Don Phillips commentary in the latest Trains Mag

Don,

Latest article is about being a railfan and his love of 611.  But, he also states for Norfolk Southern and I quote "for reason that are unclear to me but probably includes lawyers" does not allow photo runbys anymore.  Not looking to start a bashing, or anything of the sorts.  Just looking for conformation/clarification if that is true?

Yes, it is true. Two main reasons: A) takes way too long to unload passengers (many who are elderly) onto uneven ground surfaces (think liability issues also), then getting permission from the Dispatcher to make reverse movements, B) ties up the main line of a VERY busy railroad.

And thank you NS for your 21st century steam program.

For the NKP #765 excursion this Saturday out of Steamtown, the trip description on the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society website says:

"No. 765 will tackle tough mountain railroading east of Steamtown National Historic Site. On Saturday’s trip, the 765 will depart Steamtown at 10:30 am and proceed east through Nay Aug Tunnel.  There will be a photo runby for all passengers enroute to the scenic Delaware Water Gap where everyone will get off the train for a lunch stop. The 765 will be serviced during the lunch stop."

Is this runby being done because these are not Norfolk Southern tracks?

Yes.

 I hope so as I'm looking forward to this on Saturday!

In today's litigious society, people are ready to sue at the drop of a hat. On one of our recent trips, one of our passengers fell while having lunch at a restaurant in the town where the train was laying over for a couple of hours. She sued the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society, owner and operator of the 765! The case will be dismissed, but FWRHS and the railroad involved still have to defend it, and that costs money.

It comes with the territory in today's society where anything bad that happens to me must be someone else's fault. 

In today's litigious society, people are ready to sue at the drop of a hat. On one of our recent trips, one of our passengers fell while having lunch at a restaurant in the town where the train was laying over for a couple of hours. She sued the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society, owner and operator of the 765! The case will be dismissed, but FWRHS and the railroad involved still have to defend it, and that costs money.

It takes at least 45 minutes to execute a single photo runby. That is a LONG time to tie up a busy main line and bring it to a standstill.

There will be photo runs on this weekend's trips because they are not being run on Norfolk Southern tracks and we will be the only train on the railroad at the time. No freights to delay.

In today's litigious society, people are ready to sue at the drop of a hat. On one of our recent trips, one of our passengers fell while having lunch at a restaurant in the town where the train was laying over for a couple of hours. She sued the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society, owner and operator of the 765! The case will be dismissed, but FWRHS and the railroad involved still have to defend it, and that costs money.

It comes with the territory in today's society where anything bad that happens to me must be someone else's fault. 

I can't see how these people can even justify doing things like that? It is just ridiculous. If anyone was sued, shouldn't it have been the restaurant, a totally separate business?

Maybe the "ambulance chasing attorney" who took the case assumed that the Fort Wayne Historical Society and deeper pockets than the restaurant. Maybe he thinks it is just like a "railroad" that will settle out of court?

My only time getting picked for jury duty was a case where there had been hail damage to a large apartment complex. The insurance company was from out of town. They hired a local adjuster to assess the damage so they didn't have to send their adjusters here to do it themselves. The damage came to a substantial amount. The insurance company thought the assessment was too high so they sued the adjuster wanting the difference between the actual claim and what they thought they should be paying. They never did an estimate of their own. Judge threw the case out right after the afternoon break and sent us home.

The whole time I was sitting there listening to the arguments from both sides I was thinking...these guys are suing the other guys for doing exactly what they asked them to do, provide them with a damage estimate? I never understood why there was even a lawsuit?

This was exactly as you said, if it is something excessively bad, it just has to be someone else's fault. No one is responsible for anything anymore, not even their own actions.

As an example of the truly bizarre, many years ago an elderly couple decided to end their lives together, and sat inside their nice new Buick, enclosed in the garage with the engine running. They even left a nice suicide note to their family members. An "ambulance chasing attorney" convinced the remain family members to sue Buick Motor Division of General Motors Corporation for a few hundred million dollars, because their automobiles did not have a carbon monoxide preventer or "shut-off". Naturally the judge threw THAT out! 

Now that is just plain ridiculous. If I were the judge that caught this case I would not only make her pay 100% of the court costs but also all of the Historical Society's legal fees as well. People need to learn to take responsibility for their own actions. I guess most people today weren't raised the way I was.