by Dougster
Is the Riverdale Bulk Transfer still in use? I have seen it referred as "former" a few times.
Doug
Doug
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GOLDEN-ARM, NJ Vike
Idiot Railfan wrote:The bulk facility in Riverdale caused a lot of bad blood because the NYS&W basically did here the same thing it's been doing with the solid waste disposal--contorting the federal laws that protect interstate rail transportation from local, town-by-town control, to allow related businesses to circumvent local regulation.It would seem that IR doesnt like bulk transfer sites. Well they are a fact of life. You had better get used to them as there will be more and more of them as most industries are no longer located right by the tracks. The garbage and C&D transfer sites are also going to be a fact of life as well since we no longer have landfill space in New Jersey and New York. The garbage has to go somewhere and the railroads are the most efficient way of moving it to where it can be disposed of properly. Like it or not the reason the railroads are exempt from local laws is because railroads are interstate commerce and towns do not have the right to interfere with interstate commerce. The reason the NYSW located this bulk tranfer station in Riverdale is because it has great access to I-287 and it has sufficient property to locate the operation there. As for it being a big, loud operation, nothing can be further from the truth. The facility handled approx 20-30 cars on one track. I live just blocks from the Oakland bulk transfer and unless I happen to be awake or have the scanner on, I do not hear them switching the facility. The fact is the residents of Riverdale did not like that the railroad was reactivated in the first place and have tried to be a thorn in the side of the NYSW ever since. IMHO, the railroad was there long before the residents. The residents knew the railroad was therewhen they purchased their properties and have no right to complain about the railroad's activities.
Ordinarily, if say a facility was proposed that would be doing the same thing but instead was going to use trucks instead of trains, it would go before the local planning board or zoning board, where neighbors' concerns would be carefully heard and the plans would be adjusted to accommodate them. Or the whole thing could be rejected if it's deemed not to be appropriate for the site.
When something goes on railroad property, it's pretty much immune to any kind of local oversight. But those laws were intended to keep local towns from setting their own standards for rail operation, i.e., speed limits, hours of service, etc. Not to declare anything goes on railroad property.
That was a big, loud operation they shoved down the throat of Riverdale, and the people who were opposed to it can't simply be dismissed as NIMBYs.
The railroad put it there because they could. And the cops making sure the parade of trucks through their town conform to the law? They stopped them because the could.