Local Business Spotlight Townline Rail

This Patch article is sponsored by Townline Rail.

Local businesses are the heart of our communities. Patch had a chance to talk with Toby Carlson President of CarlsonCorp and of Townline Rail.

Patch: Tell us a bit about your business or organization:
Toby Carlson: Townline Rail is a proposed local solution to a local problem – the safe disposal of the ash created by incinerating household trash collected in the towns of Smithtown and Huntington, and of non-hazardous construction and demolition debris. We are seeking permission from Federal agencies to allow a rail spur off the LIRR’s Port Jefferson line onto our industrial property in Kings Park where one train per day would enter the site and one train per day would leave the site.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?
Toby Carlson: My family has been doing business in the Kings Park area since emigrating from Sweden in the late 1880s, first as farmers and later in the contracting and building supplies industries. In the 1950s, the Carlson family revolutionized the waste disposal industry and helped jump-start suburban development on Long Island through the invention of the pre-cast cesspool. We are proud to provide a service to the community and jobs for our local neighbors.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?
Toby Carlson: I grew up in the business – in fact in my very young years I thought my last name was “Carlson PRECAST”. My family’s businesses helped build Kings Park and the surrounding communities, we have a proud history of being one of the largest private employers in Smithtown.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those be?
Toby Carlson: Local Problems Require Local Solutions.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you've faced in your job?
Toby Carlson: Our family businesses have survived Depression and Recessions, two World Wars, a global pandemic and difficult financial times. The biggest challenge today is that people are not aware of the impending crisis this area will face. Most people give no thought to the waste removal process after they wheel their can to the curb. Sometime in 2024 the Brookhaven landfill will no longer accept the incinerator ash generated by the trash from Smithtown and Huntington residents. The high cost of sending truck after truck after truck of ash off Long Island will be felt by the taxpayers in a painful way – not to mention what all the additional trucks on the Long Island Expressway will do to traffic congestion and diesel emissions in the atmosphere. One rail car holds the equivalent ash of four trucks, and transporting ash and debris off Long Island by rail is safer, cleaner and more cost effective. Our challenge is that certain community and civic organizations have instantly opposed the Townline Rail proposal without learning the facts, without waiting for the environmental assessments and without recognizing how this is a local solution to a local problem.

Patch: What's the most satisfying part of your job?
Toby Carlson: We are a company that is providing a vital service to the residents of Smithtown in a responsible manner. I am proud of the great men and women who work with us every day in that mission, and that we are able to help them provide for their families living here in the community we serve.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?
Toby Carlson: I can only speak for our company’s values in that CarlsonCorp and Townline Rail are fully committed to engaging with every level of government and meeting any and all required environmental studies, regulations and requirements placed upon us. We have always conducted our businesses in accordance with our permits and approvals – and always with respect and understanding for our neighbors in the community.

Patch: What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given when it comes to success?
Toby Carlson: Never negotiate with crazy people.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you're working on that you're extra excited about? If so, what details can you share and what makes it so exciting?
Toby Carlson: Townline Rail has been a major focus for us over the last year (we are awaiting an Environmental Assessment to be released by the Federal Surface Transportation Board (STB). Sadly, communities often rally against solutions for the very problems they have created. We live in a society of rapid consumption and instant gratification but give very little – if any -- thought to the disposal of what we consume. Every bag of trash that every resident throws out is not the END of the process, it is just the beginning. Trash is collected, transported, incinerated and then that ash is transported and ultimately disposed of. Very soon there will not be a place on Long Island to dispose of ash, and we have to get ready – now – with the best solutions. Townline Rail, and other rail disposal proposals, are the most cost-effective to the taxpayers who pay for removal, and the most environmentally responsible in removing congestion from the highways and pollutants from the air in an endless parade of trucks off Long Island.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Toby Carlson: I encourage Patch readers to visit the Townline Rail website at www.townlinerail.com for updates and information. I am also always willing and committed to answering questions and concerns from our residents and neighbors at 631-368-4000.