Does anyone know the status of the Big Moose extension?
Somebody put out an APB for Tree!
Paging Engineer ‘TREE’ (Larry).
Question for Ya’****[(-D][(-D]
I’m not totally on the inside track (no pun intended…) on this project, but last I heard, a contract has been signed and the work should begin shortly. Our fall schedule shows the northerly morning departure leaving a half hour earlier than it does currently, in preparation for the trip to Big Moose.
I don’t know what the performance requirement on the contractor is, and regardless, it all depends on how many resources they choose to throw at the project as to whether they finish early or on time.
I read somewhere that it had been extended to Beaver River. Any truth to this?
The videos might be of interest: material about the ASR and its operational areas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJCP36FCXE0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJCP36FCXE0
at the ends of the videos are other linked videos about the ASR.
Tree68… Hope you enjoy them![swg]
Gee, that territory looks familiar (even the Lake Placid stuff, though I’m far from qualified on that section).
Al Heywood is one of our top conductors.
Opening shot of 1508 in the two linked videos is at Remsen.
As Carl can attest, you have to see the Utica station to believe it. Fantastic.
The two locomotives in the “ALCO’s on the…” video are our “new” RS18u, still in red, and Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern 805, nee British Columbia RR 805, nee Erie Lackawanna 2455.
Re: Beaver River - I believe that reaching there was in the original plans for the current expansion north, but I don’t know what happened to that. The track is comparable to the Carter-Big Moose stretch that’s being rehabilitated, and the distance is similar, so it’s probably “doable” with the infusion of a similar amount of cash.
I’m glad to see they are still expanding the operating rail portion of the old line. I see the trail conversion advocates are still active at the north end:
Oh, yeah, they are. They are a single purpose group, however, which is focused solely on the removal of the rails. I personally doubt their interest in a trail would continue once the rails were lifted.
They have refused to discuss a trail alongside the existing tracks in areas where it’s possible, and so far haven’t discussed further development of existing trail possibilities. There are already hundreds of miles of trails in the Adirondacks as well.
Pretty much everything they put out begins with “if the rails were taken up…”
It’s important to note that from MP 69 to MP 90 there is virtually nothing but forest with extremely limited road access, and no paved road access from MP 69 to around MP 113. Cell service is virtually nil in that area as well (although there are those who like that idea).
While some diehard hikers and bikers would want to hike/ride that kind of distance over an unpaved trail, the average casual day tripper is unlikely to do so, at least not the truly remote areas.
Tree68, the scary thing is that they seem to have convinced some local elected officials that trails would bring in more year-round business. The ROW is owned by the state, so it is subject to political pressure.
Yep.
They’ve also targeted an official on a local board for removal because of his support for the railroad.
Very determined bunch.
Rail to trail people are the enemy. They promise economic development and thousands of users in exchange for destroying a railroad. A guy who runs a transportation blog in Peoria posted this blog earlier this year with this interesting quote:
The story about rails-to-trails sounds very familiar no matter where you go.
Recently, on my way to Oskaloosa, Iowa, I was seeking a rescued depot on the former Rock Island branch line that ran through West Chester, Iowa. I found the depot on a farmer’s lot, nicely restored, no less. The farmer owned some of the land upon which a rail-to-trail project had been accomplished. The twenty or so mile Keota to Washington, Iowa trail (call the KeWash) was supposed to be a big boon to the rural Iowa area, attract countless visitors and not only be self sufficient, but actually a profitable enterprise. Yeah, right!
The farmer tells me he sees no more than twenty cyclists per year. The trail authority went bankrupt, leaving the trail to become a responsibility of the county. So now the taxpayers pay to blade and maintain the trail, provide liability insurance and spray it for wee
DwightBranch wrote the following post [in part] on Monday, July 16, 2012
“…This new study was conducted by the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy following weeks of detailed analysis by Carl Knoch, manager of trail development for the group’s Northeast office. It shows that a trail could be constructed between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake at no cost, if rails and ties between Saranac Lake and Old Forge can be salvaged and sold for $65,000 per mile…”
'Disgusting"
Typical of Special Interest Groups, they quote what (without investigation) are great numbers in support of whatever project they are pimping at the moment. Their mathematics and perspective are both fuzzy and clouded. Generally when someone researches those statistics, the results are nowhere near their expectations.
Seems that these various ‘Conservancy’ groups are more in the hands of self-serving Luddites; than the genuinely concerned local interests. It is sure easier to spend "Uncle Sugar’s Monies’ than put their own up for one of these ‘Blue Sky Projects.’ [2c]
EDIT TO ADD CONTENT:
The following item is from the TRAINSNewswire of July 16,2012
"Adirondack Scenic fights forest fires"Published: July 16, 2012
“…LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Crews from the Adirondack Scenic Railroad helped firefighters with a forest fire on July 12, reports the Plattsburgh Press-Republican. The fire was spotted about a mile from the Lake Placid fire department in a location inaccessible by trucks. The train was used to move firefighting equipment closer to the fire…”
“A second fire was spotted two miles further down the line; the railroad continued to transport equipment and personnel as the crews focused on the new location…”
Look
Unfortunately, it appears ASRR may be blamed for at least one of the fires…
Q: How can you tell if a RTT advocate is lying?
A: Their lips are moving.
Actually, it’s the DEC (state conservation agency) pointing the finger.
Back on the original question: Found out yesterday that while the contractor was supposed to be done with the upgrade of the line in late September, there have been some paperwork issues so it may be delayed a bit.
Based on the limited work I’ve done with forest fire people, I don’t think we can really win on this point. I don’t know if Lake Placid FD has forest fire equipment, or if they rely on the Forestry Dept. for such, nevertheless, forest fire equipment would not have had any problem using a trail converted from a former RR ROW to access a forest fire. I still want to commend the ASR for the help they gave, which put their personnel and equipment at some risk. Job well done.
Good point re mp69 to mp113. The only intersecting roads I can think of are at Sabattis, Horseshoe Lake and Mt Arab Lake. Maybe that center section should be held for irregular special passenger trains and equipment moves while restoring from the south up to the Stillwater Reservoir Causeway and from the north down to the Underwood Bridge (Tupper Lake) for regular service.