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Discussion relating to the PRSL

Moderator: JJMDiMunno

 #247961  by Vermonter
 
for the NIMBY's, the property owners along the old ROW, for those whose income depends on Ocean City visitors or a job, for those who comprise OC government, and indeed for all who travel there for pleasure and/or business, will come not from a bottle but from a bottle-neck.

Maybe this summer it will start to happen? I noticed last summer while there that when the Rt 52 drawbridge was experiencing problems, the alternative routes very quickly snarl right up. People need to sit and steam a good long while. Maybe a good dose will be taken this summer. Apparently it is needed.

With Route 52 downgrading and construction coming; with the drawbridge continually going up and people sitting in line, wasting time, and barely inching it may serve to compound just the right prescription. $3/gallon to sit on the highway is just the right price too!

People of all types need to be frustrated so much that OC is affected financially; personal wallets and pocket books can talk. Now there's a prescription for all those who have no time for trains.

If New Jersey Transit still owns the right-of-way, such as it is, maybe they are the ones who need to come forward. In fact maybe they could pose as "Dr. NJT".

 #299143  by glennk419
 
Reports from another chat board are that the rails are being pulled from Haven Avenue between 20th and 24th Streets. This means that the only remaining evidence of a railroad on the island will be limited to what's left south of 36th Street. For a town so steeped in its' history, obviously this is not part of the preservation plan.

 #299411  by PARailWiz
 
Aren't those the rails in that grassy (and tree-y) median? I thought they added a touch of character.

 #299452  by glennk419
 
Yep, they're the ones. When they pull the rails, a few flower gardens will go as well. Another step backwards in the progress of this town. :wink:

 #301510  by peconicstation
 
[/quote]I agree. We have to remember that when service ceased, NJT really did not exist. Service to Cape May and OC was being supplied by a very reluctant NJ DOT. I would bet had that service continued into the NJT era and into the early 90s, NJT would have sunk some $$$ into. Maybe. I also fawn over the LIRR http://world.nycsubway.org/us/lirr/lirr-montauk.html and how service never ceased out to Montauk or Greenport.[/quote]

As a former resident of "The Shore", and a current resident of The East End of Long Island (The North Fork to be exact, along the Greenport line, hence my handle "peconic station"), one reason why the 2 east end branches (Montauk and Greenport) were never abadonded lies in the way the LIRR is financed. This funding formula for ALL transit services in New York includes a portion of the Mortgage Recording Tax funding transit.
You pay a Mortgage Recording Tax based on what services the county your house is in has. The highest tax is levied on properties in the 5 boroughs of NYC (funding both MTA NYC Transit and the LIRR and Mtero North operations within the city), the next tier are the suburban counties served by commuter rail, and then the remaining counties with the tax funding bus routes.

Needless to say if homebuyers in eastern Suffolk County were paying to fund the LIRR, and had no service, it would not fly.

Although East End service is still too limited, it is better than no service at all. Further the area is also served by a "for profit" bus company, the Hampton Jitney. Having these transit options is what has kept the East End as the most popular option for 2nd home buyers from New York City, since many do not own cars, or in may cases they keep their car at their 2nd home and either take the LIRR, HJ, or the Hampton LL back and forth. As an example of how valuble transit service is to this region, the Hampton Jitney bought out the Bus company operating on the North Fork last year (Sunrise Express) for just under 15 million. The HJ now runs 3 routes, NYC to Greenport and Orient, NYC to Southampton - Montauk, and NYC from Westhampton - Hampton Bays.

I remember one year in the late 80's the Long Beach Island C of C
sank their ad budget into a seris of ads in the New York Times.
They were not ready for all the calls they got from people wanting to know how to get to LBI, and they were not asking for driving directions.
(For the record there is no direct Bus from NYC to LBI, you would have to take a commuter bus to either Lakewood or Toms River, then transfer to the Route 9 local Lakewood to AC Bus, get off in Manahawkin, and cab or hitch it).

I do think that if PRSL service had lasted into the NJT years some of it may have survived. The summer I took a job at the Claridge in AC
(1982), little did we realize that one Friday in June we were watching the last RDC pull into Atlantic City (this was viewed from the shuttle bus taking us to the employee parking lot along the expressway).
HOWEVER, NJT in it's early years cut back on service as well.
High Bridge to Phillipsburg, and the West Trenton line were cut by a young NJT.

Ken

 #435949  by SCB2525
 
Did the PRR have a station in Strathmere on their aforementioned OC branch?

 #436005  by glennk419
 
SCB2525 wrote:Did the PRR have a station in Strathmere on their aforementioned OC branch?
Some pictures and information on the PRR (WJ&S) in Strathmere can be found here: http://www.strathmere.net/more.html
 #524700  by drifty1
 
Again a few of the local selfish self interests want the State of NJ and the County of Cape May to invest Millions of Dollars to revamp an antiquated and obselete road bridge that yes should be replaced; But will have to be torn down in a few years if a new Bridge is ever built..... Why not spend that money on replacing the train bridge to Ocean City and restoring service. It probably will be much less than what it will cost to revamp the Beasleys Point Bridge......Have you ever tried to enter Ocean City on their Night in Venice Boat Parade , 4th of July Fireworks night or just a hot summer night. An exit ramp off the Parkway to a new park and ride station with lots of parking would make more sense
 #524908  by glennk419
 
drifty1 wrote: An exit ramp off the Parkway to a new park and ride station with lots of parking would make more sense
In essence, that Park and Ride lot already exists. There is a redundant and underutilized rest area immediately south of the GSP overpass of the Ocean City ROW, with plenty of room for expansion, that is nothing more than a couple picnic tables and restrooms (which are usually closed anyway). With a true rest stop just a couple miles further south, this stop would never be missed.

Unfortunately it's the last part of your comment that's the toughest to overcome. Between the cost of restoring the bridges and ROW to Ocean City and the NIMBYism that would result from a restoration, "what makes sense" will never come to be.
 #525017  by drifty1
 
Your right about the rest stop being adjacent to the R.O.W. Still the biggest expense would be the station platform and the replacement bridge.Does anyone know what the acceptible on water clearence has to be for boat traffic on the creek. Most of the bridge could be prefab concrete on pilings. Not sure if a lift draw bridge or verticle lift segment would be the most practical to make the acceptible clearence. Maybe this answer could come from someone in the boating community or someone who knows the specs of the former draw bridge. Also the project could require some reallignment of the tracks at 51st street due to the contruction of new homes in the area.

 #525174  by glennk419
 
Crook Horn moveable bridge was a swing truss design. I'm not sure of the exact length but would estimate it to have been in the range of 110-120 feet long. All of the other bridges through the meadows were small fixed timber bridges over non-navigable waterways. If a replacement bridge were ever installed over the creek, a swing bridge of a deck girder design similar to the Cape May Canal bridge would be more than adequate and make the most sense. The ROW is actually totally intact up to 36th Street. The only thing that was encroached at 51st Street is the old passing siding.
 #525219  by drifty1
 
The potential for NJT to do direct service Ocean City to Philadelphia and have CMSL feeder at Tuckahoe should be the way to go........With the Parkway Station which would also benefit all of Cape May Couny, this Ocean City Philadelphia Service would be profitable. CMSL's role in this scheme would be the local, excursion, dinner train and speciality carrier running service connecting to the Atantic City Line at an expanded Hammonton Station. Wildwood Service is another story that will never happen....... The station Facility was sold off and is now a condominium complex...............An improved intermodal Rio Grande Station could service Wildwood by shuttle bus as well as a feeder for Cape May Service to relieve traffic congestion

 #525243  by JJMDiMunno
 
Speaking of Wildwood...not only is the former station location now unavailable, but a significant portion of West Wildwood has been unavailable for a long time. Homes were built there years ago, not long after the tracks were removed...

I've been hopeful for a return of service to Ocean City...it's possible, but would certainly be expensive...unfortunately, it's often harder to bring the tracks back after they've been removed, than to restore service over tracks that are sitting abandoned.

Mike DiMunno

 #525471  by mb38
 
Would it be possible to come into Wildwood via the old PRR right of way in North Wildwood - skirting the new developments and housing in Anglesea.
Also there is an abandoned swing bridge near the Grays Ferry bridge that could possibly be used at Ocean City
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