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Subject: TSA revisited

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Ironton

1st Class Member
Northwest Indiana

Brakeman
Posts:45

01/02/2008 7:09 AM
I received my February Garden Railways on the last day of December, 07. While going through it I noticed a letter to the editor which addressed the TSA and carrying our fine machines on flights. What particularly caught my eye was the last two paragraphs of the letter (the rest was pretty much a rehash of things talked about before). To be fair to Mr. Baker, I quote these two paragraphs here: "Violations of the TSA requirements may not be viewed as willful, so there may not be any penalties except confiscation. Using UPS, FedEx, or USPS , if detected, could be considered a willful violation and result in fines and more. These regulations are to protect the flying public and the transportation system. Tryoing to circumvent the rules is dangerous to the individual and fellow passengers. -- Steve Baker, QA Systems" There may be a couple of typos in there as I was not permitted to copy in the text to this post. Anyhow my question is: Am I reading this correctly? Does Mr. Baker imply that shipping the equipment is considered trying to get around the regulations and could cause at least confiscation of the loco or whatever? I guess there will be a lot more traveling by train if this is so. Rich Black, SA #269

Rich Black SA #269

jlinde

1st Class Member
Marblehead, MA

Brakeman
Posts:81

01/02/2008 7:34 AM
One could be liable for shipping a parcel on one of the listed carriers if you fraudulently represented the contents of the package to the carrier. Each carrier has its conditions of carriage posted on its website and those terms govern the shipment of a model locomotive or any other package (they typically prohibit the transportation/shipment of hazardous materials, not model trains). If you describe the contents of a shipment accurately and the carrier chooses to transport the shipment, the carrier could face TSA enforcement action under its air carrier security program if the package contains certain hazardous contents. But absent some sort of willful misrepresentation of the contents of a package, TSA wouldn't take action against the shipper. I've defended one of the carriers listed in the e-mail above in some rather wacky TSA civil penalty cases. (Note – the contents of the security program are classified as sensitive security information, but the existence of the programs is public knowledge.)

There are three great friends: an old wife, an old dog, and ready money. Benjamin Franklin.

Dan Pantages User is Offline

BC, Canada

Brakeman
Posts:81

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01/02/2008 11:30 AM
Sounds to me that there will be no shipping of engines by any means unless you do it by your own vehicle. I can see shipping companies not taking the chance, why would they, there is more for them to lose than what they would make shipping for us, we are a small community. What’s next, not being able to cross state lines with that obviously dangerous toy?

Dan Pantages Bear Creek Railroad Aster & Accucraft Live Steam Sales Sunset Valley Track & Accessories

zephyra

1st Class Member

Brakeman
Posts:87

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01/02/2008 12:10 PM
Let's develop a sense of proportion here. I've shipped many engines and never had a problem. I'd rather deal with the TSA anytime compared to equivalent agencies elsewhere in the world. When I retuned to the UK for Christmas recently, my hand baggage included a number of presents including a gift wrapped bottle of perfume for my mother - it was picked up by the scanner and had to be hand checked by the TSA agent to ensure it was less than 3 oz. The agent took real care opening the package, checked with me that the gift recipient wasn't with me so would see the gift when opened, resealed it carefully before returning it and wished me a happy christmas. When I went through security again in the UK for a connecting flight, it was confiscated! As a Brit, there are many times when I feel lucky to live in the USA - this was one of them!

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