The situation at the CMSL is not good. Last year the grade crossings held up service and just as there was hope that service would return to Cape May this year, trackage was destroyed. As a part time resident of Cape May I am disappointed at the turn of events. The line has been rebuilt several times before so it will have to do so again when the funds become available. It should be remembered that the CMSL does not own the right of way and only leases the track rights from NJT.
As for the scrap dealer that purchased the stolen rail plates, he was undoubtedly negligent and obviously broke the law. He should be held accountable and I believe that he will be. Most of the time you drive your truck to these places and they don't even examine your load. You just drive on the scale going in, dump it yourself, and weigh again going out-no questions asked. Perhaps now Southern NJ scrap dealers will finally begin taking notice.
As for the rebuilding task; anything can be rebuilt. The question becomes how, when and at what cost? We can only hope that the state gives a grant to the CMSL to restore the trackage. There is something like 2500-3000 ties, and 24,000 spikes in one mile of track. Replacing every third tie would still require 1000 ties and several thousand spikes. That is the chore at hand.
If a small crew were able to repair 610' of rail in one weeks time, it would take 8 weeks to get the job done but of course cost has to be the major issue. We can only hope for the best.