scottso699 wrote:The problem is nobody knows what goes on in Tony's mind. I sometimes wonder if the only reason he has this operation is to stop the line from being a trail. Maybe a bit far out but just wondering. Tony was always known as a freight guy not a passenger guy so I wonder what his incentives are.northjerseybuff wrote:Let someone like the NH&I or another tourist group run the CMSL. The lack of communication and updates EVERY year is poor at best. It's not just my opinion, but it's widely known in some railroad groups, the CMSL is a lost cause. Every year I keep hope alive only to be disappointed. It's time to let someone who knows how to run a railroad step in, or Tony needs to address, why the Cape May SEASHORE lines, doesn't operate to the SEASHORE from Memorial Day to Labor Day on weekends!Agreed... I have been waiting for years for the train to return to Cape May on a regular basis as my wife and I regularly vacation down there. I am moving to North Carolina in June and it seems unfortunately I will now never get to ride those rails. So Sad...
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CMSL service Rio Grande to Cape May
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Restoring Cape May service all comes down to money that the CMSL doesn't have. If funds were available NJT or an outfit like RJ Corman could repair over 1 mile of track per day and get the line running in no time. Without money i see no solution anytime soon. Time for a museum or freight line to step in get delivering to the industries with sidings again and take control. No knock on Tony but you can only go so
far running a one man railroad operation without money.
far running a one man railroad operation without money.
dlagrua wrote:Restoring Cape May service all comes down to money that the CMSL doesn't have. If funds were available NJT or an outfit like RJ Corman could repair over 1 mile of track per day and get the line running in no time. Without money i see no solution anytime soon. Time for a museum or freight line to step in get delivering to the industries with sidings again and take control. No knock on Tony but you can only go soThe crux is are there any customers that would commence utilizing rail freight? For a business to do so, cost and other factors would have to be favorable. The other factors include reliability of on-time deliveries, the ability/willingness of the shipper to utilize rail, nimby concerns with rail traffic, and so forth.
far running a one man railroad operation without money.
~Ken :: Fairmont ex-UP/MP C436 MT-14M1 ::
Black River Railroad Historical Trust :: [/url]
Black River Railroad Historical Trust :: [/url]
dlagrua wrote:Restoring Cape May service all comes down to money that the CMSL doesn't have. If funds were available NJT or an outfit like RJ Corman could repair over 1 mile of track per day and get the line running in no time. Without money i see no solution anytime soon. Time for a museum or freight line to step in get delivering to the industries with sidings again and take control.Wait a minute, about a year ago in this very thread (page 37) you yourself posted this
Going back years ago there was freight business on the CMSL route but AFAIK all of them have closed. The largest customer was the Harbeson Walker Magnesite plant at Cape May point. When they closed in the early 80's, the huge facility was bulldozed, the branch line that served them was abandoned and there is nothing along the 2 or 3 miles of tracks that remain. There was also a large lumber yard that was a freight customer. I believe the name was Tri-County building supply in Cape May Courthouse. They may still be there. There was also talk of building a large propane storage facility at Woodbine and the tracks to that city on the Northern end of the line were refurbished but nothing resulted. Point is that today the opportunity to make CMSL a freight line are very limited. Even if they could find customers, the track along most of the line may not support it.So you in the past acknowledged there are no real freight customers on this line. I believe the big freight customer was supposed to be Modern Gas (the storage facility in Woodbine you mention), but this Satellite view shows the sidings being used for car storage more than anything else.
The modern gas business fell apart before it started- that wasn't CMSL's fault.
Sir Ray wrote:That is true but railroad sidings to industrial locations still exist and perhaps if railroad freight service was proposed there may be new customers who would sign up for it. If there is no potential for oil or intermodal freight and no warehouses or distribution centers along the line, then things resort to tourist passenger use only.This takes me back to the original point that all businesses must be profitable to survive. The investment to restore Cape May service probably does not justify the revenue gained from small summer tourist traffic right now..dlagrua wrote:Restoring Cape May service all comes down to money that the CMSL doesn't have. If funds were available NJT or an outfit like RJ Corman could repair over 1 mile of track per day and get the line running in no time. Without money i see no solution anytime soon. Time for a museum or freight line to step in get delivering to the industries with sidings again and take control.Wait a minute, about a year ago in this very thread (page 37) you yourself posted thisGoing back years ago there was freight business on the CMSL route but AFAIK all of them have closed. The largest customer was the Harbeson Walker Magnesite plant at Cape May point. When they closed in the early 80's, the huge facility was bulldozed, the branch line that served them was abandoned and there is nothing along the 2 or 3 miles of tracks that remain. There was also a large lumber yard that was a freight customer. I believe the name was Tri-County building supply in Cape May Courthouse. They may still be there. There was also talk of building a large propane storage facility at Woodbine and the tracks to that city on the Northern end of the line were refurbished but nothing resulted. Point is that today the opportunity to make CMSL a freight line are very limited. Even if they could find customers, the track along most of the line may not support it.So you in the past acknowledged there are no real freight customers on this line. I believe the big freight customer was supposed to be Modern Gas (the storage facility in Woodbine you mention), but this Satellite view shows the sidings being used for car storage more than anything else.
The people who did the damage to the line should be responsible for the repair work but if they have no assets then restitution cannot be done but did NJT have any theft insurance on the line?
I still maintain that it is time for a non-profit railroad operation to raise funding and have volunteers running the trains. Tony would not have to move aside and could still keep his operation. The formula is already there and being employed by 100's of tourist lines and museums across the country. This summer we have a trip booked on the Royal Gorge Tourist train. Our tickets cost $66 each and it is a three hour journey with amenities like a dome car, lounge car and dining car/food service. If a museum ran long excursions like a Cape May to Tuckahoe tourist train, and jazzed up service a bit, they could probably get $40 a ticket.
Its certainly not beneficial and I do not wish to blame or fault Tony Macrie for the current status of the line, but the line to Cape May lies dormant and solutions should be sought.
Glen- I only met Tony one time and it was very amicable, however the hatred for him by MANY people all around is unbelievable and I believe a major detriment in the development of this line. The hatred of him rivals that of someone who raped and murdered a kid and I'm not exaggerating. I never heard of anyone so hated in my nearly 43 years of life. I was told a few things over the years but only that it was financial related and personal relating to working on other area shortlines prior to starting this operation. As long as that exists, nothing will ever change. He has to know this hatred for him and I think in the best interests, he should just let someone else come in without him being involved. He's to the point now he's hurting things so bad that this line is endangered.
bluedash2 wrote:Glen- I only met Tony one time and it was very amicable, however the hatred for him by MANY people all around is unbelievable and I believe a major detriment in the development of this line. The hatred of him rivals that of someone who raped and murdered a kid and I'm not exaggerating. I never heard of anyone so hated in my nearly 43 years of life. I was told a few things over the years but only that it was financial related and personal relating to working on other area shortlines prior to starting this operation. As long as that exists, nothing will ever change. He has to know this hatred for him and I think in the best interests, he should just let someone else come in without him being involved. He's to the point now he's hurting things so bad that this line is endangered.Yikes! :-O
Scott
Yikes is right Scott. I've never seen anything like it.....
bluedash2 wrote:Glen- I only met Tony one time and it was very amicable, however the hatred for him by MANY people all around is unbelievable and I believe a major detriment in the development of this line.How so? If you have a sound business plan it does not matter if a portion of the public or your rivals despise you. John D. Rockefeller managed to do somewhat okay and was not a very popular person.
I go to Cape Island 3-4 times a year and this line has been moribund since the 1990's. I think I have a better chance of seeing Jesus and the Baby Jesus levitating the stone ship out of the water at Sunset Beach than of seeing a train run on this line.
Greg wrote:Careful. Only "crybabies" don't blindly support Tony without question.chuchubob wrote:Big whoop. Maybe we can toss the speeder run in as well.Greg wrote:...I go to Cape Island 3-4 times a year and this line has been moribund since the 1990's...or maybe since 2009
The line is a joke.
Proven Theory #2 - If you don't work for the railroad, you don't know more than the people who do, no matter how many years you've hung around the tracks, or how well you think you understand railroading.
Rest in peace Jtgshu.
Rest in peace Jtgshu.
Sirsonic wrote:The guy lost my support a long time ago. I have been to enough tourist operations to know what a successful one looks like and this isn't it.Greg wrote: Careful. Only "crybabies" don't blindly support Tony without question.
Pass this crybaby a tissue Sirsonic.
Meghan wrote:The Crybaby-in-Chief is probably my eight-year-old daughter. Having said that, I've seen rumor on what Grandfather refers to as 'Squirrel.net' that on Tuesday CA-51 had 3 loaded 70 ton hoppers off of CMSL bound for North Dakota. While it doesn't feel quite right for a whole bunch of reasons I'm perfectly willing to give the benefit of a very substantial doubt until I know otherwise. If it's true I may send Tony a bottle of Champagne. So my question is - If its true how did you guys miss it?Southbound CA-51(28) did indeed have 3 x 2-bay covered sand hoppers bound for CMSL. I have no further information, however.
Meghan
~Mike DiMunno
CSAO Beesley Point Secondary - MP 8.69 (Magnolia, NJ)
Moderator: Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines :: Penn Central
CSAO Beesley Point Secondary - MP 8.69 (Magnolia, NJ)
Moderator: Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines :: Penn Central