Middletown officials displeased with unsightly railroad cars left downtown

[Jeff Smith]

https://www.middletownpress.com/middlet ... 296088.php

"Resting". Is the railroad putting them down for a nap?

MIDDLETOWN — The periodic appearance of rusty railroad cars covered in graffiti in the downtown area gives visitors and motorists a negative impression of the city, Middletown officials say.

Problems began after the Providence & Worcester Railroad was acquired by Darien-based Genesee & Wyoming in 2016, according to Mayor Ben Florsheim and Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh.

City leaders have been trying to persuade the railway to stop resting its freight cars between deKoven Drive and Route 9 for some time. They are visible to passing motorists for as long as 14 days, both men said.
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Former mayor Dan Drew worked on the issue during his tenure. In the past, McHugh said, he’d see just a couple of cars, but most recently, the Genesee & Wyoming cargo train was there between one and two weeks.

“It’s unseemly and doesn’t look good,” McHugh said. If the railroad company would rest its cars closer to Main Street, along Rapallo Avenue, however, he would be satisfied.

The tracks are parallel to the Connecticut River and Route 9, which separates the area from the water.
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Once the issue is resolved, the mayor hopes the rail line could boost tourism to and from the shoreline, calling the railroad a “transportation asset.”

“These rail tracks right in the middle of our downtown have a lot of potential,” said Florsheim, who has been a part of preliminary conversations about whether the Essex Steam Train and Valley Railroad in lower Middlesex County would be interested in connecting to the city one day.
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[Lincoln78]

Wouldn't want people to thing that there is actual manufacturing and commerce going on in central CT..

[Mr rt]

Those Gons are still being parked at Middletown or just north … also the yard usually contains a lot of Gons