Mass Coastal Railroad (MC) Discussion

My question was sarcastic about the rehab. CapeRail may be actually doing the physical work (I'm sure subcontracted out), but we the taxpayers will be paying for it as the line is owned by the state.

I would not object necessarily to that IF the state supports some kind of "real" passenger rail Cape Cod.

Granted, the line in question may not be slated for passenger service, but as a whole, tax funded rail track improvements need not be objectionable as long as some kind of passenger rail (useful to the people, that is!) is supported.
However, knowing the way that "progressive" Massachusetts operates, we are in for a long fight. But that's where the people come in. "wink"

I certainly would rather see my tax dollars be applied to something that benefits the public-at-large, rather than being used to build a stadium for rich proffessional sports teams. But that's only my opinion, as flawed as it may be.

(emoticons can not be displayed by my computer)

Well the roads stretching the 2 miles between Gold Medal and the Fall River yard will not be as damaged from trucking. (Trucks account for 99% of wear and tear damage to roadways) Trucks don't specifically pay for the upkeep of the roads they travel on, yet most railroads do, Mass Coastal being one of the exceptions.

On a happier note, I caught 2009 and 1453 leaving Fall River with a short train, a little before 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Mass Coastal recently issued a press release regarding this project which was also published in a regional rail newsletter. First, included in the Mass Coastal release was a statement from Mass Coastal that the railroad was undertaking the project. Second, included in the regional newsletter was a quote from a Gold Medal representative stating that the line was being opened by Mass Coastal as a "general business decision". Nowhere in any of these public statements was there any implication that any public funding was or is involved in reopening the rail line.

The last I saw it discussed in the "regional rail/ports newsletter" was a year ago and Gold Medal hoped to increase traffic from 2 cars/week at the pier to 3 cars/week with direct rail access. Perhaps these numbers have changed. Hopefully for MC the line only requires brush cutting and minor repairs because if in fact true that no government monies will be used, thats money out of pocket for less than 75 carloads/year.

don't forget in that number form the plant side of things is that they don't have to truck the floor to the plant, don't have to worry about vandalism to the train cars, etc. may also open up other opertunities for differnt types of car loads in and out of the plant.

I'm trying to find out some info about Mass Coastal/Cape Cod Central paint. Does anyone know what color the maroon is? I'm trying to match it as close as I can for modeling purposes. I was told Wisconsin Central Maroon is close, but I feel it's dark. Can anyone help me out with this please? Thanks,

-Patrick LaForge

Just add some white to it

Adding white would make pink, if anything I would have to add a lighter brighter red... I'm looking for manufacturer paint codes, color names, etc... Thanks, -Patrick

Taunton officials tour New Jersey trash facility
" Both the Taunton MRF and transfer station would utiilze existing rail and trucks to haul away trash and recyclables that have been processed, according to WeCare.''
'' Cornaglia said he was especially pleased with the “quietness” of what he called rail-movers, small train engines that towed and pulled rail cars loaded with compacted bales of trash and waste.''

http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstorie ... h-facility

With all the warm weather, has anything occurred on the line south of Fall River? Back in January, it looked like a little clearing had occurred. There are several crossings that will need to be replaced as well.

B&M 1227 wrote:With all the warm weather, has anything occurred on the line south of Fall River? Back in January, it looked like a little clearing had occurred. There are several crossings that will need to be replaced as well.

April 14-19 Cape Cod Central is going to be running a train departing from the State Pier in Fall River, 'Hobo Express'. Then that weekend on the 21st Mass Bay RRE is going to be running their Fall River Extra from Middleboro to Fall River. By the way do you know where the 'Hobo Express' will be running to from Fall River?

will this railroad survive the end of the waste business? i note the increase in tipping fees at semass and believe the towns will either go to the bourne landfill or semass directly. in any event, the end of the town contracts and tipping fee increases indicate that the market will now prevail. unfortunately, the railroad can't compete to semass. it could, however, to ohio but the volumes are too low to sustain any sort of move beyond the summer months. if only the equipment wasn't wedded to that silly tipper. ken patrick

fogg1703 wrote:The last I saw it discussed in the "regional rail/ports newsletter" was a year ago and Gold Medal hoped to increase traffic from 2 cars/week at the pier to 3 cars/week with direct rail access. Perhaps these numbers have changed. Hopefully for MC the line only requires brush cutting and minor repairs because if in fact true that no government monies will be used, thats money out of pocket for less than 75 carloads/year.

For one customer they don't have to do a whole lot to the track to get it operational. The grade crossings are still intact, albeit in cruddy condition. It's not like south of the port is getting rehabbed to Class 2 standards. This is a G&U-like "it's damn fugly, but it'll hold a train" job likely cheap enough that the Gold Medal business pays back the rehab cost without the state getting involved.

The ViRoCo wrote:

B&M 1227 wrote:With all the warm weather, has anything occurred on the line south of Fall River? Back in January, it looked like a little clearing had occurred. There are several crossings that will need to be replaced as well.

April 14-19 Cape Cod Central is going to be running a train departing from the State Pier in Fall River, 'Hobo Express'. Then that weekend on the 21st Mass Bay RRE is going to be running their Fall River Extra from Middleboro to Fall River. By the way do you know where the 'Hobo Express' will be running to from Fall River?

I thought the NIMBY uprising in Attleboro stopped these excursions from running ?

J

frrc wrote:

The ViRoCo wrote:

B&M 1227 wrote:With all the warm weather, has anything occurred on the line south of Fall River? Back in January, it looked like a little clearing had occurred. There are several crossings that will need to be replaced as well.

April 14-19 Cape Cod Central is going to be running a train departing from the State Pier in Fall River, 'Hobo Express'. Then that weekend on the 21st Mass Bay RRE is going to be running their Fall River Extra from Middleboro to Fall River. By the way do you know where the 'Hobo Express' will be running to from Fall River?

I thought the NIMBY uprising in Attleboro stopped these excursions from running ?

J

Just the planned Attleboro run. It was west of Cotley Jct. where the NIMBY's got their panties in a wad. The FR run hasn't hit any hiccups yet.