(1)The source of the estimate to finish the job was none other than Earl Pardini, whom I have known for several decades: worked-out at my then-second home in Ulster Park.
(2)Stop defending the status quo, volunteers, and get going immediately to FIND THE MONEY TO COMPLETE THE JOB TO ROXBURY. The Walkway Over The Hudson group did, and has a hell of a lot more to show for it than you do. They used a major contractor with the $38.8 million in mostly-governmental funding they secured, to do the job in about one year, and so should CMRR and the line's governmental owners. The Walkway Over The Hudson Group began precisely as the CMRR has continued: with a few volunteers, who have--truth be told--accomplished RELATIVELY LITTLE. When its founder, Bill Sepe, refused to pursue any governmental funding because of his personal "libertarian" beliefs, that Group had the ultimate good sense to get rid of him in a fortuitous coup. He was replaced by Poughkeepsie attorney Fred Schaeffer, who knew how to GET THE JOB DONE CORRECTLY. It took 11 years 4 months of Walkway Group ownership of the Poughkeepsie Bridge, from June 5, 1998 until the job was completed, on October 3, 2009. But what a great result! Let's hope it will not take another 11 years in the case of the U&D. If the truth is painful to hear, so be it. I have never seen such examples of utter defeatism and limited vision as those expressed in the last few posts.
(3)The railroad is an Ulster County property only between Kingston and Highmount. It is owned by the Towns from there to Bloomville. I see absolutely no reason why a mass funding effort cannot be started locally, with the ultimate receipients being both Ulster County and the Towns, earmarked expressly for U&D renovation. The A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation of Delhi, NY would like to see some of this funding used to improve the track between Arkville and Roxbury as well: ask Donald Bishop II, who also sits on the U&D Historical Society Board of Directors.
(4)I do not care one bit about "blowing my own horn", and never have. The purpose of my chronology was to show the incredible passage of time since the entire effort started back in 1974 (36 years!), compared to the relatively little work done DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF THE NECESSARY FUNDING TO DO THE JOB COMPLETELY. Had I been able to see into the distant future (2010) back in 1974, and discovered the amount of renovation work that the CMRR group had achieved by that time, I would never have lifted a finger to preserve the U&D.
(4)If securing adequate outside funding means that the CMRR has to give up its currently-exclusive control over the Ulster County portion of the U&D, up to and including its lease from the County, what do your members prefer: an operating railroad from Kingston to Roxbury, in which the CMRR could play a large part on the operating side, or a place to play on the weekends?
(5)Last but not least, as with the Walkway Group endeavor, IT IS THE POLITICIANS WHO WILL OR WILL NOT DELIVER MOST OF THE FUNDING NEEDED. Start with Rep. Maurice Hinchey, please, as years of my own advocacy directly to him has done very little good to date.
Last edited by DonPevsner on Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:09 am, edited 5 times in total.