http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1-1trainsoct27,0,910623.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed

The above link takes you to yesterday's article from the Allentown Morning Call, one of the recipients of my open letter, and quotes the Carbon County Commisioners who also recieved the letter. I make no claim that the letter had anything to do with this, but it didn't hurt. I suggest it is a good time to follow-up with more letters from others who care.

The article FINALLY points to what I had been hearing underground, that this is a battle of egos where preservation is the last consideration. To wit, " Railroad Commission solicitor Michael Garfield said it's apparent the historical society dislikes C&S Railroad." Meanwhile, one C&S owner, 'questioned whether the historical group would follow through. Zurn said it would cost $5 to dispose of each railroad tie in the spur, and there are thousands of ties. He also said cranes and other heavy equipment would have to be brought in.

''If they're doing it for spite, they'll lose money,'' Getz said." (Note: The C&S is the shortline in town.)

The article neglects to mention the turntable.

There is still plenty of time to stop the madness. You can e-mail the Carbon County Commisioners at:

cccommis@ptd.net


Keep the messages positive and pro-preservation. We can prevail on the side of preservation.

Rob Davis

Interesting, the county says the rail is only worth $25,000 for the 3/4 mile length.

The cost of materials to install a track (last year's price from a local supplier)
rail, $350/ton (107#/yd)

(based on 107# rail) 2200 #/ton / 107 #/yd=20.5 yards/ton
1760 yards/mi
1760/20.5=85.85 tons/mi

85.85 tons/mi x 0.75 = 64.39 tons/ 3/4 mile

2 rails per track
64.39 x 2 x 350 = $45,073

And that is just for the rails, no labor, no bolts, no tie plates, no ties, no spikes and no joint bars. Last price I heard, for installing a mile of straight track, was ~1 million per mile plus materials.

Other material prices
Bolts: $1.00 each, 4-6 per joint (every 33-39 feet per rail)
Joint bars, $27.50 per pair (used)
Ties $??? every 2 feet
Tie Plates $??? 2 per tie
Spikes, $??? 4-8 per tie
Ballast stone $??? per cubic yard


The $25,000 was probably the price a scrapper would pay the county for the metal. The value already has the acetylene, insurance, tie disposal, labor, and other costs already removed.

Take care,

Rich C.
Connecticut

You are corrent in identifying the tremendous difference between the replacement value vs. salvage value. This difference is also why it is so important to preserve the track if there is to be any hope of returning rail service. This principle is applicable anywhere - not just in Jim Thorpe. However, I have never seen a case anywhere where the current replacement value has been used to determine the current value of a piece of track - the net salvage value is the usual benchmark.