November 12, 2015
Congressman Gibbs Tours R. J. Corman Cleveland Line and R. J. Corman Material Sales Yard
DOVER, Oh. – On November 9, 2015, U.S. Congressman Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07) toured the R. J. Corman Railroad Company’s Cleveland Line (RJCL) railroad and R. J. Corman Material Sales Dover Yard. The Congressman was joined by a local county commissioner and RJCL’s customers.
RJCL, a 55-mile short line railroad, runs between Warwick and Uhrichsville, OH, passing through the towns of Massillon, Dover and New Philadelphia. The line interchanges with the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, CSX Transportation, and Norfolk Southern. The RJCL also includes the Wooster Line that interchanges with Norfolk Southern. Altogether, RJCL hauls corn, corn oil, sunflower oil, pulpboard, railroad materials, plastic, steel pipe, chemicals, scrap metal, and sand.
Also in attendance at the tour were:
- Richard Regula, Stark County Commissioner
- Laura McNichol, Assistant Vice President, Specialty Marketing, R. J. Corman Railroad Group
- Brian Miller, Assistant Vice President, R. J. Corman Railroad Company
- John Philips, Assistant General Manager, R. J. Corman Railroad Company
- Scott Weaver, Division Manager, R. J. Corman Railroad Company
- Bill Newsome, Superintendent, Dover Yard, R. J. Corman Material Sales
- Doug McKenzie, Dover Chemical (RJCL customer)
- Susan Grasse, Pepsi/Frito Lay (RJCL customer)
- Steve DePietro, RSL Railroad (RJCL customer)
- Dave DePietro, RSL Railroad (RJCL customer)
- Ashley Bosch, Associate, Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell, LLC on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA)
- Michael Gaynor, Assistant Vice President, Field Operations, GoRail
The tour commenced with breakfast and a safety briefing by Scott Weaver at RJCL’s Dover Yard, as well as introductions from three of RJCL’s customers – Dover Chemical, Frito Lay and RSL Railroad. The group discussed R. J. Corman Material Sales business, RJCL’s current operations, commodities, impact on customers and the ways RJCL develops creative solutions to better serve them. The discussion highlighted upgrades to their line that were made possible by the 45G tax credit, including the installation of 8,000 new wood ties this year. The group also thanked Congressman Gibbs for helping pass the PTC extension.
“I thank R. J. Corman for hosting me to show all the great work they are doing in support of Ohio’s energy industry” said Congressman Gibbs. “It was a pleasure meeting the employees and seeing up-close the importance of rail to our national transportation infrastructure. That is why I cosponsored H.R. 721 which extends a tax credit that is vital to the strength of the short line railroad industry.”
Congressman Gibbs, member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, toured a short stretch of the railroad in a locomotive, which took the group to RJCL’s customer, Dover Chemical, and back. Afterwards, the Congressman boarded a helicopter, which provided the group a bird’s eye view of the railroad and an excellent venue to feature the work RJCL is doing at Massillon Technical Park, one of North America’s largest pipe storage facilities. The pipe being shipped in on rail will eventually serve the Rover Pipeline project.
