New Developments in Sunset Park

Does anyone know the current progress of the work in Sunset Park to build new track from 39th Street yard out to First Avenue and impove the tracks along First Avenue?

railfan365 wrote:Does anyone know the current progress of the work in Sunset Park to build new track from 39th Street yard out to First Avenue and impove the tracks along First Avenue?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 7&t=h&z=18

As far as I know, this is as far as they got.
Drag the map West to see the work done on the old Coco pier track.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. It looks like very little has been done since I was there 3 1/2 months ago.

I was down there Saturday and nothing new that I could see.

It's now about a year since I've been there, and several months since I've heard anything specific about the new access to 39th Street Yard. So, I ask: What does it look like now?

Slowly getting there. One thing at a time. They are trenches dug in 39th street for the new interchange, and all the new tracks. Crews are working on it daily.

Ðauntless wrote:Slowly getting there. One thing at a time. They are trenches dug in 39th street for the new interchange, and all the new tracks. Crews are working on it daily.

Thanks. It's one of my long held opinions that there's too much shipping by truck and not enough by train. This project appears to represent at least a chip away at that.

I hope this is finally a sign that the vast unused rail potential along the waterfront will no longer lie fallow. It's a crime that the carfloating infrastructure rots away while we choke on truck traffic fumes. The south Brooklyn waterfront and the old LIRR Bay Ridge branch could reunite industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens, not to mention Long Island, with the national rail network west of the Hudson. I can see some NIMBYism with the Bay Ridge branch as it runs through a lot of middle class residential neighborhoods, but only bureaucratic ineptitude has kept the Sunset Park rail waterfront in its current state.
Or...we could just keep building an economy based on converting industrial buildings into "luxury lofts" and having the city's lifeline dependent on a handful of bridge and tunnel truck arteries.
I try to step back from my rail/marine fangeek worldview and be objective but this one just seems so obvious it gets me ranting.

I quite agree and was thinking such just this morning. Even if there will never the transit of cars to industry within the waterfront area that there used to be, surely the cross harbor service could be better utilised. I can't remember the figures for the time saving of floating as oposed to going around, but it was in the region of days if I recall correctly. I presume the fact that other carriers have to be involved discourages the big roads from using this route.

45minutes vs. 2 days.

I hope this is finally a sign that the vast unused rail potential along the waterfront will no longer lie fallow. It's a crime that the carfloating infrastructure rots away while we choke on truck traffic fumes. The south Brooklyn waterfront and the old LIRR Bay Ridge branch could reunite industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens, not to mention Long Island, with the national rail network west of the Hudson. I can see some NIMBYism with the Bay Ridge branch as it runs through a lot of middle class residential neighborhoods, but only bureaucratic ineptitude has kept the Sunset Park rail waterfront in its current state.
Or...we could just keep building an economy based on converting industrial buildings into "luxury lofts" and having the city's lifeline dependent on a handful of bridge and tunnel truck arteries.
I try to step back from my rail/marine fangeek worldview and be objective but this one just seems so obvious it gets me ranting.
I hope this is finally a sign that the vast unused rail potential along the waterfront will no longer lie fallow. It's a crime that the carfloating infrastructure rots away while we choke on truck traffic fumes. The south Brooklyn waterfront and the old LIRR Bay Ridge branch could reunite industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens, not to mention Long Island, with the national rail network west of the Hudson. I can see some NIMBYism with the Bay Ridge branch as it runs through a lot of middle class residential neighborhoods, but only bureaucratic ineptitude has kept the Sunset Park rail waterfront in its current state.
Or...we could just keep building an economy based on converting industrial buildings into "luxury lofts" and having the city's lifeline dependent on a handful of bridge and tunnel truck arteries.
I try to step back from my rail/marine fangeek worldview and be objective but this one just seems so obvious it gets me ranting.

Don't forgot about the cost of doing business in NYC. The New York waterfront is also one the best naturally formed ports. Alot of the bulk materials are shipped by barge like stone and oil. Cement also makes it way up from South America. Tough to beat those rates with much smaller rail cars. The Port Authority makes some coin off all the trucks coming bridges into boroughs and Long Island.

The one move I see that will be sucessful is the garbage being barged to Greenville than moved by rail to interior sections of the country. The scrap metal company right next Greenville yard ships barges from their Greenpoint, BK to the Jersey side. Transfered to rail cars for final movement by Conrail shared Assets to the mills for new steel.

Here are some maps-plans that were posted publicly on the NYCEDC & PANYNJ websites.

http://tinyurl.com/3zdd6l7

The maps-plans show the construction that will take place in Greenville (SK 1-4) and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT Rail Ext Addendum C1-4).

Joe

Oooh, very interesting. Thanks for those

Duplicated post