A kind of "reverse saber rattling?" re. Cape Cod

That more than works for me.

Certainly agreed! as for back-on-topic, it's important for those who want rail service back to keep up the loud voice. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but as we all know, it can be discouraging at times when things seem to be at a standstill. Perhaps we and other folks could set up booths/petitions,etc. to convince the state that rail service to the Cape would be a good thing, and that it would not harm the bus business, or bring "bad people," etc. (With that argument, we shouldn't have bus service, or airports or roads for that matter as the bulk of the "bad people" will drive to a particular area with vehicles that they stole or purchased with drug money,etc.
that is a social and not a transportation problem. We could present to the state how rail service could work well with other transportation modes, and how it could mitigate traffic, present more options for non-drivers, etc. A good analogy would be one who has a cookout where you would sell the "sizzle" rather than the steaks. The same holds true, IMHO, when it comes to rail service. You don't sell the train itself, but the benefits (i.e. the "sizzle") it brings.

I was in Hyannis last week and it seemed like the track that ran up to the station right across the street from P&B's bus depot is gone. Admittedly I was driving by very quickly. Is that accurate?

It looked like a crew was putting new ties at the end of last week..
I was at HTC this afternoon and 2009 pulled up into the
station

i noticed a cape rail study report that stated the track is not up to class ii , that cape rail was on the hook to achieve that level, that improving to cr level would require $80 TO $100 MILLION. now i ask all sentient bloggers, is it not madness to fantasize about how the cape needs cr? wouldn't $100 MILLION pay for the 3rd bridge, discarded long ago by our then foolish gov sargent? even sadder, the interstate program would have paid for the 3rd bridge. ken patrick

I don't believe anything this guy writes on here but 100 million for the railroad would be money better spent than 100 million for another bridge and more roads to connect it. You will NOT do a bridge and the needed connecting roads at both ends for no 100 million anyway. I think this guy is either a lobbyist for the construction industry, trucking companies or a combination of them or he is pushing for a trail in place of the railroad tracks. Maybe they ought to just take up the tracks, tear out the Buzzards Bay Drawbridge, remove both the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges and run a ferry to transfer people and their automobiles between the mainland and Cape Cod. Maybe that would satisfy this individual.
Noel Weaver

noel et al. google my name and patents. you'll understand my pedigree. further, google 'southside connector' and you will learn why i remain a voice on ending the illusion of commuter rail to the cape.
the original 'southside connector' was a $35MILLION project ( 1974). currently, proponents estimate '$100-200 million
it included, amongst others roads connecting via the bourne rotary to route 6 at exit 2, a 3 lane canal crossing next to the bourne bridge. so stop your unknowing ' it can't be done for $100 million rant'. it was $35 MILLION THEN. today, less than a cr option which , in all respects, remains an abject failure elsewhere.
the cape needs a 3rd crossing. it doesn't need cr. remember, autos killed un-subsidized passenger rail years ago because autos provide FREEDOM'. your work history should not cloud reality. ken patrick

The apparent dynamic seems best exemplified in the Monty Python "Argument Clinic" sketch available on YouTube.

KEN PATRICK wrote:noel et al. google my name and patents. you'll understand my pedigree. further, google 'southside connector' and you will learn why i remain a voice on ending the illusion of commuter rail to the cape.
the original 'southside connector' was a $35MILLION project ( 1974). currently, proponents estimate '$100-200 million
it included, amongst others roads connecting via the bourne rotary to route 6 at exit 2, a 3 lane canal crossing next to the bourne bridge. so stop your unknowing ' it can't be done for $100 million rant'. it was $35 MILLION THEN. today, less than a cr option which , in all respects, remains an abject failure elsewhere.
the cape needs a 3rd crossing. it doesn't need cr. remember, autos killed un-subsidized passenger rail years ago because autos provide FREEDOM'. your work history should not cloud reality. ken patrick

Ok,.... uka-uka-uka- [THE JOE PESCI BUTTON HAS BEEN PUSHED!!]
Maaaaayyyyybeeeee it could be done for a hundred million... MAAAAYYYBEEEE.....
If you took out al your bells, whistles, and you undercut estimates and slashed things like quality of construction, oversight, and SOMEHOW managed to pull it off with NO cost-overruns, then MAAAYYYYBEEE.....
BUT!
We ALL know what happens,... uka,...uka-uka-ukay.... ya listening?
They FRIKK you with the contrtactors, they FRIKK you with the studies, they FRIKK you with the overruns.. and WHO get's frikked? The TAXPAYERS! THAT'S who!
I am NOT paying for your *&^%$%^&^% THIRD BRIDGE!!! Got it?
Uka....uka....
[THE JOE PESCI BUTTON WAS A DRILL FOR TRAINING, SECURE FROM THE DRILL.]

If there is a third highway bridge, there will be a toll on all three bridges
to pay for it...Neither the state or the feds will be writing a check...

Ok Ken, I see, it's "freedom" right? Well, is it freedom if the auto is the only choice? Is it freedom when you're sitting in gridlock burning up gas? If you want to talk about "freedom", give people options, you'll fing people use whatever mode that suits his/her needs at the time. I drive a vehicle but also use other options when available. Now THAT's freedom. But I'm just a former Cape Cod resident, so what do I know?

Noel and Cosmo.
I check Mr. Patrick's patents. The five all deal with the design of a solid waste intermodal container. I don't know how that makes him an expert in engineering costs and railroad operations. I don't see the connection. Mr. Patrick's posts in other forum topics tend to be antirail and he tends not to be able to comprehend what is written be others or choices to ignore them. I come on this site to learn, I'll be the first to say I'm not knowledgeable about railroad operations. If there is a topic I can contribute information on, I'll do it, otherwise it's listen and learn. Mr. Patrick may want to do more of this.

the patents cover a heavy haul intermodal bulk materials SYSTEM. implementation was in the waste industry. 205- 286# flats 600 containers, 2 locos, 50 chassis, 10 wheeloaders. 1991-2000 operated in new jersey, new york, maryland, conn, mass, ohio, virginia. about 7000 loads/year on conrail, ns, csxt, qbtrr, ohcrr. expert in railroad operations, pricing, strengths and weaknesses. absent public money, railroads cannot handle passengers. railroads are great moving bulk materials. i thought i had a shot at intermodal bulk in coal, grain dry chemcals. alas, not to be. an answer for 'captive shippers'? alas, too wedded to stb as a rate arbitrator. there is a bureaucratic environment in railroads that prevent creativity. i had to prove, at my own expense, that a p/s f 89e flat could be upgraded from 220 to 286. i ran my car at pueblo in the HAL consist. the southside connector might still be built. cr to hyannis will never happen. the trash haul will probably die a slow and painful death. after that, pull the rails. ken patrick

Let's take a break from this topic over the weekend. I'm discussing this and a couple of related issues with the site admin.

Aaaaand we're back. If anyone can remember what the original topic was actually about, let's try to stick to that.