OT: RE: Shipping Big Iron & Rail Right-Of-Way Abandonment

From: Merle K. Peirce <at258_at_osfn.org>
Date: Tue Mar 5 11:29:31 2002

Sounds like a great idea. I'm surprised no one has thought about
restoring "Roaring Elgin" Service either.


On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Feldman, Robert wrote:

> Most of these abandonments were in the 60's into the 80's. Railroads are
> doing quite well now (except for Union Pacific, which f****ed up royally
> trying to merge computer systems from its too-many and too-fast
> acquisitions), and it's the trucking companies that are crying.
>
> Trivia: the first "rail-to-trail" conversion (dq's greenways with joggers)
> was here near Chicago -- the Illinois Prairie Path, which converted the
> Chicago, Aurora and Elgin interurban right-of-way, abandoned in 1961, into a
> bike path in the mid-1960's. (How --why?-- do I know this? My daughter is
> doing a school history fair project on it :-) ).
>
> There are some groups trying to revive the Chicago, North Shore, and
> Milwaukee r.o.w. as an alternative to a 3rd airport in Chicago. The idea is
> to build a high speed rail link from downtown Chicago to Mitchell Field in
> Milwaukee.
>
> Bob
>
> P.S. to Sridhar.
> How do you ship partial boxcars of goods? Easy, it's called "LCL" freight
> (less-than-car-load).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Douglas Quebbeman [mailto:dhquebbeman_at_theestopinalgroup.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 9:05 AM
> To: 'classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org'
> Subject: Shipping Big Iron & Rail Right-Of-Way Abandonment
>
>
> > Where has rail been ripped up? I've never heard of that
> > happening. Is it a national trend?
>
> Of course, I'm aware of it primarily through local examples,
> but the local newspapers have run articles about how this is
> happening throughout the nation.... the midwest probably has
> more miles ot track to rip up, though...
>
> Recently, efforts have been underway to try to reclaim some
> abandoned right-of-way and use it to create light rail (i.e.
> trolley) lines...
>
> Once upon a time, there was a B&O spur that ran in front of the
> home I lived in as a child (not far from here)... Dad and I would
> walk one direction as far as the floodwall, and the other direction
> usually only as far as a small drug store that sold hot mixed nuts.
> Remember hot mixed nuts, hot peanuts, etc?
>
> Just a short walk further (which we never did) you'd find the
> coal company who used to deliver the coal by which we used to
> heat that house (did a natural gas conversion in '64 just before
> we moved out).
>
> But all that line is not greeway, replete with joggers...
>
> :(
>
> -dq
>

M. K. Peirce

Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
Shady Lea, Rhode Island

"Casta est quam nemo rogavit."
              
              - Ovid
Received on Tue Mar 05 2002 - 11:29:31 GMT