The State DOT's haven't been good for these short line railroads. There's too much "cement head" Department of Highways mentality, with no serious commitment and no plans for how to maintain the railroads, or make them work. This has been a repeated serious issue with attempts to preserve and operate railroads taken over by the States, and some local government agencies, too. The DOT's by and large look at these "orphans" as a burden foisted on them, not part of the "real" DOT mission.

While these DOT's spend billions on highways, they expect the contract operators to maintain physical plants that are in severe disrepair from years of neglect and deferred maintenance. All of this from the "profits" of providing the last vestiges of service to the few remaining (generally captive) shippers, left on these lines. When they fail, the the DOT says, well, we tried! They generally didn't try very hard. But, by then things are often too far gone, the shippers give up, too, and no one at the DOT will be held accountable, anyway. It's been the same problem in many states.