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65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Jul 20 12:18:02 2012

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Don Hutton, a New York New Jersey Rail official, said that he aimed to haul 23,000 rail cars a year by 2017 through the new Brooklyn yard, up from 1,600 rail cars now.


City, state and federal officials have spent more than $115 million to hep expand infrastructure along the south Brooklyn waterfront since 2009.

The 65th Street Rail Yard in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was once a vital gateway to New York City’s network of freight rail lines, providing a place for rail cars carried on barges across the harbor from New Jersey to connect with tracks running through Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.

But for decades, the rail yard, like others, has languished because of railroad bankruptcies, litigation, changing routes, deteriorating infrastructure and other problems, city officials have said. This week, the rail yard finally reopened as part of a long-awaited citywide freight rail expansion that seeks to revive an industry that for many has come to be best known for a symbol of its decline — the High Line, a derelict elevated freight line in Manhattan famously repurposed as a park.

“New York has been on a roller-coaster ride with freight rail,” said Joshua Nelson, a vice president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, as he stood amid knee-high weeds in the rail yard last week.

Though freight rail remains a tiny part of the city’s overall transportation system, city, state and federal officials have spent more than $115 million to help expand infrastructure along the south Brooklyn waterfront since 2009, including laying fresh tracks and renovating a marine terminal that was once a hub for cocoa imports and manufactured goods. They spent another $80 million to restore an abandoned freight rail line on Staten Island’s west shore in 2007, and most recently, they announced last month a planned $10 million upgrade of freight rail operations at Hunts Point in the Bronx.

These efforts, which come as the amount of goods being shipped through the city by some freight railroads continues to increase, have won praise from some transportation advocates and residents who see rail as an alternative to the fleets of trucks congesting roadways and spewing fumes into surrounding communities. “We’re in support of it,” said Monxo Lopez, a member of South Bronx Unite, which has cited truck traffic in opposing the move of the online grocer FreshDirect to the Bronx. “But it has to be tied up with concrete traffic reductions and community involvement.”

City officials have also said that freight rail is good for the economy, because it gives local companies an option for transporting goods that could be significantly cheaper over long distances than using trucks.

But some communities have raised concerns that trains, too, produce noise and fumes. In 2009, more than a dozen civic groups in Queens banded together to form Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions to call for reducing the impact of freight trains. “Whatever expansion is taking place is certainly going to have a more negative effect on those living near the freight rail lines,” said Gary Giordano, district manager for Queens Community Board 5.

The expanding freight rail network is the culmination of decades of efforts, some unsuccessful, across the city and region. “There’s been all kinds of resistance,” said United States Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat representing parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn who has long pushed to expand freight rail. “Rail fell out of use, and people just didn’t see it anymore.”

According to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, a regional organization charged with transportation planning, just 1 percent of the 434.7 million tons of freight transported through the city and its suburbs in 2004, the latest year analyzed, was by rail, compared with 89 percent by truck. The council estimates that by 2030, the total amount of freight will nearly double, rising to 804.4 million, though some transportation experts have suggested that number may be too high.

In other parts of the country, a larger share of freight is carried by rail. In 2010, 9.7 percent of the 18.3 billion tons of freight transported nationally was by train, compared with 68.2 percent by truck, according to federal transportation data. Nationally, the total amount of freight is projected to rise to nearly 27.5 billion by 2040.

“There needs to be another way to handle the increasing capacity, other than roadways,” said Lisa Daglian, a spokeswoman for the New York council, citing growing population and consumer demand for products in the region. Bruce Lieberman, chairman of the New York and Atlantic Railway, said his business has steadily attracted new customers, climbing to more than 22,000 carloads annually.

CSX Transportation, one of the nation’s largest freight railroad companies, now runs four freight trains a day, each with an average of 75 rail cars, along its main line through the Bronx, compared with two trains a day seven years ago, said William Goetz, a vice president of the company. The cargo carried on the four trains would fill about 900 trucks, he added.

At the 65th Street Rail Yard last week, a line of graffiti-covered rail cars filled with auto scraps waited to be rolled onto barges. The city, which acquired the 24-acre site for $2.5 million in 1981, has periodically tried to revive the rail yard. But in recent years, it has remained closed, in part because the city was embroiled in a legal battle with the New York Cross Harbor Railroad, which previously operated the barge service to and from New Jersey, Mr. Nelson said.

Today, the barges are operated by New York New Jersey Rail, a small railroad owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, using a smaller, city-owned rail yard nearby. The barges will move to the new 65th Street Rail Yard, which can handle longer rail cars and has two “float bridges” made of timber and steel to anchor the barges as the railcars are rolled off. The other site has only one float bridge.

“That was the back porch; this is the front yard,” said Don Hutton, managing director of the railroad, as he pointed out the float bridges, which have been used only for tests since they were built in 2000. “This is really the big deal. Our guys can’t wait.”

Mr. Hutton said his goal was to haul 23,000 rail cars a year by 2017, up from 1,600 rail cars now. The cargo will include Washington State apples bound for city markets, home heating oil for Long Island homeowners, and newly made cars for dealerships across the region.
---http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/65th-street-rail-yard-reopens-in-brooklyn.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=nyregion&pagewanted=all

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(1167542)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012, in response to 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Jul 20 12:18:02 2012.

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Awesome.

inb4 people living near Bay Ridge/Montauk line complain about additional train noise.

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(1167544)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by mike cruz on Fri Jul 20 12:54:14 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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^ HAHAHAHAHA.

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(1167552)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by tunnelrat on Fri Jul 20 14:42:23 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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And to think it only took 25 years to acomplish this.

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(1167553)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by MainR3664 on Fri Jul 20 14:42:52 2012, in response to 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Jul 20 12:18:02 2012.

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This is fantastic news!!! Whie rail can't bring all frieght (consider local delivery), it certainkly will enable NYC to either:

1) Reduce the number of big trucks crossing the bridges, and causing havoc with breakdowns, jackknifes, and diesel fumes spewed as they idle....and all the exnhaust from all the oTHER vehicles delayed on account of said trucks

OR

2) Allow NYC to bring even MORE freight than it does not now and become wore vibrant- without a concurrent increase in truck traffic.

Either way, a win-win.

By the way, as much as I love the High Line Park (and I do), it's too bad that the line couldn't have been kpet intact all the way to St. John's Terminal and used to bring reight and mail/packages into and out of Manhattan with so many trucks. Just imagine if UPS and FedEx had service to ehir Manhattan terminals by rail instead of tactor-trailer. The line could also have been used for export of garbage, just like on Staten Island...

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(1167554)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by MainR3664 on Fri Jul 20 14:43:29 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by tunnelrat on Fri Jul 20 14:42:23 2012.

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Better late than never.

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(1167558)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Outside the Box on Fri Jul 20 15:06:22 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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Lets re-electrify the Bay Ridge with 25Kv/60Hz and extend catenary onto the NYCR and LIRR Montauk and Main Line.

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(1167559)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Fri Jul 20 15:10:35 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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I live half a block from the Bay Ridge line in Flatbush and never heard a train, as long they don't blow the horn its not gonna be that noisy.

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(1167561)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Fri Jul 20 15:12:16 2012, in response to 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Jul 20 12:18:02 2012.

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Great news, means I have a higher chance of seeing a Freight actually run down the Bay Ridge line.

I only seen it a handful of times in my life.

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(1167562)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Outside the Box on Fri Jul 20 15:12:57 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by MainR3664 on Fri Jul 20 14:42:52 2012.

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Its not too late to save the Farley Post Office next to NY Penn as a HSR parcel and mail facility. AMTRAK could go with EMU HSR rail sets for Acela. The head and tail cars can be allocated for mail and packages. Open it up to USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

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(1167565)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Ian Lennon on Fri Jul 20 15:41:00 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Outside the Box on Fri Jul 20 15:12:57 2012.

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The SNCF has entire TGV sets for La Poste. I know I am comparing an apple to an orange.

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(1167584)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 17:55:18 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Outside the Box on Fri Jul 20 15:06:22 2012.

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Electrified freight is a thing of the past. Besides Navajo and Black Mesa, I can't think of any electrified freight railroads.

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(1167601)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by trains61 on Fri Jul 20 20:09:22 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Fri Jul 20 15:10:35 2012.

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You can feel the train in the two tall apartment buildings at 3rd Ave and 65th St. when it passes. Residents are just used to it I guess. My mom lived in one of those building and now my sister.

On a side note, the eastern building has a sub area where the R train can be viewed underneath 4th Ave. The freight line ducks under the subway at this point.

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(1167607)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by AMoreira81 on Fri Jul 20 21:22:25 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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Well, if it helps reduce freight costs, more power to the PANYNJ. Such is the Selkirk hurdle.

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(1167608)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by AMoreira81 on Fri Jul 20 21:22:25 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 12:43:32 2012.

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Well, if it helps reduce freight costs, more power to the PANYNJ. Such is the Selkirk hurdle.

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(1167615)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by jabrams on Fri Jul 20 23:48:32 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by AMoreira81 on Fri Jul 20 21:22:25 2012.

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Isn't the Bay Ridge Branch still single track with a 10-15 MAS limit through Brooklyn?

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(1167625)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by tunnelrat on Sat Jul 21 08:56:30 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by jabrams on Fri Jul 20 23:48:32 2012.

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yes.

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(1167628)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Outside the Box on Sat Jul 21 10:42:19 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by tunnelrat on Sat Jul 21 08:56:30 2012.

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I'd be a good idea to resignal the Bay Ridge and NYCR for cab signalling and PTC. The freight trains will run to and from the NEC and LIRR Mainline.

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(1167632)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jul 21 11:35:29 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Outside the Box on Sat Jul 21 10:42:19 2012.

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How are you relating that to freight trains?

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(1167633)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jul 21 11:37:41 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 17:55:18 2012.

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Electrified freight is a thing of the past

Only here, and primarily thanks to Conrail in the northeast, and Washington DC in general (guess who influenced MILW's ill-advised conversion from electric to diesel). But if you're going to go under the rivers, it'll have to come back. Plenty of electrified freight overseas.

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(1167634)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by RockParkMan on Sat Jul 21 11:37:52 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 17:55:18 2012.

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Why is it that Nazis oppose any alternatives to Oil.
american Law should recognize that Oil=al Qaeda.

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(1167635)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jul 21 11:38:51 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Outside the Box on Fri Jul 20 15:12:57 2012.

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AMTRAK could go with EMU HSR rail sets for Acela

Eh?

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(1167636)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Avid Reader on Sat Jul 21 11:55:38 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by tunnelrat on Sat Jul 21 08:56:30 2012.

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I know that the line, in some places is four tracks wide.
How much of it is four tracks wide?
If, and when it becomes a higher volume freight branch, will the slim chance of an extension of the "L" train be possible?
I did say slim!

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(1167642)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Sat Jul 21 12:25:32 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Outside the Box on Sat Jul 21 10:42:19 2012.

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I hope they put LR on the line, a Riverline type route but with overhead wires for the LRVs to use would be dope.

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(1167644)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Sat Jul 21 12:32:34 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by trains61 on Fri Jul 20 20:09:22 2012.

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Interesting.

I hope when the TA or politicians get serious about restoring passenger rail on the line (Like a light rail service) the residents in those buildings won't use that as a excuse to get all NIMBY as if such a service was proposed.

Then again LRV aren't as heavy as a diesel locomotive so they shouldn't be a issue. Service would probaly run every 10 minutes if they make the terminal on the waterfront to connect with a ferry service to Mantthan.

Or they just have the terminal at 5th Ave or something and all these issues would be moot.

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(1167647)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Gold_12TH on Sat Jul 21 13:25:29 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Avid Reader on Sat Jul 21 11:55:38 2012.

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parts of the sections is only single tracking, there is room for a second track if they remove the vegetation.

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(1167648)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:28:09 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jul 21 11:37:41 2012.

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Diesel is just cheaper. Once Conrail merged the hodge-podge of northeastern railroads, much of the freight was moved off of the electrified lines. It was probably not wise to keep an aging, maintenance heavy electrification system where diesels can go anywhere, for less cost and without having to constantly change engines wherever the wire ended.

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(1167649)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:29:14 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Fri Jul 20 15:12:16 2012.

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This also kills my idea of extending the Nostrand Ave IRT east along it to a proper terminal in the Flatlands.

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(1167650)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:31:06 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Fri Jul 20 15:10:35 2012.

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I usually see trains on it in the early AM in the Middle Village area, going through the tunnel under the Cemetery.

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(1167657)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by 3-9 on Sat Jul 21 14:44:49 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:28:09 2012.

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Let's say 65th St gets the projected traffic. Would it be worth it to electrify the yard and surrounding areas? Then you can use electric switchers to couple the cars to the long distance diesels.

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(1167659)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by 3-9 on Sat Jul 21 15:00:03 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Sat Jul 21 12:25:32 2012.

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I'd love to see that too, at least up to Bway Junction. I'm bothered by the western end, though - it would be nice if it could link up with a major subway station, but the biggest one it's close to is 62nd St, where the N and D cross.

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(1167660)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by 3-9 on Sat Jul 21 15:02:10 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Avid Reader on Sat Jul 21 11:55:38 2012.

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Isn't the ROW wide enough for 4 tracks up to Middle Village? At least the area paralleling the L is wide enough for 4.

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(1167671)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Sir Ray on Sat Jul 21 15:36:17 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Sat Jul 21 12:25:32 2012.

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No need for overhead wire, these new lightweight Stadler GTW DMU's that DCTA is getting will be able to run on the Bay Ridge branch - and this is the critical bit - concurrently with heavy freight trains. If the NJNY float operation traffic takes off as the PA & NYC plan (big IF), then temporal separation as found on the Riverline is a complete non-starter. Indeed, if (as planned) crush strength designs take over from the current tank-like mind-set, then NS could eventually return to the Riverline full time, as could other such operations (and this would be ideal for planned service like the NJ Northern Branch)

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(1167675)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by RockParkMan on Sat Jul 21 16:02:54 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:28:09 2012.

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Electric is BETTER!! It doesn't use oil.

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(1167677)

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Jul 21 16:40:50 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Jul 20 17:55:18 2012.

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As has been said elsewhere, plenty overseas.

While diesel is relatively cheap now it won't be forever...
But besides that, NIMBYs can't complain about noise and pollution with electrified lines.

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(1167681)

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65th Street Railyard reopens, adding train link to mainland

Posted by Gold_12TH on Sat Jul 21 17:22:12 2012, in response to 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Jul 20 12:18:02 2012.

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Very little freight is shipped by rail to New York City because there is no direct rail connection across the Hudson River to mainland America.

Those freight trains that do arrive from points west must proceed up the West Shore Line to Selkirk, N.Y., 145 miles north of New York City, where there's a bridge to cross, then travel back down.

What rail enthusiasts desire — a cross-harbor freight tunnel from Brooklyn to Staten Island or New Jersey — is certainly years in the future, and may never be built.

Meanwhile, another development occurred this week that many people thought would never happen — the re-opening of the long-unused 65th Street Railyard in Bay Ridge. This will surely cross-harbor rail freight, although on a modest scale.

The railyard, once used by the now-defunct New Haven Railroad, was acquired by the city in 1981 and rebuilt in 1999 for a reported cost of $20 million.

Although its float bridges have been periodically tested and kept in good working order, it has been unused for most of the time because of a legal battle between the city and the Cross Harbor Railroad, which ran a street-level freight line on Second Avenue in Sunset Park that fed into the yard.

Until the mid-2000s, the yard was leased as a storage facility by the New York and Atlantic Railroad, which still operates the Bay Ridge Freight Line to Eastern Long Island. Afterward, it became a haven for the homeless until community activists were able to get a fence constructed there.

The Cross Harbor is now defunct and has been replaced by New York-New Jersey Rail, administered by the Port Authority, which has invested $118 million into modernizing the car-float operation. This allowed the city to put the freight operation into service, beginning on Wednesday.

The 65th Street facility has space for two freight trains coming in on barges from the Greenville Yard in Jersey City, which is also run by New York-New Jersey Rail. The railroad's other float-barge facility at 51st Street in Bush Terminal, which it has used until now, can only handle one, shorter freight train.

Chris Valens, spokesman for the Port Authority, said there are no current plans to close the 51st Street facility.

Chris Hutton, president of New York New Jersey Rail, told The New York Times that his goal is to haul 23,000 rail cars a year by 2017, up from 1,600 rail cars now.

The yard also serves as an interchange between New York-New Jersey and the Bay Ridge Freight Line, allowing freight cars from New Jersey to proceed to Eastern Long Island.

---http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/65th-street-railyard-reopens-adding-train-link-mainland

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by jabrams on Sat Jul 21 23:28:46 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by 3-9 on Sat Jul 21 15:02:10 2012.

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I believe the original row (Bay Ridge to Middle Village (when electrified) was 3 tracks wide. Now the row is single tracked. I don't know if the spur sections are connected at both ends to make a passing section.

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Outside the Box on Sun Jul 22 12:49:55 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Jul 21 16:40:50 2012.

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Yes, and you can run EMU rail cars for TriboroRX.

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Re: 65th Street Railyard reopens, adding train link to mainland

Posted by tunnelrat on Sun Jul 22 21:05:28 2012, in response to 65th Street Railyard reopens, adding train link to mainland, posted by Gold_12TH on Sat Jul 21 17:22:12 2012.

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rebuilt completely in 1987,ready to go,never used.

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by MainR3664 on Mon Jul 23 07:22:05 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Sat Jul 21 12:32:34 2012.

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Not connecting to Manhattan, there'd be very little demand for such a service- that's why it ended back in 1924- well before the age of the Interstate highway and even before Moses was active. If passenger service didn't work then, it's unlikely to do so now...

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by MainR3664 on Mon Jul 23 07:23:43 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Sat Jul 21 13:31:06 2012.

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I've seen trains moving on it in Middle Village. In Brooklyn, I've seend differnt trains parked on it on different days (indicating activity), but never actually seen one moving...

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by subfan on Mon Jul 23 12:37:22 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Jul 21 16:02:54 2012.

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And how do you plan on generating the electricity in question??

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Mon Jul 23 12:46:17 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by 3-9 on Sat Jul 21 14:44:49 2012.

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Probably not. The diesel market is flooded and switchers could be leased as demand dictated.

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Mon Jul 23 12:47:37 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by MainR3664 on Mon Jul 23 07:23:43 2012.

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The activity west of Fresh Pond is heavier, from stuff either coming to or coming from LI via the NY&A.

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by Avid Reader on Mon Jul 23 13:21:38 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by subfan on Mon Jul 23 12:37:22 2012.

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He plans to rub a glass rod, with a silk hanky. Very Fast.

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Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use

Posted by kp5308 on Mon Jul 23 14:43:37 2012, in response to Re: 65th St (Brooklyn) Rail Yard Reopens as City’s Freight Trains Rumble Into Wider Use, posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jul 21 11:37:41 2012.

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Only here, and primarily thanks to Conrail in the northeast, and Washington DC in general

It was a matter of economics. When Amtrak took title to the NEC in '76, the charge imposed on CR for track & electricity usage was raised to a level that made it unattractive for freight to move over AMTK lines. When alternate routes were finished being rebuilt the traffic was then shifted.

Another issue was the changing traffic patterns, particularly at the former Potomac Yard gateway. As the merger movement gained momentum in the 80's, coupled with the charges that Conrail imposed to actually make a little money on north/south traffic sealed the deal.

guess who influenced MILW's ill-advised conversion from electric to diesel

AFAIK the traffic level did not support the hardware necessary to rebuild. Remember, MILW was running their electrification on a 60 year old system with a 200-odd mile gap in the middle. It really ended up being a 1000 mile branch line by the time the juice was turned off in '74. Take a look at how rough the line looked near the end.

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