Some conversation here with comments from BSOR's good people here:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 8&start=30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Another one that references a Brian Higgins press release I can't find now from 2005:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 04&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Relevant quote from article linked below:
''We have also been working with some groups who are interested in restoring excursion train service opportunities into the Jamestown area,'' Teresi said. ''This isn't a regular passenger train service, but instead a train service that would take people for day trips into other parts of the region.''
For example, Teresi said Jamestown could be a destination for trips to Pennsylvania Dutch country or to Corning.
''Folks could stop here for a couple of hours or for an overnight visit,'' he said. ''That would tie in nicely with the multimodal transportation center we're trying to create.''
http://www.post-journal.com/page/conten ... l?nav=5018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Regarding the whole reason for a connection...look, I dunno.
I can say the following. There was interest to do so, what I would consider to be legitimate interest. I say this because money was about to be spent (and yep, I'm being vague on purpose). My guess is that if you are captive to the B&P or NS (not saying that either is "bad", per se) getting to Buffalo via Gowanda now more than doubles your connections: if the WNYP could now get traffic from NS, B&P AND NYLE/BSOR and CSX, your pricing power would be positively affected. I have no numbers to prove that, but people here would certainly recognize what I mean.
However, the grade out of Gowanda is significant. I pulled the Erie track chart and saw that for a stretch it's 2.72%. Over 2 for the whole grade. I don't know how much freight you could conceivably move over that (not a lot of tonnage, I'll bet) and so then we're going to try to move a train, how large, over that grade, and how often? Lots of questions. Excursions might be the only game in town anyway...and what weight is that rail?
So...another connection! Yay! But then the WNYP got the Buffalo line. Sure, there's a grade there, but it's heavy-duty and can handle more traffic. I believe that any serious interest in Waterboro went away as soon as that happened.
I'd love to see it. If there was money floating around, I'd even help or lead the effort to go get it. That would, certainly be a huge tourist draw. There are passenger cars you can buy and locos you can use. Sure.
But that 11 miles will be way more than the $1 million a mile I used to read about to rehab things. I'd guess from Waterboro through to Gowanda would cost upwards of $50 million, and yes, I just made that number up out of thin air.
Is there anyone that wants to build a 1:1 gauge toy for excursions from Jamestown to the casino, Bills Games, Erie and other points south? No? OK....I'll show myself out.
Dave Becker