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2008-08-20 06:30:49 UTC
Cape May Seashore Lines on track to return in 2009
(Published: Friday, August 15, 2008
)
CAPE MAY - Passenger train service to the resort will return next
summer and there may even be a few runs this fall for special events,
Cape May Seashore Lines President Tony Macrie said Thursday.
"We'll be back. It's just not as fast as I wanted it to be," Macrie
said.
City Council discussed future plans during a meeting Tuesday afternoon
at the Cape May Transportation Center but was not sure of the status
of train service. The trains stopped coming in 2005 due to problems
with the swinging railroad bridge across the Cape May Canal.
City officials said they expected the trains to resume this summer and
even cleared a bunch of downed trees off the tracks. If train service
is not coming back, it would free up other uses at the center,
including more parking spaces.
But Macrie said the railroad bridge was actually fixed at the end of
2006 and he would have returned service in 2007 but an April northeast
storm that year damaged the tracks at four locations in Dennisville.
He said the locomotives were stuck north of that area in Tuckahoe.
There was no way to get to the southern section of the rail line,
Macrie said.
That track work should be finished by next week. Unfortunately, with
Labor Day fast approaching, Macrie said it is too late to start
regular service this year. He did not rule out doing some special
event runs in September and October, but plans on being ready for
regular runs next June.
"We'll get the trains to the lower part of the county by next year. It
doesn't pay to start now," Macrie said.
Mayor Ed Mahaney said the city would welcome the trains back. Besides
being a tourist attraction, he said they could help relieve traffic
congestion in town and provide a remote parking option for visitors
not wanting to drive a car into the city.
The city had train service from 1863 until 1983. Back then, the trains
were used mainly by tourists as a way to get to the resort. Cape May
Seashore Lines resumed the service June 12, 1999, after a 16-year
absence, but this time the main goal was to provide an excursion for
tourists within the county. The operation stopped in October 2005 due
to problems with the canal bridge that swings open and shut to
accommodate both trains and boats. Macrie said there was no problem
with business.
"We were doing well. It was good business for the railroad. We liked
the people and they liked us," Macrie said.
If service resumes, Macrie said the trains would run from Cape May
Court House to Cape May. The train can also be picked up at Cold
Spring Village in Lower Township. Macrie hopes to eventually run from
Tuckahoe to Cape May and has not ruled out running a train from Cape
May out to Sunset Beach.
Council is discussing widening Elmira Street near the Transportation
Center and making a number of other improvements involving parking,
curbing, lighting and landscaping. The center mainly services trains
and buses while housing a welcome center run by the Chamber of
Commerce of Greater Cape May.
E-mail Richard Degener:
***@pressofac.com
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/181/story/229955.html
***********************************************************
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(Published: Friday, August 15, 2008
)
CAPE MAY - Passenger train service to the resort will return next
summer and there may even be a few runs this fall for special events,
Cape May Seashore Lines President Tony Macrie said Thursday.
"We'll be back. It's just not as fast as I wanted it to be," Macrie
said.
City Council discussed future plans during a meeting Tuesday afternoon
at the Cape May Transportation Center but was not sure of the status
of train service. The trains stopped coming in 2005 due to problems
with the swinging railroad bridge across the Cape May Canal.
City officials said they expected the trains to resume this summer and
even cleared a bunch of downed trees off the tracks. If train service
is not coming back, it would free up other uses at the center,
including more parking spaces.
But Macrie said the railroad bridge was actually fixed at the end of
2006 and he would have returned service in 2007 but an April northeast
storm that year damaged the tracks at four locations in Dennisville.
He said the locomotives were stuck north of that area in Tuckahoe.
There was no way to get to the southern section of the rail line,
Macrie said.
That track work should be finished by next week. Unfortunately, with
Labor Day fast approaching, Macrie said it is too late to start
regular service this year. He did not rule out doing some special
event runs in September and October, but plans on being ready for
regular runs next June.
"We'll get the trains to the lower part of the county by next year. It
doesn't pay to start now," Macrie said.
Mayor Ed Mahaney said the city would welcome the trains back. Besides
being a tourist attraction, he said they could help relieve traffic
congestion in town and provide a remote parking option for visitors
not wanting to drive a car into the city.
The city had train service from 1863 until 1983. Back then, the trains
were used mainly by tourists as a way to get to the resort. Cape May
Seashore Lines resumed the service June 12, 1999, after a 16-year
absence, but this time the main goal was to provide an excursion for
tourists within the county. The operation stopped in October 2005 due
to problems with the canal bridge that swings open and shut to
accommodate both trains and boats. Macrie said there was no problem
with business.
"We were doing well. It was good business for the railroad. We liked
the people and they liked us," Macrie said.
If service resumes, Macrie said the trains would run from Cape May
Court House to Cape May. The train can also be picked up at Cold
Spring Village in Lower Township. Macrie hopes to eventually run from
Tuckahoe to Cape May and has not ruled out running a train from Cape
May out to Sunset Beach.
Council is discussing widening Elmira Street near the Transportation
Center and making a number of other improvements involving parking,
curbing, lighting and landscaping. The center mainly services trains
and buses while housing a welcome center run by the Chamber of
Commerce of Greater Cape May.
E-mail Richard Degener:
***@pressofac.com
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/181/story/229955.html
***********************************************************
Stans Railpix railphotoexpress.com Store !!
http://www.cafepress.com/stans_railpix
www.zazzle.com/stanrail
Stan'S Railpix;-A-Rail-Photo-Gallery !!
http://www.trainweb.org/railpix
Will remain a FREE site with 2426+1/2 images posted.
***********************************************************