I had no problem opening the article.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

I had no problem opening the article.

 

Really? I had a five-page like scrolling document to read with a button to "Accept Terms" if I wanted to proceed. You should make sure you have sufficient web-browsing protections on your computer....

 

 

2 hours ago, Pugu said:

 

Really? I had a five-page like scrolling document to read with a button to "Accept Terms" if I wanted to proceed. You should make sure you have sufficient web-browsing protections on your computer....

 

 

 

N/M

^nanometer?  You youngsters and your internet shorthand....I don't know what N/M means.

5 hours ago, Pugu said:

^nanometer?  You youngsters and your internet shorthand....I don't know what N/M means.

 

Never Mind. I'm 53 BTW (by the way).

17 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Never Mind. I'm 53 BTW (by the way).

 

53--that's a good age!  And TDATYU!  (Thanks for Defining the Abbreviation That You Used)

OmniTRAX, Team NEO partner to attract manufacturers to northeast Ohio
 

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/rail_industry_trends/news/OmniTRAX-Team-NEO-partner-to-attract-manufacturers-to-northeast-Ohio--63521

 

 

OmniTRAX Inc. is expanding its Rail-Ready Sites program to the Cleveland and Cuyahoga Railroad (CCRL) with support from Team NEO.

The Rail-Ready Sites program is designed to connect companies with rail-served properties to help support industrial development.

OmniTRAX and Team NEO are marketing four new sites that include two parcels eclipsing 40 acres of greenfield space and two rail-served facilities totaling 254,000 square feet on the CCRL. The 35-mile short line offers transload and multimodal services with connections to Norfolk Southern Railway and Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co.

*****
Not mentioned in the article: where these sites are. Solon, Bedford, Glenwillow area seems most likely. 

Ohio rail panel approves grant funds for short-line projects
 

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/short_lines_regionals/news/Ohio-rail-panel-approves-grant-funds-for-short-line-projects--63475

 

These improvements would presumably also benefit a future Cleveland - Solon - Aurora commuter rail. 
 

“The Ohio Rail Development Commission(ORDC) this week announced nearly $2 million in grant funding for short-line projects in the state. The commission approved a grant in the amount of $1,564,051 to the Cleveland and Cuyahoga Railway (CCR) to help pay for its rehabilitation of the Mahoning Subdivision.

The project involves the replacement of 8,178 crossties, the installation of 7,501 tons of ballast, and nearly 90,000 track feet of surfacing, rail replacement and ancillary work on the main and side tracks over 12 miles, ORDC officials said in a press release.

The total project cost is $1,955,064. CCR operates about 35 miles of track on its Glenwillow Subdivision, which runs from Cleveland to Glenwillow, and its Mahoning Subdivision, which runs from Cleveland to Solon.”

Hard to not notice this NS bridge crane, even from a long distance from Madison (cross-posted in the Cudell thread)

 

38 minutes ago, KJP said:

Hard to not notice this NS bridge crane, even from a long distance from Madison (cross-posted in the Cudell thread)

 

 

Are you aware if they re-routing any traffic during this project Ken?   IIRC this bridge feeds the NS1 bridge at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, correct?  

1 minute ago, Cleburger said:

 

Are you aware if they re-routing any traffic during this project Ken?   IIRC this bridge feeds the NS1 bridge at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, correct?  

 

Correct. There are few reroutings. Maybe a couple of extra trains per day via Lakewood. 

They are installing 2 gantry cranes at the Collinwood Rail yards that you can see very prominently from I90.

 

I know the rules, no picture, no proof, but every time I pass by it's dark.

 

I can't seem to find any info on the new cranes? All the articles I find are about the CSX wide-span, zero-emission electric crane installation in North Baltimore Ohio.

Couldn't find any info either. 

I was a passenger and got a pic! There are 3 now!

 

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

 

UP is getting pretty fed up with the woke policies and lack of justice in California - the letter they sent to the district attorney was pretty blunt:

 

https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/la-cargo-threats-aggressive-response-220116.htm

 

Union Pacific underscored concerns in a letter sent to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, on Dec. 20, 2021. It asked for help ensuring there are consequences for those who prevent the railroad from safely moving customer goods.

 

“Criminals are caught and arrested, turned over to local authorities for booking, arraigned before the local courts, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine,” said the letter. “These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than 24 hours. Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to Union Pacific by these same criminals.”

 

 

Also, there was a derailment in the same vicinity over the weekend - no word yet on the cause. In the image below, it looks like the engines and first few cars are on one track, the rest of the train is on the other - could enough garbage and debris screw up a switch? Could it have been sabotaged in order to stop the train and get easier access to containers?

 

One strategically placed rock (as long as it was hard enough and not prone to fracturing) or piece of metal would be enough to restrict movement of the switch points (the special pieces of track that create the diverging route) so they could not properly travel.  It is only a matter of a few inches of "travel" of the ends of the switch points between having the wheels take the through route or diverging route.

Anyone can stop a 12,000-ton freight train with a pair of jumper cables.

 

@Ram23 Even if they did not plead guilty to a lesser charge (which is their right, especially to avoid overcrowding in jails during a pandemic -- unless a box of merchandise is more important than a person's health), they should still be set free unless and until they're found guilty.

How America’s Supply Chains Got Railroaded

Rail deregulation led to consolidation, price-gouging, and a variant of just-in-time unloading that left no slack in the system.

https://prospect.org/economy/how-americas-supply-chains-got-railroaded/

Woah…

 

A devastating strike next week could shut down much of the nation's economy and disrupt the supply chain. Hopefully railroad management and their Wall Street puppeteers end their pursuit of greed and destruction of the rail industry for profit and yield to the reasonable demands of rail labor.....

 

 

 

 

Haven’t found any more details than this, but it is confirmed on other news sources. Heads up @KJP

 

12 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Haven’t found any more details than this, but it is confirmed on other news sources. Heads up @KJP

 

NYT confirming it this morning 

 

Railroad Unions and Companies Reach a Tentative Deal to Avoid a Strike

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/business/rail-strike.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20220915&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta&regi_id=79710860&segment_id=106625&user_id=f3e2d84689cadb027d6c8e8bfe6c40ee

 

This seems promising:

 

Twitter response to the above posts

 

You mean before people were penalized for being sick? For being sick? And the owners fought to keep it that way? I will never understand your country. 21st century technology, 19th century morality.

They didn't get sick days? That's absolutely sickening. 

 

Hey, I see what I did there!

I found myself in the position of mentioning to other FB right-leaners that the union kind of has a point this time.

 

Of course I tend to think that more than I will usually admit LOL.

Until now, I thought the railroads had stronger unions than that. How did they even allow that? And I don't consider what they got from the railroads to be much of a victory either.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

Until now, I thought the railroads had stronger unions than that. How did they even allow that? And I don't consider what they got from the railroads to be much of a victory either.

 

As late as the mid to late 90s, rail shipments "got there when they got there".   As automotive was pushing JIT and it spread, the railroads were in a bind and (from what I understand) rather than hire enough people to be flexible they were able to scare their unions  into some deep concessions.

Big freight rail derailment mess in Sandusky. 

 

 

 

 

Oldest railroad track in Cleveland. Built by Alfred Kelly (including by his own hands in the 1840s), Cleveland's first village president and father of the Ohio & Erie Canal. He's the reason Cleveland became a major city, not Sandusky or Ashtabula and there's not even a statue of him in this city.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

Oldest railroad track in Cleveland. Built by Alfred Kelly (including by his own hands in the 1840s), Cleveland's first village president and father of the Ohio & Erie Canal. He's the reason Cleveland became a major city, not Sandusky or Ashtabula and there's not even a statue of him in this city.

@KJP why do they need federal approval to close down?   Must be some old law on the books?  

I think this section of the old tracks have some great trail potential by more directly connecting the red line greenway and the towpath.

 

 

It would basically give the green way a North/South 'Y' which should make it more useful. 

 

Edit: Another useful connection point is that without these tracks the greenway can maybe connect to and make use of the train ave underpass.

 

Edited October 21, 20222 yr by Ethan
Addition

Any of it usable as an actual rail connection? 

1 hour ago, Mendo said:

Any of it usable as an actual rail connection? 

 

Certainly. The tracks are still very usable. To seek info for a NEOtrans article, I've reached out to Great Lakes Brewing Co. to see if they might have any use for the rail line to serve their planned new plant on Scranton Peninsula but no reply as of yet.

29 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Certainly. The tracks are still very usable. To seek info for a NEOtrans article, I've reached out to Great Lakes Brewing Co. to see if they might have any use for the rail line to serve their planned new plant on Scranton Peninsula but no reply as of yet.

 

Interesting. I was thinking more about transit use but I have no idea what it'd connect to. I didn't consider somebody like GLBC using it for freight. 

Just for fun, how about a future rail line on it with a connection to the airport rapid at a combined viaduct/flats station, then heading south through future development in Walworth Run, ultimately adding extensions to Brook Park on the CCCStl NS alignment, with stops at W44, W65-Clark, W73-Denison, West Blvd, Memphis, W130-Bellaire, W150-Brook Park.

 

What I really wanted was to bring it to Carter and over the RR bridge behind the federal courthouse to connect with the Waterfront Line.

I redirected this conversation to (and probably killed it at) its appropriate thread....

 

 

Another argument in favor of nationalization rail infrastructure

 

Cross-posted in the Cleveland Scranton Peninsula development thread

 

 

Cleveland’s first railroad is history
By Ken Prendergast / October 26, 2022

 

On an early fall day, Sept. 30, 1847, one of the most prominent men in the fast-growing state of Ohio rolled up his sleeves and joined others in starting the construction of Cleveland’s first-ever railroad. It was a ceremonial groundbreaking not unlike those of today where dignitaries flip dirt with golden shovels to commemorate the start of some new construction project. But, in this case, Cleveland’s first village president, its first attorney and the father of the Ohio & Erie Canal had to get his hands dirty pronto or his new railroad company would lose its charter from the state — again.

 

READ MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/10/26/clevelands-first-railroad-is-history/

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/11/02/train-derails-ravenna-township/#:~:text=RAVENNA%2C Ohio (WOIO) - A Norfolk Southern train,salts and other materials were derailed%2C officials stated.

Screwed up the Washington DC-Chicago Capitol Limited through Cleveland too.

 

While this press release is about freight railroad studies and projects, the first and third items could have passenger implications.....

 

ORDC Approves the Submission of Four Federal Railroad Administration CRISI Grant Projects

 

On November 16, 2022, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved resolutions to sponsor four Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant applications, totaling $52 million.

 

The projects are:

 

+ Cincinnati Planning Grant – In collaboration with Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation and Genesee & Wyoming, the project will review and prioritize projects that reduce congestion in the Cincinnati, Ohio/Queensgate Yard area. By taking this larger, more encompassing approach and partnering with these railroads collectively, ORDC will prioritize projects that improve congestion for all railroads in the area; projects that will result in the largest amount of public and private benefits for all stakeholders.

+ Kanawha River Railroad/Norfolk Southern – In partnership with Kanawha River Railroad (KNWA) and Norfolk Southern, the project will rehabilitate significant sections of the line between Columbus, Ohio and Cornelia, West Virginia. The line is owned by Norfolk Southern and operated by KNWA, a subsidiary of Watco. The approximately $32.5m project will result in the elimination of slow orders and the restoration of Class II track speeds across the line. 

+ Napoleon Defiance & Western Railway – This project is a continuation of the 2020 CRISI project and ORDC’s 2021 project. It consists of similar work, primarily rail replacement.  The $13,201,721 project will complete the remaining portion of the line between Defiance and Napoleon and brings the entirety of the line back to a state of good repair. 

+ RJ Corman Railroad – This project will rehabilitate two sections of track, one near Dover and one near Warwick, Ohio. The $4,309,408 project will result in the elimination of slow orders and the restoration of Class II track speeds, which will accrue significant public benefits to the area. 

Scott Corbitt, Chair, ORDC, said “The federal grants provide a unique opportunity to leverage federal and private funding for rail infrastructure investment in Ohio. With the experience of staff working with federal funding and our existing relationships with freight railroads in Ohio, the ORDC is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities. If selected, these projects will have a tremendous impact on Ohio’s transportation network for decades.”  

 

***

Electrify the freight railways! Here’s a start

 

Rail track repair equipment video

 

Norfolk Southern put a train on the ground a year ago just up the line in Ravenna. Precision railroading is giving the federal government a strong case for nationalizing the railroads, preferably just its infrastructure...