Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) Discussion

zoey wrote:The concern is not about the railroad, it is about what they are carrying and what they are storing on Upton property!
They are transporting and storing toxic explosive chemicals in massive quantities!
Senator Moore is concerned about that fact and I think he is doing a great job trying to keep the Citizens of Upton safe!

Toxic and explosive chemicals???

How many gasoline tankers traverse the streets of Upton daily?
How about propane trucks?
Oil delivery trucks?
Delivery and transport trucks with the "comforting" DANGEROUS placards?

The stuff on the rails in Upton is NO MORE hazardous or dangerous that stuff that is transported, probably in much larger quantities, in many more trucks, on the roadways through every community in the Commonwealth, including Upton!

Rail is a safe mode of transportation that trucks...

i believe this furor could have been avoided has the g&u simply applied for town permits. escalation to this point is counterproductive for both the g&u and the citizens. i'm sure the stb will opine that federal pre-emption does not apply to the respective transloads . the g&u will then file a complaint in federal court. and so it goes. ken patrick

UPDATED 28 March 2013

Comment document has been posted.
Representative George N. Peterson, Jr. ((R) - 9th Worcester district) has apparently "weighed in".



To view the entire document, click the above image OR click this link: http://www.stb.dot.gov/FILINGS/all.nsf/ ... 233976.PDF OR download a copy attached below..

Sir Ray wrote:

zoey wrote:The concern is not about the railroad, it is about what they are carrying and what they are storing on Upton property!
They are transporting and storing toxic explosive chemicals in massive quantities!
Senator Moore is concerned about that fact and I think he is doing a great job trying to keep the Citizens of Upton safe!

Except Senator Moore!!!! mentions in his letter this usage first - "bagging wood chips which it has unloaded from railroad cars for further movement by trucks" in his letter, before moving on to tank cars and trucks.
If he was really only concerned about "toxic explosive chemicals" (leaving behind whether the waste oil really is explosive or not) and keeping "The Citizens of Upton Safe", then he wouldn't have started off with, or even mentioned, the wood pellets, but would have addressed only the tank facilities directly - Agreed?

AGREED!!

Cosmo wrote:

Sir Ray wrote:

zoey wrote:The concern is not about the railroad, it is about what they are carrying and what they are storing on Upton property!
They are transporting and storing toxic explosive chemicals in massive quantities!
Senator Moore is concerned about that fact and I think he is doing a great job trying to keep the Citizens of Upton safe!

Except Senator Moore!!!! mentions in his letter this usage first - "bagging wood chips which it has unloaded from railroad cars for further movement by trucks" in his letter, before moving on to tank cars and trucks.
If he was really only concerned about "toxic explosive chemicals" (leaving behind whether the waste oil really is explosive or not) and keeping "The Citizens of Upton Safe", then he wouldn't have started off with, or even mentioned, the wood pellets, but would have addressed only the tank facilities directly - Agreed?

AGREED!!

d'accord! (I agree!)

papabarn wrote:UPDATED 28 March 2013

Comment document has been posted.
Representative George N. Peterson, Jr. ((R) - 9th Worcester district) has apparently "weighed in".



To view the entire document, click the above image OR click this link: http://www.stb.dot.gov/FILINGS/all.nsf/ ... 233976.PDF OR download a copy attached below..

Someone with sense. Thank you Rep. Peterson!

CRail may not be a chemist but he is related to one. Spent oil is only explosive in a diesel engine or at high temperatures. This is not because the potential energy is used, it's still there, but because the vapor pressure at ambient temperatures is very low. Gasoline on the other hand has a very high vapor pressure at ambient temperatures, high enough that in a closed space (like your garage) it can reach it's lower explosive limit. Throw a light switch under those conditions and it's going to get interesting. Spent motor oil on the other hand will just sit there, and if the ambient temperatures are high enough to get it to its LEL you have bigger problems to worry about than an explosion. A spill would be messy and difficult to clean up but more spent oil leaks into the local environment by old cars, motor boat engines and jet skis than you are likely to see spilled in an accident. Someone mentioned gasoline tankers? Just ask the folks near the Avco rotary in Everett about that. Most people park up to 40 gallons of gasoline in the garage attached to their house everyday.

In any event, CRails analysis is spot on, this is a NYMBY movement more than anything else. They can't kill the railroad directly so they are trying every end around to economically strangle it that they can devise. Next time don't by a house next to railroad tracks, rusty or not. If Stilgoe is correct in "Train Time", and it looks like he might be, Grafton and Upton is a sign of things to come. I say bring it on, we made a huge mistake as a nation letting our railroads deteriorate.

G&U wants propane terminal work to resume...

http://www.telegram.com/article/20130404/NEWS/104049912

zoey wrote:The concern is not about the railroad, it is about what they are carrying and what they are storing on Upton property!
They are transporting and storing toxic explosive chemicals in massive quantities!
Senator Moore is concerned about that fact and I think he is doing a great job trying to keep the Citizens of Upton safe!

Well Zoey, are you familiar with Flynn's truck stop in Shrewsbury? Just sit there for a few hours and you'll see oil trucks for Al's, Midnight, Kens, Leblanc and occasionally Pioneer. That doesn't count the fuel delivery trucks that bring in diesel and gasoline, or the propane/LNG trucks that pass through daily. I spend four afternoons a week at that truck stop, and you know what? I normally don't bat an eye. The only thing that I bothered noting was the fuel tankers from New Jersey after Super Storm Sandy that were bringing fuel to New Jersey. But you know why I say all that? Because for me, its normal (Hell, I've been going to Flynn's far longer because I have family that have worked there before I was even born). Chances are that if you talk to any of the staff, and they'll have the same opinion. You all want to know my thoughts? People are petrified of change, even if there may be benefit to be had. This dose of reason was brought to the masses of the internet by your friendly neighborhood Lambe.
-Dylan Lambert

I suspect that this may cause some previous story links to go "dead".

[quote="At 23:51 on 4 March 2013 In an article entitled "Daily Voice closes Mass. news sites", Laura Krantz of the The MetroWest Daily News staff"] A blow to local journalism came Monday, when online news site Daily Voice confirmed it has closed all its Massachsuetts sites and laid off seven reporters, one editor and three sales employees.

The Daily Voice websites covered Westborough, Upton, Southborough, Shrewsbury, Northborough, Northbridge, Milford, Millbury, Leicester, Grafton and Auburn.

Daily Voice Board of Directors Chairman and interim CEO Carll Tucker Monday said the company closed the sites in hopes of turning a profit this year.

"We were very close and unfortunately we couldn't do it with our friends in Massachusetts," he said.

Tucker said the company plans to focus on its websites in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County in Connecticut, which have a combined 41 sites.[/quote]
Read more at The MetroWest Daily News' web site

Is there any truth to the comments "I will go nuclear, I will bury all those who oppose me" made by Deli Priscioli in the media. Or are the comments "here say" ? Doesn't sound professional IMHO.

J

frrc wrote:Is there any truth to the comments "I will go nuclear, I will bury all those who oppose me" made by Deli Priscioli in the media. Or are the comments "here say" ? Doesn't sound professional IMHO.

J

What media?

NRGeep wrote: What media?

Here's one story from December 2012... please note that it's a second-hand quote, as reported through Grafton town official, so you do have to consider the source. The reference is near the bottom of the article, the third paragraph from the end:

Friday, December 14, 2012
Judge’s order blocks tanks
Dec. 21 hearing set in federal court
By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]

GRAFTON — The town was granted a temporary restraining order Thursday that will temporarily prevent the delivery of four 80,000-gallon propane storage tanks, the first of which was to be unloaded Thursday.
...
Assistant Town Administrator Kevin J. Mizikar said in the town’s motion for the injunction that Mr. Priscoli went to Town Hall and told him that in issuing the cease-and-desist order, the town had started “nuclear war” that Mr. Priscoli “intends to win.” In addition, Mr. Mizikar claims Mr. Priscoli said he intends to “bury” towns that work against him.
...

http://www.telegram.com/article/2012121 ... 49744/1101

It's a second hand and botched quote. Never trust a quote that's broken up into single words, they're twisted and in this case are used to make Priscoli look like a villain. All they've told you is that he metaphorically described the severity of the conflict and stated that he is confident that he'll prevail (no kidding, otherwise he wouldn't waste the money). He said she said, who cares?

From the Upton Planning Board.



To view the entire document, click the above image OR click this link: http://www.stb.dot.gov/FILINGS/all.nsf/ ... 234075.pdf. !!SORRY!! The 1 mb. limit phpBB imposes will not allow me to upload a copy for your convenience..