Someone linked to this article in (of all things) the New York Times the other day:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/nyreg ... ublic.html

Now, never mind that the photos allegedly depict a VP of CSX riding this thing in very informal attire without proper protective wear.

I'm just gonna leave this here and see what others think of this article and proposal. I have my thoughts, but I want to see what others think first.

Sigh.

Hipsters come to The Bronx. Brooklyn too pricy these days?? Some figured it would happen someday, but not for another 10 years or so. Start buying real estate in Melrose and Mott Haven and Hunts Point!!

Note the fuel tank-- looks like that speeder owner has never heard of NARCOA; his car has little, if any, of the usual safety equipment.

I'm really curious about the role of the CSX VP; was he along to provide adult supervision? To throw some reality about rail operations into the mix?

Yes, open up the Oak Point Connector to speeders. What a great idea!

Howard P.
Da Bronx

This is not entirely new. There are several railparks in the northeast part of the US.

http://www.railriders.net/railparks.html

the hosting website is in the business of making composite rail wheels for the bikes:

http://www.railriders.net

I interpret it as a VERY positive thing. And that someone from CSX Would even humor them is a very big, good thing. One of the things that hurts interest in vintage rail, is that almost no one but the uber-rich (or uber lucky...or even uber savvy) can participate on their own, save for NARCOA excursions and the like. Yes, it has to be done safely.

Looks like an A4 section car to me. Looks like it has brakes to me.

Think of the thousands of miles of track that gets used maybe once per day or a couple times per week, and often never on weekends.

Think of the thousands of grade crossing and collisions, many of them fatal, where the first words out of the driver's mouth as the carnage stops is "But trains only run here at night/on weekdays!" Or the pedestrians killed by walking on an "abandoned" track or trestle.

On one line that has since been torn up and converted to a rail trail, the last rail movement documented over the line--after a final train and a final NARCOA speeder outing--was a homemade "speeder" cart with an engine that was operated on the line illegally. We know this because the speeder crashed broadside and damaged an automobile at a rural crossing, sending the riders to the hospital and resulting in criminal charges against them--after the local constabulary figured out what laws applied to the unusual circumstances.

EDIT/POSTSCRIPT: Not that this "only use on weekends" strategy can't actually be enforced. The Wilmington & Western, from 1965 to 1982, literally leased operating rights over its home Landenberg Branch, with the contract explicitly stating it could only operate on designated days (weekends and holidays, as I recall), and those restrictions were written right into the employee timetables of the B&O/Chessie System. And I doubt the W&W was unique in this tactic.

BUT that required/requires a lease. A formal contract. Money changing hands. Insurance. Operating rules. You know, all the stuff that (typically) doesn't appeal to the "hipster" and "free spirit" and "adventurer" crowd most likely to try and "explore" with their own "rail bikes" and converted go-karts.......

A plastic gas tank strapped to a bench in the passenger compartment with a single rubber bungee cord ???? Are you kidding me..... Gravity feed down to the engine.... With the gas hose right where somebody could trip on it and disconnect it....

Good grief, what could possibly go wrong..... And they have in the front of the unit so the gas tank can arrive at the collision before the passengers, just in time to split open and spray everybody before the sparks start flying.....

Looks like a disaster on flanged wheels just waiting for the right moment.

No thanks, I'll just watch (from a distance).

Cheers, Kevin.

NO one, including them, was advocating unsafe or illegal operation. No, the fuel tank isn't too wise, but honestly a factory fairmont speeder uses a fairly unsafe fuel tank design as well-a good bop from the rear would likely pop the fuel cap off and hose the scene down.

I'm out of this conversation, apparently it was opened only to provide a forum to trash these people and their idea.

I did not mean to "trash" the idea, just the unsafe execution.

A poorly restrained fuel container in the same space as the passengers with no protection around it and temporary fuel hoses is an invitation to big trouble. Does not matter what the vehicle is. Perhaps as a temporary test hookup in a shop. But taking guests along for a ride with that hookup is irresponsible.

Speeders are quite prone to derailments from bad joints, high speed, turnouts. It just has to bump off the track at moderate speed and the gas will slosh around and perhaps break the bungee cord and the hoses. Now you've got gallons of gas running out of the bottom of the tank.

Yes, a good bump may dislodge a fuel cap from a properly separated and protected tank and some gas may splash out. Having an exposed tank right next to the passengers runs the risk of the tank failing and emptying it's entire contents into the passenger space.

Their idea is nice, but not too practical except in a few very limited locations as the article admits.

Cheers, Kevin.

Am I trying to "trash" the idea of motorcar operation in this fashion?

When 1) done in a slipshod, unsafe manner such as this, and presented in a manner that 2) gives uninformed people the impression that any railroad track that doesn't have a train hurtling over it is fair game for "free public use" just like a sidewalk or park path, and 3) may well inspire someone else to kitbash another jury-rigged "rail car" and run it somewhere else where they aren't authorized to......

....... you bet your sweet bippy I'm going to "trash" this idea and its presentation.

Do we have someone who's with NARCOA who could remark on their personal impressions from this?

Astounding.

The CSX name appears to be legit, even if the complete lack of PPE isn't. That's the most precarious fuel tank situation on a speeder I've ever seen, too. And people are smoking on it.

Considering the delays we've had from CSX on getting right-of-entry for track inspection, posting the usual railroad protective insurance, etc., etc., for even looking at a customer switch on CSX property.....

Inexplicable. There has to be more to this story. Considering the rust on the rails, maybe an intended City buy of the ROW? Or this particular portion has no remaining connection or liability back to CSXT and he's just on another ride?

I did a feasibility study for a motorcar-only operation on a railbanked line, but the outstanding feature of it was wilderness.... and 18 miles without a single public grade crossing, and certainly no Class 1 involved!

The cross-country speeder trip has been done before, albeit by Buster Keaton: http://youtu.be/EiqqxyZeDXo

They had the perfect place for the Bronx "High Line" - it was the 4 track main heading south from 180th St - the old NYW&B right of way. Except they tore it down over a decade ago.

Da Bronx don't get no respect Ollie.

It was a good place to be as a kid & probably with a little bit of effort would return to its glory in the 1920s - hell who wants to be in Brooklyn anyway.

The answer is right there in the NY Times article:

"If" this is the same facility and "If" this information is correct, then CSX is apparently the on-site operator... still possibly putting them in the liability path. Depends on the operating agreement.

Which may explain why CSX is present, but not apparently saying 'hell no', either, for at least this parcel. Or they may be the proud operator of a facility that has nothing moving on it, either, and is technically out of service.

http://www.galesi.com/availableproperti ... ygroupid=8

Yeah, he started with a Fairmont A4…
and turned it into what we call a "flying shingle".
You know, haphazardly built, safety features conspicuous in their absence, etc.

Anyway where's an NYC resident even going to put a speeder?

Robert, "alternate side parking", a phrase every New Yorker learns by age 7. That's why Fairmont put those long handles on the cars, to facilitate moving them by hand!

Howard P.
Da Bronx