!--

Despite what others may say, getting satisfaction will not be easy. Railroads are not like any other industry in the world, the bureaucracy is deeper than even the goverment. You didn't mention which line you were dealing with but if it's BNSF you've got an uphill battle.

The RRs are governed by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) so state and local goverment have little if any pull, but get them involved anyway.

It took 2 years for my BIL to get the RR to fix the enterence to his farm after a highway expansion. The grade was such that he could not drive forward over the tracks with the grain head on his combine without getting stuck. My sister would have to stop traffic so that he could back it over the tracks onto the 4 lane highway. He video taped the problem, made phone calls, wrote letters and sent pictures to BN (now BNSF), to our State and US Reps, the DOT and the NHTSB and they all said they were aware of the situation and the RR assured them that a crew would be out to repair the road in the near future. The road was finally fixed after a "suit" watching a road gang laying ballast in front of his house saw him back his combine across the tracks, they fixed it within a week.

The truth is fixing your yard is very low on their "to do" list. If you have established a contact, call them - don't email - every day with an update. Ask for their supervisor and do the same with him and so on.

BTW, Burlington, Iowa is the original home of the CB&Q/Burlington Route/Burlington Northern/Burlington Northern Santa Fe and we are currently involved in a lawsuit with BNSF and have spent millions and haven't even been in court yet, so if you think you can sue a railroad because your yard is wet and win, you are living in a dream world, just doesn't happen.

 

[RonR]

Agree with Pitbull, getting the RR to do anything is TOUGH. A line (not sure which one) runs through our town. They keep the tracks in great shape, but the right of way is almost never mowed. Brush from trees on the right of way clog up a culvert in the area, and the resulting backup floods a low lying house near the tracks.

In desperation, after numerous attempts to get the rr to fix it, the city tried to get permission from the RR to mow/trim and clean out the area themselves so the man's house didn't flood and they might be able to help the drainage issue. The rr flatly refused the city permission to access their land, and threatened trespassing charges if they did.

Getting nowhere, the homeowner bought a small tractor/mower and mows their property without permission. He also spends his own time/money cleaning out the culverts to keep them clear.

The city has tried to get the trains to slow down through town, and restrict the use of their whistles (trains run every 15 minutes now 24/7), all to no avail.

They are likely the most difficult monopoly to deal with now. I wish you well, but doubt that you can get any satisfaction. They have deptment after department of naysayers!

ron

 

[rox]

If there was an attorney for the RR involved during the taking of your land by emminent domain, you might try ontacting that attorney, try and get the attorney to call the RR peple. If that attorney calls the RR people they might listen to him.

The other thing you might do is go in person to their place of business. It is much harder to blow people off if they are standing in front of you