Is CNA building anything yet in Springfield?

Has anyone in the Springfield area seen any progress on the CNA site? Any pics?

Looks like they're not that far along...

http://www.masslive.com/business-news/i ... _spri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here we go . . .

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/pas ... channel=62" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

bostontrainguy wrote:Here we go . . .

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/pas ... channel=62" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm a little astonished by the mention of it being the former site of the Stevens-Duryea automobile plant, seeing as that company ceased production in 1915! Might as well say that my mother's house (built in 1929) was the former site of Mr. Hezekiah Gilbert's pasture

Rather impressive to see that the building has almost doubled in size since this was first announced from 150,000 sf to 220,000 sf!

These guys are thinking big.

That's one big building:

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/busi ... plant.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This must be the largest manufacturing plant constructed in Massachusetts in a long long time.

These guys are moving fast!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... cmpid=yhoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

bostontrainguy wrote:These guys are moving fast!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... cmpid=yhoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is this rolling stock going to be built in Springfield?

Ridgefielder wrote:

bostontrainguy wrote:These guys are moving fast!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... cmpid=yhoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is this rolling stock going to be built in Springfield?

That is their only factory in North America so I would think so.

The cars are, at the very least, being assembled in Springfield. I don't know how many parts will actually be built there; I know at the very least the body shells are going to be imported, but I don't know what else. The MBTA's requirements aren't as stringent as the "Buy American" policy that is used when the Feds put money towards something, so it doesn't all have to be made in-country. I assume they will ship in whatever requires a significant extra capital investment to build the machinery to produce the part, since they do already have facilities to do such... in China. It'll be a cost comparison to how much it costs to make it in China and import it, compared to the initial capital investment to build the capabilities to build whatever part and the cost to produce it in the U.S; I can't imagine that'll leave anything major being built in Springfield.

I'm not going to be so cynical to assume the cars will be absolute garbage because of that, since it is possible to get high quality products out of China, but... it's a wild, wild west for quality out there because of the lack of standards, so it's anyone's guess how it'll work out. Quality products only happen when a company is dedicated enough to try and impose and enforce high(er) standards on their products. Hopefully CNA understands that they'll doom their ability to get more American contracts, and therefore waste their own investments into this factory, if they screw up the T's contract.