North Shore Railroad Newsletter 2016 First Quarter
2016 First Quarter TABLE OF CONTENTS Feature from the President page 2 Marketing Award page 3 Notes From Marketing page 4 A New Business Opportunity page 5 Our Railroad Family - Employees in the Community page 5 Our Railroad Family - North Shore in the Community back cover FEATURE FROM THE PRESIDENT Spring is here! We are optimistic entering this new season and look forward to another year of delivering safe and consistent customer service. We are hopeful we will see resolution to the ongoing RFP, but in the meantime, we will continue to market, maintain, and operate with the high quality of service that we have for the past 32 years. In this issue of On Track, you will see that our efforts in growing the local economy have not waivered and we are still in full steam ahead mode. I am proud of our team and its accomplishments, such as what is documented in the following article announcing the 2016 ASLRRA Marketing Award. Gary Shields President & CEO 356 Priestley Avenue Northumberland, PA 17857 570.473.7949 (phone) www.nshr.com Cover photo by: Jim Mackey On Track, edited by: Blanchard, Briner, and Stotter 2
2016 ASLRRA Marketing Award The Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad Wins the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) 2016 Marketing Award in a Joint Effort with the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad. We recently received this notice from ASLRRA s AVP Jenny Bourque: Congratulations! I am pleased to tell you that the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad/Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad entry is one of the three winners of the 2016 ASLRRA Marketing Awards Competition. This is a wonderful accomplishment and one of which you and everyone at the railroads should be especially proud. Our judges all commented on the exceptional quality of this year s entries. To rank among the top three submissions says a great deal about the marketing brainpower at work at your operations. This award was resultant of Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad s (NBER) joint entry with the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR)/Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) marketing team honoring the recent development of rail movements between Graymont Lime on NBER and the Homer City Generating Station on BPRR. It is a bit unusual for two separate short line railroads to do a joint entry for a single project but this project demonstrated the cooperation that we eagerly participate in to capture new business! Thank you to the G&W Marketing team (Kevin Bowser and Ryan Fisher) and others who assisted in developing this new business and with the entry submission and thank you to the ASLRRA. 3
Notes From Marketing We Are In It for the Short and Long Haul The North Shore Railroad Company & Affiliates not only handles rail freight that travels long distances, but we excel at defying the conventional wisdom that all rail movements have to be long distance. For example: The Juniata Valley Railroad (JVRR) moves scrap metal from Lewistown, PA, to Burnham, PA; the Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad (NBER) moves lime from Pleasant Gap, PA, to Bellefonte, PA; and the Lycoming Valley Railroad (LVRR) handles scrap steel between Avis, PA and Williamsport, PA. So short or long haul we can handle it all - all it takes is a phone call! Our Marketing team at the North Shore Railroad Company is ready to assist you with your rail logistics needs too. Give us a call! Todd Hunter Director of Marketing Joe Kantz Marketing Representative 570.274.4484 570.898.4910 toddh@nshr.com jkantz@nshr.com Lycoming Valley Railroad Nears Completion of New Transload Terminal The Lycoming Valley Railroad (LVRR) in partnership with a prominent Marcellus operator is nearing completion of a liquid transload operation to serve the natural gas drilling industry. This facility will be operated by LVRR in conjunction with our partner ROE-ADA Well Support Services of Lock Haven, PA. The facility currently has two car loading spots and has a capacity of 17 tank cars on two sidings. Additional car spots can be added upon demand. The facility is located along Trenton Ave in the Newberry rail yard and easily served by our local yard crews. Efforts to develop this project go back to mid-2014 when discussions were started with a prominent Marcellus operator and the site was selected. The facility is now developed and open to any extraction related company that needs rail transportation services. This is yet another innovative transportation service offering our company can provide. Todd Hunter Director of Marketing 570.274.4484 toddh@nshr.com 4
A New Business Opportunity Local Company Selects the North Shore Railroad Company as Its Private Unloading Service Provider A prominent local company has selected the North Shore Railroad Company to provide railcar switching and unloading services within its plant. After a competitive bidding process that included multiple meetings and a comprehensive proposal submission, the North Shore Railroad Company was awarded the contract and began services in March 2016. Our Railroad Family EMPLOYEES IN THE COMMUNITY You know what they say It takes a railroad to raise a kitten. Meet Amaya. Amaya was born this past March. Soon after, she became ill and was abandoned by her mother. Lucky for Amaya, she found care and cuddles in our Northumberland home office. When we first took Amaya in, 3 Days Old she was cold and starved. After a few days of love and care, she became healthy enough to reunite with her mother and brother, where she is perfectly happy. 3 Weeks Old Perhaps Amaya will visit the office again one day. 5
NORTH SHORE IN THE COMMUNITY Focus PA Donation Our Railroad Family Part of our mission statement is to to be responsible civic partners with the communities we serve. We believe it is vital to be an active proponent of community development. As such, we decided, for the third year in a row, to sponsor Focus Central PA, a nonprofit, regional economic development marketing alliance. One of the larger projects Focus Central PA is working on, is the marketing of Great Stream Commons, a commercial and industrial park located on Highway 15 (a major north-south trucking artery) just four miles north of Interstate 80 at the New Columbia interchange. The 305 acre park offers full infrastructure, including municipal water & sewer, natural gas, 3-phase electricity, KOZ tax status, and rail service capacity from our Union County Industrial Railroad. Our financial support of Focus Central PA helps assist in their efforts to attract new companies to the region - companies that provide family sustaining employment opportunities and regional growth. Strong regional business development is the best path toward a strong, lasting community. Check out Focus Central PA at www.focuscentralpa.org. Biz Pitch Success In 2015, we sponsored the Sunbury Revitalization, Inc. s first annual Business (Biz) Pitch Competition. On March 30, 2016, we saw this competition come to successful fruition as Radiance Holistic Center & Academy held its Grand Opening Ceremony. Congratulations to this new business and Sunbury Revitalization, Inc. for their efforts and success in promoting economic development in our community! PA State Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver Video On March 23rd, Pennsylvania State Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver posted a video she and her team made about us last year. They did an excellent job on the project, and we would like to share it! If you would like to view this video, please find it on YouTube or on Lynda s website at: www.lyndaculver.com. 6