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  • Boston Surface Railroad: Worcester-Providence Commuter Rail

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1476846  by MaineCoonCat
 
PBMcGinnis wrote: And as mentioned by Newpylong, insurance, insurance, insurance!
Liability insurance
Property insurance
Equipment insurance
Health insurance of personnel
Indemnification clauses to operate over the same freight lines

There is a lot of capital needed just at start up.
Wasn't insurance one of the sticking points with PAR (or was it Guilford at the time) when the Downeaster was in it's beginning stages? I doubt their viewpoint on insurance has changed.
 #1476900  by b&m 1566
 
BS Railroad, hahahah!... I like that. I'd like to think of it as a more colorful railroad though, so I'm going to call it the Candy Land Railroad.


*Yawn

I'm going back into my hole now.
 #1483018  by BandA
 
This is good news; Probably cheaper than leasing? I assume rehabbing these units for the pilot will cost at least as much as they paid. One good thing - these units are so old they can't depreciate, right? So they can use them for a while until they can afford something spiffier, then sell them & get their money back?

Shouldn't they have bought 3 locomotives - two to run in the pilot & one as a parts donor?

I think they previously announce lease options on coaches?
 #1483084  by FatNoah
 
Yes, that is interesting. Actually acquiring locomotives suitable for commuter service-- albeit ancient ones-- is a tangible step toward doing something
Hell, if these locomotives even make one trip on that line, I think this forum owes someone a nice fruit basket or something. :-D
 #1483547  by Otto Vondrak
 
Lentinula wrote:So it's actually happening?
If by "it" you mean they are the winning bidder for two locomotives, yes.

-otto-
 #1485793  by b&m 1566
 
I'm still very skeptical of this whole railroad but for the "sake of discussion", I would like to look even further outside the box. Let's say 20 years from now the BSRR is up and running to Concord, NH. What's to stop this railroad from going further north and tapping into the summer and fall tourist market in the Lakes Region of NH? If these investors truly believe there's potential in what they are trying to accomplish now, surely there has to be potential at the seasonal level for the Lakes Region, no?


Anyways, I stumbled across this article, it doesn't really discuss anything that we don't already know about but non the less, I still found it interesting to read.
https://www.nhbr.com/September-28-2018/ ... -up-steam/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1487951  by bostontrainguy
 
NEW HAVEN, CONN. – Six Connecticut Department of Transportation Electro-Motive FL9 locomotives, stored out of service since 2009, have found new homes from New England to Texas. The new owners include the Boston Surface Railroad Co. of Woonsocket, R.I.; Massachusetts Coastal Railroad, headquartered in East Wareham, Mass.; Webb Rail LLC, in partnership with the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum of Lenox, Mass.; and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad of Grapevine, Texas. All plan to restore their new acquisitions to running condition.

Earlier this year, the state posted the FL9s on an auction list, and the winning bidders were notified in August. Sale prices ranged from $51,100 to $93,100 per unit, according to a Department of Transportation spokesman. Three of the six stored cab units already are on their way to their new homes.

Boston Surface Railroad Co., which purchased No. 2027 (built as New Haven No. 2015 in 1957), has proposed operating commuter service over the Providence & Worcester Railroad between the railroad’s namesake cities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The company’s CEO, Vincent Bono, hopes to acquire additional FL9s or other cab units to power Boston Surface’s planned trains. The locomotive will be moved to Davisville, R.I., for mechanical work by the Seaview Transportation Company, Bono tells Trains News Wire.

Massachusetts Coastal Railroad, a southeastern Massachusetts freight operation, purchased two Connecticut FL9s, No. 2011 (originally NH No. 2038, built in 1960) and No. 2026 (NH No. 2007, built 1957). Chris Podgurski, president and chief operating officer, says the units will be assigned to the company’s Cape Cod Central passenger operation. Podgurski is pleased with the two FL9s the railroad has acquired, commenting on their good wheel condition and their Caterpillar head end power units. He remarked that FL9s will be returning to territory that they once covered while working for the New Haven.

Heading to the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum is Connecticut DOT FL9 No. 2024, which was built as New Haven No. 2058 in 1960, and was the second-to-last cab unit manufactured by EMD. BSRM teamed up with Webb Rail LLC of Fishkill, N.Y., owner of former New York Central observation car Babbling Brook, to acquire the historic locomotive. The FL9 is en route to BSRM’s station and museum in Lenox, Mass. Although the organization already is referring to the unit as No. 2058, museum officials tell News Wire that no decision has been made to restore its original number in the near future.

- Highlights from a recent Trains Magazine article
 #1488479  by MaineCoonCat
 
HEADS UP! Mass Bay RRE Thursday, October 18, 8:00 PM at the Union Church in Waban, 14 Collins Road, Newton, MA.
boston surface rre.PNG
Click the image for a larger view

http://www.massbayrre.org/meetings.htm
 #1488509  by johnpbarlow
 
The NBRRE blurb announcing Vince Bono's upcoming presentation has the following line:
A milestone was reached this spring when the BSRC began construction of track improvements on the P&W main line between Woonsocket and Providence, RI, the first segment scheduled for service.
What track improvements are these?
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