Oh what to do with AMTRAK. The railroad that is our neighbor. They do not maintain their properties and when they do, it is always a study in bad extremes. Their tree maintenance comes to mind.

Like PECO they seem to employee Asplundth the tree murderers. And they have done so recently. You see, one neighbor complained to Amtrak about Amtrak's trees falling on their property, specifically their garage. Well Amtrak came out and not only stripped the trees out from behind this one neighbor's yard, but behind other neighbors' yards as well. Too bad no one else wanted the protective screening of trees clear cut, eh?

If THAT wasn't bad enough, they then sprayed a nasty systemic herbicide in a directionally challenged manner, and essentially wiped out a beautiful garden on private property which had be resplendant in speciman hydrangas, roses, and many perennials. Who knows for sure, but we wonder if the herbicide is also a carcinogen?

What Amtrak has done is truly reprehensible, and why should they be allowed to do this? We understand that they DO have to trim and occasionally cut down trees to keep tracks and wires clear, but we have to ask if things might be different if they ever just did preventative maintenance? And how can Asplundth call themselves arborists? They are tree murderers.

What Amtrak has done is affect the private property rights of others through their actions. Their policy of clear cutting vs. preventative maintenance has now negatively impacted homeowners by killing their gardens with wanton spraying and by esentially opening up the rear of properties to passers by on the train. One neighbor remarked that she can practically read the newspapers of people on the train. Other neighbors are pissed because they lost their privacy....privacy they paid for...Amtrak also left behind trash and ragged stumps sloppily cut. Now the looming question is: are property values adversely affected? Some homeowners think that would be a "yes".