my neighbors are at it again (on topic)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CURES-Civ ... 821?v=wall

Look at these ignorant fools. "diesel causes cancer", HA! One nice big Geep is way greener than the dozens of the semi trucks that would take it's place.

What a bunch of whining morons. They can't seem to tell the difference btw a C&D car and the green MSW boxes. It's a sad symptom of some central queens archie bunker types who are plenty fond of city services (fire, police, trash removal) yet don't think think they should have to deal with trash trains. wah wah wah. I live close to the triboro & hell gate, and I much rather see the trash train than the dozens of trash trucks every night.

We can at least laugh at the fact that NYC gov is plotting on sending even more trash out via rail in the coming years.

I like how they point a finger at Long Island as to the source of the "garbage". Isn't there a moratorium on rail moves of MSW from Long Island? They also don't seem to realize that the trash coming out of Bushwick is from their own neighborhoods!!! And I'm sure none of them know that trash from eastern Queens is brought to the recylcing plant off the Meadowbrook in Garden City/Westbury, tured into ash and then trucked out on the LIE through their neighborhoods anyway!!
I read alot of the crap on that site and I'm confused as to what they are after. They complain about the open cars that don't have tarps, but they also complain about the green containers. Are they trying to stop all rail traffic??

I think they want to end all rail traffic frankly. Too bad City Hall isn't on their side on that one no matter how much they cry.

There's no more ash being burned on LI, that ended awhile back?

The MSW 'moratorium' definitely has expired. If I recall right it was some 10 year agreement back in 97'... WM in bushwick converted from C&D to MSW, and DSNY spent a lot of cash building a facility right next door to WM. They're going to do the same with loading MSW via Maspeth yard in the coming years. I'm not sure if there's plans for it but I'd bet they'll want to load MSW somewhere along the bay ridge branch too at some point. It's just too expensive to keep trucking trash out of NYC. I'd imagine plenty of LI communities will start doing this as well.

The open top cars are C&D. They're not dropping trash on the tracks - it's THEM that throw trash down onto the tracks. If anything CSX should send some cops down there more often and get these people for illegal dumping, trespass, etc.

The people behind that facebook page are completely clueless & ignorant. They can cry all they want but the trash business is only going to grow. They should be thankful that CSX pandered to their ridiculous request to have trash cars removed by 5AM so their dirty little roach babies that go to Christ the King don't have to see the cars in fremont.

I already had one guy on antoher board accuse me of "speaking on a situation you've only read about" (i did title it "Middle Village/Glendale NIMBYS"). Meanwhile, I've lived a few blocks from the Lower Montauk my whole life. I actually a decent shot of the northbound CSX run yesterday (well, a decent as it can be out the window of a moving car on the BQE...I wasn't driving...I can't.)

The city recently uploaded a map of the whole city made of thosands of pictures taken from a plane in 1924. there were no houses within a block of fresh pond yard along Otto road.

You want to know what might calm them down, tell them to google "Steam locomotive boilier explosions"

These people are nothing but low life's For the sake of our environment, learn to live with the railroad. In fact, the auto manufactures should start making "box trucks" single framed vehicles that can be driven directly onto rail freight cars and transported either loaded or empty. Drive the trucks to the train yard and drive them directly onto the flat car, tie them down and go.
As far as local freight goes, the speeds need to be increased too, running at 5-15 MPH is ridicules. The Line from Fremont to Oak Point should be no slower then 40 MPH and NYAR should be given interchange rights to deliver the trash cars directly to Oak Point. More and More trash and other commodities should be shipped to Long "Island and the NYC region by RAIL.
PC Richards in Farmingdale should be getting cars of many goods. and the LIRR infrastructure should be compliant to carry these cars. This is what federal grant monies should be used for, not pissed away on studies after endless studies to shut up crying NIMBY neighbors. INCREASE THE FREIGHT! INCREASE THE LOCAL JOBS!

workextra wrote:In fact, the auto manufactures should start making "box trucks" single framed vehicles that can be driven directly onto rail freight cars and transported either loaded or empty. Drive the trucks to the train yard and drive them directly onto the flat car, tie them down and go.

I think the Euro 'Channel' cargo shuttle works this way, but not sure how it is fairing against cut-rate channel ferry service. I remember that truck drivers can ride in the passenger cars, or stay with the vehicle.

As far as local freight goes, the speeds need to be increased too, running at 5-15 MPH is ridicules. The Line from Fremont to Oak Point should be no slower then 40 MPH and NYAR should be given interchange rights to deliver the trash cars directly to Oak Point.

Such speed limits are generally set by track conditions - in general, the crudier the track, the lower the limit. Track maintainace can cost a lot for higher speeds that really don't produce benefits, so even though 15mph is pretty dang slow, the railroad doesn't feel it's worth mainting the track to a higher speed. Actually, since most of the LIRR has higher speed passenger service (except, say the Bay Ridge or Bushwick branches), the tracks should be fairly well maintained on those sections.

PC Richards in Farmingdale should be getting cars of many goods.

Way too many goods, especially electronics, come from oversees in containers. If they come across the country from West Coast ports via intermodal, they will be trucked (drayage) from Port Newark/Elizabethm or maybe Oak Point (NJ) - now, why there isn't a Long Island intermodal yard at, say, Pilgrim State, is an exercise left to the reader...

I joined this group on Facebook because I was interested to see exactly what the issues are. After watching for a few days and reading some of the links to articles on the subject, I am convinced that they want to stop ALL rail traffic thru Queens. It's not just about garbage, it's everything about the trains they object to. I got into a discussion about graffiti on trains. They want to force railroads to paint over cars so they don't have to see it in their backyards! Like that's gonna happen. While I agree that some changes could be made to lessen the impact on these communities, these people are blaming all of their problems on the big bad railroads. This is shaping up to be a big issue over the next few years as more NYC garbage is shipped out by rail.

They should direct their anger towards their ancestors who bought property and built on it near the tracks. Or perhaps themselves for never moving out of their parents/grandparents houses. Sadly there's a lot of that in Queens. (I get to say that, I'm from here).

If they bought and then magically noticed trains in their backyard. Wow. Someone call discovery channel! Epic find.

New York & Atlantic Railway to spend $1 million to curb train emissions in Glendale
BY Lisa L. Colangelo
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, April 28th 2010, 4:00 AM

Glendale residents living next to the Otto Road rail yards got some good news Tuesday when New York & Atlantic Railway announced it will spend $1 million to cut emissions on its 11-unit fleet.

Neighborhood and environmental activists have long complained about noise and pollution from diesel engines idling there.

Railway officials said the work, which will "lower its carbon footprint by 35%," should be completed by the end of the year.

Most of the funds will come from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant through its Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. The railway will kick in about 20% of the cost.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said the change will "dramatically reduce emissions and lower noise related to idling engines."

Railway officials said the trains will be retrofitted with devices that monitor the temperature of the water in the engines. They will also ensure the water is heated, reducing the need to keep the engines idling. Currently, they are kept running so their temperature does not drop below 38 degrees.

Residents of Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth - neighborhoods bisected by the railroad tracks - have said the CSX and New York & Atlantic Railway trains are a ongoing source of problems in their areas.

They formed a group called CURES - Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions - to address the issues.

Some Middle Village residents have said the noise and stench from trains carrying trash in the early morning hours make it impossible to get a good night's sleep.

And Glendale homeowners who live alongside New York & Atlantic's Otto Road facility said noise and pollution are a constant headache.

Railway officials said they have worked hard to improve air quality along its 269-mile freight route.

"This is a step in the right direction," said Mary Parisen, a founding member of CURES. "But we want them to address other issues, such as scheduling of these trains. People are hearing trains banging [from trains coupled] at all hours of the night."

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a member of CURES, hailed the latest effort, but noted it "doesn't solve the quality of life problems for people living near the tracks."

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I am wondering - shouldn't MSW be shipped covered now anyway (sealed in containers or tarps over gondolas)? On the other hand, C&D (construction/debris), if it's heavy and doesn't spread dust, I can see that going exposed to the air. I realize the CURES group probably doesn't know (or care to know) the difference, but is any railroad shipping MSW exposed to the air - this would be a most terrible idea - even trucks hauling MSW have tarps covering them.

MSW is shoved into sealed 1/2 to 1/4 length containers under pressure, then loaded. these cures idiots should read this

http://nycsystem.com/other/WM_Documentary/

Some Middle Village residents have said the noise and stench from trains carrying trash in the early morning hours make it impossible to get a good night's sleep.

Yet they are the ones that insisted CSX come and get the outbound trash by 5AM. This idiots made things worst for themselves, not better.

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a member of CURES, hailed the latest effort, but noted it "doesn't solve the quality of life problems for people living near the tracks."

Hilarious. I knew this guy's son growing up and he told me all the kids around there built crazy forts from scrap wood and played paintball in the cut all weekend, until conrail came along one day and knocked down their shanties. No idea how true that is but...

DogBert wrote:

Some Middle Village residents have said the noise and stench from trains carrying trash in the early morning hours make it impossible to get a good night's sleep.

Yet they are the ones that insisted CSX come and get the outbound trash by 5AM. This idiots made things worst for themselves, not better.

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a member of CURES, hailed the latest effort, but noted it "doesn't solve the quality of life problems for people living near the tracks."

Hilarious. I knew this guy's son growing up and he told me all the kids around there built crazy forts from scrap wood and played paintball in the cut all weekend, until conrail came along one day and knocked down their shanties. No idea how true that is but...

There's some truth to the paintball thing. I lived off Eliot Ave on 78th St a few blocks from the cut in the 80's. My ex-wife's nephews had a fort there south of the LIE near the Caldwell overpass. The problem was, while kids were playing there during the day, at night it was a different story. Crackheads, bums etc were using the forts at night for their own means. Conrail crews were reportedly having problems with these people. Adding to that was the construction on the LIE which widened the road. There was an access road cut down to track level to build the new overpasses. this made it easy to drive stolen cars down, block the tracks and set the cars on fire. Conrail had no choice but to clean the cut out.

The CURES group is going to demand NYA freights travel to Oak Point via Blissville/Sunnyside Yard. They are seriously going to petition NYA and the local politicians to look into this. NYA already told them it is impossible. CURES will not take no for an answer.

Tongue in cheek, I advised one of their members that perhaps a westbound freight run through NY-Penn would be even faster.

I know you all think this is a joke. But we are dealing with civilians who look at a map, see a possible rail route, and expect any kind of train from any railroad can utilize it.

Hiding under the rallying cry of eliminating smelly and noisy trains,in reality this group does not want any rail traffic in Fresh Pond Yard or on the Fremont line. Closing the Montauk through Queens would also please them.