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| Wilmington & Western Offered State Repair Funds! https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7358 |
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| Author: | Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Fri Oct 31, 2003 9:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Wilmington & Western Offered State Repair Funds! |
The article linked below from today's Wilmington News-Journal details the official news of a major fund-raising challenge for the washed-out W&W. Here is the relevant math, as explained to me by a member of HRCV last night: The PRELIMINARY estimate to rebuild the railroad is $10 million. Although I do not believe the offer has been confirmed on paper as of yet, it appears that Federal Emergency Management Agency grants will cover 80% of that figure, or $8 million. But the remaining funding MUST be made up or committed in advance. This leaves a shortfall of $2 million. As the article explains, the State of Delaware has offered to match private donations at a rate of 10-to-1, meaning the railroad is now forced to raise only $200,000, not $10 million. This basically means that the railroad will get $50 for every dollar donated up to the $200,000 mark! I'll wait for Tom Gears to confirm the specifics, but at the moment the description above is my understanding of the circumstances and conditions. Any errors are mine. Of course, it is likely that the estimated $10 million may not be adequate to fully restore the line. Therefore, please help in other ways if possible, such as loaning equipment, arranging donations of materials or services, etc. (I just called up the treasurers of two organizations likely to write decent-sized checks under the circumstances mentioned above--discussions with the groups involved may occur over the weekend.) Wilmington News-Journal article LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net |
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| Author: | Ronald Bailey [ Sat Nov 01, 2003 11:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Wilmington & Western Offered State Repair Fund |
It's not quite so simple. FEMA may provide funding to reimburse HRCV for flood repair costs up to 75% of their estimate of the total damage. The remaining 25% match, however, has to come from non-federal sources, such as state of local government, private foundations, or private individuals. Transportation Enhancement Funds, which have been offered by the State, are federal dollars, derived from a 10% set-aside of federal Surface Transportation Funds. Federal dollars cannot be used to match federal dollars, so Enhancement funds cannot serve as a match to FEMA funds. On the other hand, HRCV may be able to use the Enhancement funds to cover costs that will not be reimbursible by FEMA. Historic Red Clay Valley, Inc., owner and operator of the Wilmington & Western, will shortly be initiating a major comprehensive campaign to raise the money that we will need to rebuild the line and cover operating losses. We are still estimating the cost of the damage and assessing additional mitigation that we may have to absorb. In any event, the cost will be much less than the $10 million suggested in Alexander's posting. Hopefully, we will have a number, for the purpose of fund-raising, in the next few weeks. Check back on our website www.wwrr.com from time to time for more information and updates. > The article linked below from today's > Wilmington News-Journal details the official > news of a major fund-raising challenge for > the washed-out W&W. > Here is the relevant math, as explained to > me by a member of HRCV last night: > The PRELIMINARY estimate to rebuild the > railroad is $10 million. > Although I do not believe the offer has been > confirmed on paper as of yet, it appears > that Federal Emergency Management Agency > grants will cover 80% of that figure, or $8 > million. But the remaining funding MUST be > made up or committed in advance. > This leaves a shortfall of $2 million. As > the article explains, the State of Delaware > has offered to match private donations at a > rate of 10-to-1, meaning the railroad is now > forced to raise only $200,000, not $10 > million. This basically means that the > railroad will get $50 for every dollar > donated up to the $200,000 mark! > I'll wait for Tom Gears to confirm the > specifics, but at the moment the description > above is my understanding of the > circumstances and conditions. Any errors are > mine. > Of course, it is likely that the estimated > $10 million may not be adequate to fully > restore the line. Therefore, please help in > other ways if possible, such as loaning > equipment, arranging donations of materials > or services, etc. (I just called up the > treasurers of two organizations likely to > write decent-sized checks under the > circumstances mentioned above--discussions > with the groups involved may occur over the > weekend.) http://www.wwrr.com rbailey@supernet.com |
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| Author: | Erik Ledbetter [ Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:40 am ] |
| Post subject: | Deleted post |
I have removed a one-sentence post from Paul for violating the Interchange's no-flaming rule; it cast a personal aspersion and added nothing of substance to the thread. Anyone who wishes can review our Terms of Service at the Terms and Conditions link on the top of the Interchange home page. eledbetter@rypn.org |
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| Author: | Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:46 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Wilmington & Western Offered State Repair Fund |
The "$10 million" figure I idly pulled up is the figure that a couple of us in preservation and New Castle County circles have kicked about as an "adjusted" estimate on how much it will cost to properly set the railroad right. As evidence, I submit the following: *The costs to repair the railroad after 1999's flooding were publicly cited in News-Journal reports and HRCV reports at $2.5 million. This involved the complete replacement of two wood trestles with steel and repairs (bent and pier replacement) to a couple others. In this case (2003), we are dealing with six trestles (two of them far larger) in need of complete or near-complete replacement, plus substantially more right-of-way rehabilitation and reballasting (from what I saw of the tracks after both floods, the damage is a couple times greater this time around). *There is often a great deal of difference between the costs of repairing a disaster and the actual cash in hand necessary. The railroad has publicly stated in its original post-flood estimates a figure of $5 million; we can safely assume this does not count any pledges of goods, services, equipment, etc. that can be used at reduced or no cost by HRCV--volunteer labor, donation of ballast or crane rental services, whatever. Numbers in cases like this have a way of continuing to climb, especially when the "free" money of government funding is involved. Forgive me for living too close to Washington D.C., where final estimates for major projects often become the down payment by the time construction starts. As another example of numbers climbing post-original-estimates (not related to government monies, BTW), note that the current plans to rebuild after the collapse of the B&O Museum's roof in February have included since the original planning 1) replacement of the entire roof of the roundhouse as further damage/deterioration has been discovered, and 2) $10 million plans for a new restoration facility to replace the currently overcrowded and historic Car Shop. *The 80-20 split of FEMA money to non-Federal money I will attribute to sources in Delaware that have worked with FEMA and transportation projects, as well as the 80-20 split being completely typical of Federal/local funding requirements of most transportation projects today. If the figures are actually 75-25 AND FEMA agrees to follow through with repair funding, my mistake, but that STILL leaves a potential pool of $8,200,000 (or so--maybe it's $8,800,000, I'm not gonna set any figures in stone anymore) that can be raised with $200,000 worth of private donations to HRCV. Again, that is more than the $5 million figure originally proposed. Is anyone saying that the railroad only wants $3 million of FEMA money? Fine, that's government money not spent--and I favor that. *I know full well that FEMA monies can only be used to set right a disaster's effects. In no way do I even think that, for example, some leftover cash can be diverted to repaint the coaches, finish 98's restoration, etc. *What's still ultimately important in all of this: Our donations WILL make a huge difference. This offer is the equivalent of a PBS pledge-a-thon suddenly getting an offer to match each dollar raised with $39 from another source. All off a sudden, the impact of each dollar donated is magnified enormously. This way, your $10 donation or $100 donation actually puts the goal measurably closer, as opposed to only one-five-hundred-thousandth of the way there. In the end, if anyone insists on dragging my name through the mud, forgive me for striving to make a sound case for our contributions to this historic resource. It's not like I'm making a case (as one of my Delaware friends is ) against any government money going to HRCV as long as it stays in a flood plain. Mentally, I *know* many of us who say the catastrophic damage first-hand "wrote off" the hope of ever seeing this railroad arise from the rubble. I'm truly estatic that there's going to be a future, albeit probably without the handsome wooden trestles of before. LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net |
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| Author: | Paul [ Sun Nov 02, 2003 4:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Deleted post |
> I have removed a one-sentence post from Paul > for violating the Interchange's no-flaming > rule I am sorry if my posting was received and perceived to be flaming. That was not my intention. However, let me assure everyone that I did not make a remark about an individual. I was refering to the amount of money, saying that the reports that had been circulating both here and in other places, as to the final dollar amount of the repairs will most likely be proven wrong. However, I humbly apologize if I offended anyone by anything I may have written. Thank you. Paul plc95@yahoo.com |
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