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Beyond the Rutland
Rails
Now operated under the Vermont Rail System banner, you’ll see the early operations of the Vermont Railway, Clarendon & Pittford, and the Green Mountain Railroad! From the marble quarry pits to piggyback trailers, from steam excursions to heavy freight!
While reeling from the effects of late January snowstorms, back-to-back blizzards in February dumped even more snow on Boston, severely crippling the nation’s fifth-largest transit system. In the midst of the crisis, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Beverly Scott abruptly announced her resignation, to take effect in April. Throughout the month of February, rail and transit services were alternately suspended or severely curtailed. Additional snowfighting equipment was brought in to clear the lines. The Massachusetts National Guard was also called in to provide extra manpower to literally dig out the tracks and switches. Hardest hit was the Mattapan High-Speed Line, a surface shuttle operated with rebuilt PCC that remained suspended for weeks while buses provided a limited replacement service. Two Green Line trains pass each other at Fenway Station on the D-Riverside branch on February 17, 2015. TYLER TRAHAN PHOTO
From the Rutland’s last gasp to the Vermont Railways modest start, you’ll enjoy great black and white photography documenting this picturesque New England shortline from end to end. A detailed locomotive roster and diverse equipment photos round out this look back at Vermont Railway’s early years. Order your copy today!
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not booming and some residents are finding that it is cheaper to drive than to pay peak- hour fares on Metrorail. The current annual ridership level of just over 200 million trips is back to 2005 levels. The future is apt to be more cheerful, even though federal em- ployment is expected to experience a slight decline. Jobs in other sectors of the economy, such as business, hospitality, health, educa- tion, and tourism, are expected to expand by 15-20 percent and population will get a boost of 13 percent by 2025 and 25 percent growth by 2040. Thanks to Peter Perreault for the in- formation. THE PURPLE LINE is proposed as a light
rail line in the Washington, D.C., suburbs in Maryland. The 16-mile east-west rail line is intended to provide a link between Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. It is proposed to use two-car trains serving 27 stations between Bethesda and New Car- rollton, linking Metrorail lines, Amtrak, and MARC commuter rail service. It is an ex- pensive project with an estimated budget of $2.43 billion. With an eye to keep costs from getting any higher, it is hoped that construc- tion might start in mid-2015, with revenue service beginning in 2020. Thanks to Larry Spector, Carl Edd, and David Harris for the information. In 1984, the Southeastern Pennsylva-
nia Transportation Authority opened the MARKET EAST COMMUTER RAIL STATION in downtown Philadelphia as an important part of the project to join together the commuter rail services of the former Pennsylvania Rail- road and the Reading Company. The commut- er rail service has been improved and is much
more convenient for passengers. In September 2014 the station name was changed to Jeffer- son because the Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals paid $4 million for naming rights; the Jefferson Hospital is two blocks south of the station. The Jefferson Health System will provide shuttle buses on 10th Street between Market Street and Filbert Street to move pa- tients and employees between the rail station and the hospital. Thomas Jefferson was a del- egate from Virginia to the Continental Con- gress in 1776. He wrote the Declaration of Independence at a boarding house located at 7th and Market Street. Thanks to Mr. Jeffer- son for his writing skill and thanks for David Harris for the news. Two years after Super Storm Sandy, the hurricane resists fading easily into histo- ry since much work remains to be done. In the fall of 2014 $1.5 billion Federal Transit Administration funds were allotted to New Jersey Transit and the New York and New Jersey Port Authority to be used as a part of recovery from the hurricane and mitigation for future storms. Almost $1.3 billion will go New Jersey Transit for projects that include a new electrical grid that could keep the trains moving at times of major power outages. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will receive funds to construct a sea wall in the vicinity of the Port Authority-Trans Hud- son maintenance facility. An $85 million mit- igation project for transit facilities at the site of the World Trade Center also received FTA funding. Restoration work will go on for a long time because the damage was deep and widespread. Thanks to David Harris and Jon Goodman for the news.
PLEASE SEND light rail, transit, and commuter rail news items and correspondence directly to Prof. George M. Smerk, P.O. Box 486, Bloomington, IN 47402.
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