ww.RonRailPictures.com PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
VOLUME TWO SUBWAY AND SURFACE LINES
1 Hour 7 Minutes
Philadelphia SEPTA City Transit: Juniper St to 40th St subway lines through Woodland and Chester Ave surface lines and more. 1970’s PCC Cars through 1980’s Kawasaki. Experimental color
one of a kinds. Includes Routes 10 - 11 - 13 - 34 - 36. ONLY $29.95
PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES Two Discs Set 2 Hrs 23 Min
The Colorfull Years - 1970’s and 1980’s
PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
VOLUME 1 SURFACE LINES
VOLUME ONE SURFACE LINES
Two Discs Set 2 Hours 23 Minutes
Includes Routes 6 - 15 - 23 53 - 56 - 60
From the lens of Gary Grahl. See Philadelphia PCC’s during the color- ful 1970’ and 1980’s on Routes 6, 15, 23, 53, 56, and 60. ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours Explore the history of light rail in
New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More! ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours
Explore the history of light rail in New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More!
Add $4.00 S&H per order (PA add 6% tax) See us on the web at
www.ronrailpictures.com or mail check or M/O to RonRail Pictures, DeptT
5552 Republic Way, Bethlehem, PA 18017
Connecticut Company’s Streetcars
Relive the days of Connecticut Company's big yellow cars... Profusely illustrated, this book covers every division of the Connecticut Company, the trolley empire controlled by the New Haven Railroad. This book features nearly every type of trolley car operated across the Nutmeg State until shutdown in 1948.
CONNECTICUT
STREETCARS SOFTCOVER
$21.95 PLUS S&H - ITEM #C00082 Carstens PUBLICATIONS, INC.
CARSTENSBOOKSTORE.COM (888) 526-5365
48 SEPTEMBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM schemes and
RonRail w Pictures
Boston Money Problems
ALL TRANSIT SYSTEMS, especially large ones, have money problems, but Boston’s are prob- ably more acute than most. The rail and bus system is large in scope and the rail facili- ties are very old; the first U.S. subway was built in Beantown in 1897, and some por- tions of the rail service facilities are older than Fenway Park. New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago share in the wonderfulness of ancient property. Boston has also been fa- mous in transit circles by not always step- ping up to the plate and doing necessary maintenance in a timely fashion. In recent years, the MBTA has had to borrow money to make the payroll.
The contract to operate the rail commuter service offers a possibility of perhaps cutting back on the $1 billion annual cost of the rail lines that serve 70,000 passengers each day. There was hope that there would be several bidders for the contract; Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad now has the contract to operate the service. Keolis America, Inc. would like to make a bid for a future three- year contract, but Keolis contends that the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Co. is with- holding information so that Keolis cannot formulate a proposal and a bid for what amounts to a $300 million annual undertak- ing. The fuss over the issue in early 2013 gave promise of continuing for some time. Federal money plays an important part in the operations of the MBTA. Getting federal funds to expand the Green Line from Lech- mere to Somerville and Medford could be a problem. Years ago, as part of the arrange- ment for the construction of the Big Dig highway project, the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts promised that the rail expansion would take place. To carry out the project, the Federal Transit Administration will have to provide an estimated $557 million. The federal money is contingent on funding commitments for the proposed project, as well as state budgets and proposed legisla- tion. The state of good repair of the system as a whole is another factor. If the state does not provide enough money for the new proj- ect and to keep the MBTA in a state of good repair, the FTA may not offer to provide the needed money. Ouch! There is pressure on the Massachusetts legislature to make the needed substantial funds for transportation available. If there is a failure to gain the FTA money, the Commonwealth may have to pick up the whole tab for the Green Line extension, which is not popular. In April 2012 the Massachusetts legisla- ture began conversations about finding the money needed for transportation. A big point in the talk is raising the state gasoline tax by three cents and indexing the fuel tax rate to inflation starting in 2015. Taxes would also be increased on cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco. The gas taxes would produce an estimated $110 million annually. The taxes on tobacco would raise $165 mil- lion annually. New taxes on computer serv- ices might raise as much as $161 million per year and new utilities taxes might bring in
another $83 million. It is now unknown what the tax situation will be after the leg- islature acts, but the $500 million raised by the proposed levies would also depend on boosting the state income tax from 5.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent. As part of the package, the state sales tax would be reduced from 6.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
Eyes tend to glaze over in discussions of the vast sums of money needed to provide transportation services, but it appears as if Massachusetts is at least willing to talk se- riously about grasping the nettle. Thanks to Peter Perreault for the news.
Kansas City Streetcar Authority
After many years of trying to build rail tran- sit, it appears that Kansas City may be on the verge of action. The proposed 2.2 mile $201 million streetcar would reach from River Market through the central business district to Union Station, and would also serve Crossroads and Crown Center. Archi- tects and designers are already at work on planning structures that will add to the at- traction of the places served. A number of surveys were employed to get feedback from the various stakeholders. A principal con- tractor has been selected; a joint venture be- tween Herzog Contracting Corporation and Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. Thanks to Frank A. Beck and Nat Baer for the news.
Chicago: Metra Woes
Public transportation in Chicago is the province of the Northeast Illinois Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). There are three divisions within the RTA: the Chicago Transit Authority, which operates bus and rail rapid transit in the big city; PACE, which operates of the very extensive subur- ban bus service; and Metra, which is in charge of commuter rail service. Metra is an amalgam of the services once delivered by the Chicago & North Western, the Milwau- kee Road, the Rock Island, the Burlington, and the Illinois Central electric line. Some other small services that were offered by the Wabash and the Chicago & Western Indiana are also included in Metra, but South Shore Line service to Indiana is provided by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transporta- tion District (NICTD). All in all, Metra is a huge commuter rail operation and has gen- erally enjoyed an excellent reputation for the quality of its service. As with most com- muter rail operations, there is a need for
PLEASE SEND light rail, tran- sit and commuter rail news items and correspondence di- rectly to Prof. George M. Smerk, Emeritus Suite, Kelley School of Business, 1309 East Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1701.
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