Cape May Seashore Lines-2010

CTL10D wrote:Hate to say it but its going to get to the point that when the trains do run again, no one will care. The old "out of sight out of mind" kinda thing unfortunately. -Chris

Yes it has been 5 years since the last CMSL train pulled into Cape May and it is natural for rail fans to lose interest. I agree that if they do start running in 2010 Tony will need to jack up the advertising, marketing and publicity aspect of running the train . Although it is one block from the Washington Street Mall, the train pulls into an area where not many tourists walk by it. That area is where the buses arrive and depart and is frequented by people that are there for real transportation not a fun ride.
I'm still cheering for the CMSL to succeed; it just that it seems that much work lies ahead.

dlagrua wrote:

CTL10D wrote:Hate to say it but its going to get to the point that when the trains do run again, no one will care. The old "out of sight out of mind" kinda thing unfortunately. -Chris

Yes it has been 5 years since the last CMSL train pulled into Cape May and it is natural for rail fans to lose interest. I agree that if they do start running in 2010 Tony will need to jack up the advertising, marketing and publicity aspect of running the train . Although it is one block from the Washington Street Mall, the train pulls into an area where not many tourists walk by it. That area is where the buses arrive and depart and is frequented by people that are there for real transportation not a fun ride.
I'm still cheering for the CMSL to succeed; it just that it seems that much work lies ahead.

Technically, the last train to pull into Cape May was last fall's Wine Train but you're right in the aspect that it's been five years since regularly scheduled service to CMC.

Glen,

What stations did last year's Wine Train use?

mgdemarco wrote:Glen,

What stations did last year's Wine Train use?

The train ran last October between Cape May City station and Hawk Haven Winery which is adjacent to the CMSL ROW on Railroad Avenue just south of Rt 47. I don't believe it stopped at Cold Spring.

Some additional information on the wine train can be found buried in this thread:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... &start=300

glennk419 wrote:

mgdemarco wrote:Glen,

What stations did last year's Wine Train use?

The train ran last October between Cape May City station and Hawk Haven Winery which is adjacent to the CMSL ROW on Railroad Avenue just south of Rt 47. I don't believe it stopped at Cold Spring.

Some additional information on the wine train can be found buried in this thread:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... &start=300

No need to dig; the post is here.
In Rio Grande, the train stopped next to an open field across the street from the winery.

Bob

Can anyone speculate what the northern most station will be for the CMSL for Cape May runs.

Stop by Tuckahoe tomorrow. We will hve a group of volunteers from the PRSL Historic Group working on cleaning up the cars. Dress appropriatly if you want to help out. Boots and gloves are a must. Safety meeting at 9:00 AM.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Should be in Cape May next week Tues-Thurs and I'll try to find out when the CMSL expects to run its first 2010 train. Information has been hard to come by of late but I'll keep trying.

dlagrua wrote:Should be in Cape May next week Tues-Thurs and I'll try to find out when the CMSL expects to run its first 2010 train. Information has been hard to come by of late but I'll keep trying.

dlagrua: If you have time, can you go out on a field inspection of the Sunset Beach Branch and see how far the end of the line is from the site of the old magnesite plant to Sunset Beach itself? That would be useful to keep in mind as far as making passenger service practical to that location. People won't want to trek half a mile(?) to the beach itself from the end of the line, and would continue to drive out there instead of taking the train. If the line is extended as far as practically possible to Sunset Beach itself, that would improve rider usage if Tony wants to make this a profitable operation, and shouldn't cost all that much.

hutton_switch wrote:

dlagrua wrote:Should be in Cape May next week Tues-Thurs and I'll try to find out when the CMSL expects to run its first 2010 train. Information has been hard to come by of late but I'll keep trying.

dlagrua: If you have time, can you go out on a field inspection of the Sunset Beach Branch and see how far the end of the line is from the site of the old magnesite plant to Sunset Beach itself? That would be useful to keep in mind as far as making passenger service practical to that location. People won't want to trek half a mile(?) to the beach itself from the end of the line, and would continue to drive out there instead of taking the train. If the line is extended as far as practically possible to Sunset Beach itself, that would improve rider usage if Tony wants to make this a profitable operation, and shouldn't cost all that much.

Tracks now end at the property line for the old Magnesite plant. All rails on the property were removed as part of the cleanup that was done there years ago. I'm sure the CMSL could extend those rails when the time comes, should they decide to restore service.

Mike DiMunno

hutton_switch wrote:

dlagrua wrote:Should be in Cape May next week Tues-Thurs and I'll try to find out when the CMSL expects to run its first 2010 train. Information has been hard to come by of late but I'll keep trying.

dlagrua: If you have time, can you go out on a field inspection of the Sunset Beach Branch and see how far the end of the line is from the site of the old magnesite plant to Sunset Beach itself? That would be useful to keep in mind as far as making passenger service practical to that location. People won't want to trek half a mile(?) to the beach itself from the end of the line, and would continue to drive out there instead of taking the train. If the line is extended as far as practically possible to Sunset Beach itself, that would improve rider usage if Tony wants to make this a profitable operation, and shouldn't cost all that much.

I believe that the question has been answered on how far the tracks extend to Sunset beach. They end about 1/4 mile from the water, maybe a bit more. As for not costing that much, I tend to disagree. The Sunset beach branch is a two mile spur off of the CMSL main line. Even on a budget it would probably cost $1 million per mile to restore the trackage, get the switch working, get an order to kick the encroachers off the line and put the grade crossings back. Also I believe that the former Harbeson Walker Magnesite property is now State owned land so I'm not sure how the CMSL would gain permisson to lay new track all the way to the beach. I'd love to see the line restored but IMO its a long shot.

This is all good talk but I think CMSL need to focus on it's original project. The service between the Court House or Zoo and Cape May needs to be working before Richland, Tuckahoe, Hammonton, Atco or where ever.

p.s. Tony Macrie is a good person and an incredible source of knowledge of South Jersey rail history.

South Jersey Budd wrote:This is all good talk but I think CMSL need to focus on it's original project. The service between the Court House or Zoo and Cape May needs to be working before Richland, Tuckahoe, Hammonton, Atco or where ever.

p.s. Tony Macrie is a good person and an incredible source of knowledge of South Jersey rail history.

Until we know all of the facts, it cannot be determined why the Cape May to CMCH trains have not been running in 2010. In past years, many obstacles have been put in the way by Middle township, add technical and legal isssues that have surfaced over the past few years and its been rough going. It may now all come down to financial feasibility. Railfans and tourists would certainly like to see the line running again but the line also has to make enough money to keep it running. I feel that 2010 is a pivotal year.
As for Tony, I have never met the man, but believe that he is a good person who at the very least will be remembered for his efforts in preserving the CMSL trackage and right of way for future generations. Without Tony the rails would have been pulled up long ago. Today he appears to be working to keep the line in a minimalist working condition so one can only wonder if Cape May Passenger service is in NJT's future plans. July is just around the corner so we will see if any trains show up in Cape May. If they do I'll be on them again.

South Jersey Budd wrote:This is all good talk but I think CMSL need to focus on it's original project. The service between the Court House or Zoo and Cape May needs to be working before Richland, Tuckahoe, Hammonton, Atco or where ever.

p.s. Tony Macrie is a good person and an incredible source of knowledge of South Jersey rail history.

I was wondering the same thing, why work on clearing another line, when the "main" line needs work? Or I guess maybe it doesn't, which is surprising, because with no trains running, im sure brush cutting would be helpful along its length as well.....

Just for S and Gs, im gonna check the website to see if there is any information - because at least in my neck of the Shore, July 4th weekend is one of the biggest of the summer, and thats quickly approaching.....

Oh look it says "updated June 26, 2010" but still nothing other than...

"ARRIVING SOON!
THE NEW "SEASHORE LINES 2010 TIMETABLE!"
CHECK BACK FOR FURTHER DETAILS!"

But I did get a kick out of this...

Recent Additions!
•Site updates coming soon

...................

I was wondering the same thing, why work on clearing another line, when the "main" line needs work? Or I guess maybe it doesn't, which is surprising, because with no trains running, im sure brush cutting would be helpful along its length as well.....

This is all good talk but I think CMSL need to focus on it's original project. The service between the Court House or Zoo and Cape May needs to be working before Richland, Tuckahoe, Hammonton, Atco or where ever.

The Richland-Tuckahoe trackage should be good to go. That part of the line is used and maintained by Conrail to bring coal into the power plant at Stoney point. If the CMSL is not running on that portion, other issues are probably preventing it from happening. The portion of the line South of Tuckahoe to Woodbine should also be in good shape as (according to a newpaper article) the state has fuunded the CMSL to maintain the trackage there. As for the Cape May to CMCH trackage, I've walked part of the line, its seems in passable shape and the swing bridge works; at least good enough for low speed tourist runs. The last unconfirmed report that we had was that trains were to run again in late July. We can only wait and see. I'll be in Cape May next week and see if anyone knows anything.