Proposal to start new tourist train at Oswego

The local newspaper, The Palladium Times reported this week that a "local entrepreneur" is trying to put together some kind of scheme to establish what sounds like a tourist rail service using the CSX line on the east side of the Oswego River. He talks about trying to run steam and using Oswego's last passenger service as a reference, although I believe the last passenger service in Oswego was on the New York Central heading east, ending in the mid to late 1950's.

I am attaching a link to the story. If it does not work, I will post the story. However, I wondered if anyone else had seen or heard tell of what sounds like pie in the sky.

http://www.palltimes.com/news/x16780707 ... -the-works

Ummm - correct me if I'm wrong, but the "line on the east side" is still an active CSX line as far as I know. The guy obviously has not the slightest clue what is involved - just get a train, put it on some track, and away you go. He mentions the last train to serve the city "as a reference or even to use". Pie in the sky? IMHO it's pie in outer space.

this guy sounds like hes not all there. The line(s) in question is (are) active it may not see a train every day but I'm sure that CSX would have one hell of a leasing charge and the Insurance would be so far up there that it would be impossible to run this project as a not for profit organization everyday or every weekend. It sounds nice but I don't beleve that it would ever happen.

He has NO CLUE!! CSX doesn't even get along with Amtrak, a goverment mandated service. There's no way CSX would entertain such service. Much less with a steam Loco. He almost sounds like he thinks the tracks and roadbed are public property. Maybe he's lookin to bilk some investors outa some funds.

This story is so rediculous, I have to post it here. Pending permission from the paper:

All aboard! Oswego train service in the works
By Nathan McDonald - The Palladium-Times
Tue Sep 16, 2008, 06:56 PM EDT

Oswego residents may need to get used to the sound of train whistles once again. Local entrepreneur Frank Timson, owner and operator of Ontario Taxi, is currently working on restoring railroad service to the Port City. He was also recently in the news for his plans to bring a cruise line, Port City Cruises Inc., to Oswego.

Tuesday afternoon Timson met with Jonathan Daniels, executive director of the Port of Oswego Authority, to discuss his plans to start up the local rail systems once again. “We found that it would not take much to get a railroad going, especially on the east side,” Timson said. “Everything’s already set up over here. I’d like to set one up on the west side, too and make it a scenic run or something like that.”

Timson also mentioned that he was looking into getting a steam engine to pull the train, and was using Oswego’s last running train as a reference or even to use. He has listed potential stops in Oswego, Fulton, Phoenix, Syracuse and even Destiny U.S.A. when it’s complete. Previously, Timson stated that once the railroad is self-sufficient, he will turn it over to SUNY Oswego as a nonprofit organization, with any excess profits possibly funding scholarships. Julie Blissert, director of Public Affairs at SUNY Oswego, confirmed they were looking into having a hand in the project. “There will be discussions,” Blissert said. “There really haven’t been any yet, but we are going to have them.”

Timson reported that the lines on the east side are in good shape and that it would not take long to set the railroad up once everything was ready. “We’re still pretty early in the planning stages, but it wouldn’t take much once we’d be all set,” he said.

He is currently talking to investors for Port City Cruises Inc. and planning the railroad.

I think the Palladium-Times is even worse than him. You would think that you would seek comment from somebody else to react to this guy's "plans". At a minimum, you might have asked SUNY Oswego for their comment - I'll bet this article is the first they are hearing that they will be the lucky recipient of this "donation".

This guy's contact info is in the original linked article. Who wants to contact him and see what his true intentions are?

-otto-

Wow. It would be lots easier to do it on the WEST side, even though the line is OOS - it's not owned by CSX until you get to Fulton, and sees sporadic service above Baldwinsville, so you might be able to run at least into Fulton proper. But a STEAM engine? Sounds like someone has no idea what the costs involved in something like that would be. Then again it reads like they have no idea that CSX is using the line on the east side, right now. There's the matter of an ethanol plant in Fulton, and a few other customers... not as many in Oswego anymore as there used to be, but still a few.


Why do I say the West Side is better? It might be possible to lease the line from the utility company that owns it and then it's your railroad, it's just a matter of track work to bring it to the minimum standards for passenger service. I'd see about buying and relaying some of the line that used to go up to the NiMo plant on the lake and making that the terminal for it rather than the tank farm, though. The only rough spot would be an agreement with CSX that would let you come into Fulton as a train stop - but since they're up there maybe 3 times a week, you have a lot better odds than the other side, which is used every day.

Given CSX's apparent policy on excursions of any kind, I'm leary of the probability of this happening.

On the other hand, if he wants to take the line off CSX's hands...

A few million to buy the line, a few hundred thousand to buy and maintain a steam engine, a few hundred thousand for coaches, another million for the insurance liability policy and salaries for the staff and train crews and advertising... and you're all set. Easy.

A dollar and as dream. Keep playing the lottery and just maybe!

roadster wrote:A dollar and as dream. Keep playing the lottery and just maybe!

sounds nice but gave up always lose to some crackhead in NYC. The lotto is fixed anyways.

Otto Vondrak wrote:A few million to buy the line, a few hundred thousand to buy and maintain a steam engine, a few hundred thousand for coaches, another million for the insurance liability policy and salaries for the staff and train crews and advertising... and you're all set. Easy.

Don't forget the excess profits that will be donated to the university ...

Make that more than a few million, with the ethanol plant going - that's part of what took the whole cluster off the chopping block when they were considering selling it a while back.

Maybe this guy has the money...

I doubt it'll happen but ya never know what cards he might actually have in his deck.