The ones I've seen driving slowly through local streets are not sightseeing. There has been a rash of packages stolen from front of homes by the porch pirates.I know that, and you know that. Everyone knows that, in fact.
But you can't discount the pure entertainment value of it all. It's just perfection on so many levels. This is California in the year 2022. I just laugh and laugh, honestly, because that's all there is I can do.
But the impact to large and small businesses alike is also heart breaking. So much of WDW's merchandise is made in China and would naturally transit through the Port of Los Angeles and then travel the Alameda Corridor on trains before it heads across the transcontinental railroad.
I had two Christmas presents shipping from Amazon a week before Christmas go suddenly missing after their tracking number took them through LA. Amazon eventually cancelled the order after the package went missing in their system. I had to shlep to the mall on December 23rd and buy something else. I can't prove it, obviously, but I'm absolutely positive my electronic barbecue fork got thrown off a train in east LA.
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Merchandise Shortage
- Thread starter castlecake2.0
- Start date
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
Don't forget the consumer...who now, like you, has to hunt locally for what they need, and in the long run ends up paying higher prices to make up for the losses.I know that, and you know that. Everyone knows that, in fact.
But you can't discount the pure entertainment value of it all. It's just perfection on so many levels. This is California in the year 2022. I just laugh and laugh, honestly, because that's all there is I can do.
But the impact to large and small businesses alike is also heart breaking. So much of WDW's merchandise is made in China and would naturally transit through the Port of Los Angeles and then travel the Alameda Corridor on trains before it heads across the transcontinental railroad.
I had two Christmas presents shipping from Amazon a week before Christmas go suddenly missing after their tracking number took them through LA. Amazon eventually cancelled the order after the package went missing in their system. I had to shlep to the mall on December 23rd and buy something else. I can't prove it, obviously, but I'm absolutely positive my electronic barbecue fork got thrown off a train in east LA.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Get the Pinkertons on it.... They don't mess aroundThe Alameda Corridor is 20 miles long and leads from the port up to the massive rail yards run by the railroads. The very high-capacity triple tracked Corridor is mostly submerged in a deep trench and completely safe. It was built that way to allow endless high speed service without worrying about grade crossings or access by people or vehicles. It's once the trains get out into their respective railroad system in east LA that they are seized upon bygangsOrganized Groups Of People.
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
You joke, but that's not a bad idea.
Because this series of key links from the Port of LA to the massive rail yards of east LA is vital in our nation's supply chain (and its ongoing crisis), I can't understand why the California National Guard has not yet been called out to guard the tracks and the systems and people that move all that cargo. It's 40% of our nation's cargo!
Again, a train derailed here just last weekend because so much stuff was spread over the tracks. You've got people climbing all over these tracks picking through the goodies. It's a safety nightmare, and the National Guard is at least a month overdue to be called in to restore order. The United States Supply Chain seems to be depending on it.
But at least in LA, even the criminals and
TP2000
Well-Known Member
So far, the response is to let the various police departments operated by the Union Pacific or Santa Fe railroads worry about it. Those private police departments are technically responsible for what happens on their railroad property and rights of way. Although no railroad has ever had to deal with this scale of problem before, at least not in this country.
And yet, as we've seen in this very thread about WDW merchandise shortages, the current mayhem Southern California is directly affecting a theme park 3,000 miles away in Florida. Which is why I'm surprised no one is pressuring Governor Newsom to call in the National Guard to help the railroad police departments gaurd their tracks.
The massive rail yard complexes east of downtown LA, and the mainline corridors the railroads have operated out of them for almost 150 years, are easy to defend and secure logistically. They are surrounded mostly by industrial areas and key thoroughfares. It would be an easy assignment for the California National Guard to secure the perimeter and defend the various eastbound mainlines here.
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
It should also be noted that the railroads are at a loss for how to secure their cargo trains.
This afternoon on a local radio show they had a policeman for the Union Pacific who explained that they have tried to add much stronger locks and mechanisms to the train cars. But the Organized Groups Of People are now using very advanced cutting tools and welding equipment to quickly cut through any lock the railroads can throw at the problem.
But once the train cars lock is cut, the door slides open and a few Organized People jump on and just start throwing cargo from the train. Then the other Organized People immediately start slashing the boxes open along the tracks looking for the most lucrative items to quickly throw in pickup trucks and cars to drive away.
This whole operation takes place with moving cargo trains, mostly at night. The policeman said it's a minor miracle no one has been killed yet doing it, although he says there are routinely injuries but the Organized People just load the injured in with the stolen cargo and drive away so as not to attract ambulances to the area.
The daytime photos taken by news crews that show a few amateur stragglers picking through packages are not the main crime. Those photos we've seen in this thread are really the aftermath the morning after. The main crime is happening at night by Organized Groups Of People.
This afternoon on a local radio show they had a policeman for the Union Pacific who explained that they have tried to add much stronger locks and mechanisms to the train cars. But the Organized Groups Of People are now using very advanced cutting tools and welding equipment to quickly cut through any lock the railroads can throw at the problem.
But once the train cars lock is cut, the door slides open and a few Organized People jump on and just start throwing cargo from the train. Then the other Organized People immediately start slashing the boxes open along the tracks looking for the most lucrative items to quickly throw in pickup trucks and cars to drive away.
This whole operation takes place with moving cargo trains, mostly at night. The policeman said it's a minor miracle no one has been killed yet doing it, although he says there are routinely injuries but the Organized People just load the injured in with the stolen cargo and drive away so as not to attract ambulances to the area.
The daytime photos taken by news crews that show a few amateur stragglers picking through packages are not the main crime. Those photos we've seen in this thread are really the aftermath the morning after. The main crime is happening at night by Organized Groups Of People.
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GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Interesting you say that you do realize the Pinkerton Detective agency still exists and they are hiring. "Pinkerton traces its roots to 1850 when Allan Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Today, Pinkerton offers organizations a range of corporate risk management services from security consulting and investigations to executive protection, employment screening and security intelligence. With employees and offices worldwide, Pinkerton maintains an unmatched reputation for protecting clients and their assets around the globe."
MickeyCB
Well-Known Member
Thanks for explaining this. I was wondering how those huge cargo containers could be "raided".
Is it also because of how slow the trains are moving through there?
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I am aware, too bad the old guard is dead, would be perfect to ride the containers but wouldn't happen in this age
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Yes. These trains are cycling at slow speed out of the massive cargo rail yards the railroads operate, as they get shunted through a series of spur lines in east LA until they hit one of the specific railroad mainlines that takes them eastbound over the mountains or across the desert for a thousand miles or more.
It also doesn't help that these are massive trains with multiple locomotives and more than 100 cars. They can't really get up to speed quickly until the long train has passed through all the various spurs and switches. So the nature of that part of the city is that at night there's always a very long train or two trundling along the tracks.
It's at night when the mayhem really gets going. The Organized Groups Of People, because they're organized (it's in their polite title!), jump on, bust or blast the locks open, and throw whatever they can get their hands on out the giant cargo doors. It's the job of the Organized People working along the tracks to slash the stuff open, make quick judgements on its street value, and throw the most valuable stuff into trucks. And off they go into the cool Los Angeles night...
The less valuable stuff is left to litter the tracks, and during the day the unorganized amateur pickers go through what's left and don't seem to mind one bit when the news crews show up to take their picture. They're gonna be on TV!
Even the unorganized amateur pickers have no fear of police in broad daylight. Not in LA.
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Of course they organized groups of people are wearing masks - They too are concerned about Covid it hides their faces so they can’t be identified!
flynnibus
Premium Member
remember when all those people want government out of their businesses? Hrmmmmm
TP2000
Well-Known Member
So, we've had a long discussion here of the main problems crippling the California megaports that makes America's ongoing Supply Chain Crisis worse and worse. As a native Californian who is completely embarassed at how low my once-great state has sunk, I've tried to help illuminate the folks here who mostly live east of the Rockies.
But, I'll bite... What's your solution to this problem?
The hypocrisy is astounding.
Are you sure they're not just selling off the dated banners and graphics so they don't have to store them someplace or push them out to an outlet?
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Simple solution --armed guards on the trains who are allowed to use them ---problem would stop immediately. Modern day train robbers need old time solutions. Catch and release never works.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
To ease the issue of deadly force, have the guard force equipped with tasers (not stun guns / devices) but the latest tactical tasers. Quite effective in deterring thieves and thugs. The word will get out quickly to not touch the trains or end up riding the lightning.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
These in the hands of trained security personnel authorized to deploy them will definitely provide a shocking deterrent to the bold criminal behavior.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
How close do you have to be to the perps ? tranquilizer gun like used on animals should work on thee animals
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Tranquilizers would not be a good idea for a number of reasons, but the professional grade tactical tasers reach out in the neighborhood of 20-25 feet. Civilian self-defense tasers are designed to only reach out about 15 feet.