b&m 1566 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 08, 2019 4:16 pm
Why did they wait until the last 10 or so years, to expanding northward and start to make a push for Middletown? Was is not the railroad's original goal?
It all comes down to money, my friend.
The Friends group has been clearing the line up North for way more than a decade, but the railroad itself has to consider the cost vs profit situation.
As more funds have become available, the FOVRR volunteers have been getting more and more ties from the RR to put in up North.
But as the active track pushes North, there have been decades old obstructions to contend with. The most recent of these waas Midway Marina, which through careful and years-long preparation turned into a win-win for both parties.
The next two obstacles are the obstruction at Gates Way (a driveway where the old bridge was collapsed onto the track then filled over,) then the Mill Creek bridge which, while not in bad shape, will need work done by contractors. There's a bidding process involved there which I won't get into, but these things take time... and money.
The railroad won't touch Gates Way until the plan, funding, and engineering are in place for the MC Bridge. The two are so close there's no point in doing the first until they're certain the second will happen. Otherwise, there's less than a mile of track to gain. Once the MCB project is finalized, the GW project will be fairly simple and rather less expensive.
Ok, that's a lot to digest and I gotta go eat dinner.
Take care.