There is a rumor floating around that Strasburg plans in the next five years put in two turntables, tear down the enginehouse, build a roundhouse, tear down the shop and move it across the tracks, extend the Cagney track, build a station at Paradise and completely remodel the station area to a 1920s town appearance. So fare no rock solid information has been posted about this information. I know that a few of the SRC's higher ups watch this forum and post on it. Their posts are always highly informative and a joy to read. I was wondering if one of these people could ether back up these rumors, dismiss them or tell us where they differ from the truth. Thank you in advance.

-Eric B.

I remember hearing about the goal of building a Paradise station in the 1970s from one of the onboard announcements made at Paradise. The other plans mentioned seem to be a bit ambitious. -- Ray

The folks at Strasburg do amazing things, but perhaps the rumors emanate from confusion of plans for the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, which sits exactly across the street? Lots of construction being done there, although, alas, not on locomotives.

Obviously you are not the first to hear these rumours

http://forums.railfan.net/?board=Strasb ... 1086747068

http://www.freewebs.com/strasburgrr89/a ... ration.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/railroaddude/st ... istory.htm

It's always impossible to prove a negative, but if the comments from our Strasburg hosts during today's shop tour for the RyPN gathering are any indication, even if these dreams are being made, there's no guarantee that they will come to pass. According to them, there was quite an impasse for years between township zoning and the railroad just to expand the one shop building to include another car shop track. Planning what amounts to an "East Strasburg Town Center" mall project, while it might go over with today's modern tourists, would also be part of the grand plan that would ultimately kill not only Strasburg but all tourism in Lancaster County--"would the last Amishman to leave Lancaster County for affordable farmland in other states please extinguish the kerosene lantern?"

The Paradise station idea has been a dream of many for years now, but remains elusive. The local regional governments, according to today's Harrisburg Patriot-News, are working on a long-term plan just to get commuter trains operating between Lancaster and Harrisburg. Another proposal floated in the 1990s when local Amish made a widely-publicized, but ultimately rejected, offer to build a station at Paradise at their effort and expense if only SEPTA trains, which at that time were frequently operating empty as far west as eastern Lancaster to cross over tracks while two other interlockings were being reconstructed, could be made to stop to give passengers rides to and from Philadelphia. The current problem is that Amtrak has upgraded the whole Keystone Corridor for speeds of up to 110 mph, and I have witnessed Amtrak slam through Leaman Place at 100+ since that rebuild; Amtrak will be loath to stop any trains there for any reason, and since there are still no local/commuter trains through Paradise, the question remains moot.

Expanding the railroad to a larger model of this described sort--interchange station, major rail facility at one end, etc.--might work if the Strasburg were a much longer railroad with several depots along its route, much like the successful preservation lines of that ilk in Britain (Severn Valley, North Yorkshire Moors, Great Central, Keighley & Worth Valley, Strathspey, etc.) or a refurbished East Broad Top. The Strasburg is just too short for that model of business--an all-day destination/outing by itself. Instead, it does well as a supplement/twin to the RR Museum of Pa. across the street, or simply as an hour or two's entertainment en route to other things.

Having said that, between the Cagney, the handcar ride, the Cranky Cars, the photo souvenir booths, and the like, the station area at Strasburg already has far too much of an amusement park/carnival feel to it today for my liking. I remarked today how similar the feel was to Knoebels Grove Park in Elysburg, Pa., down to machines dispensing tokens for the various supplemental rides. It's scary to contemplate that a carousel might seem more likely to appear than a turntable!

The June issue of Delaware Valley Rail Passenger, the very informative newsletter of the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, has an extensive report about the proposed Amtrak station at Paradise. After spending megabucks on design, it appears that the whole project must return to square one because the proposed station cannot meet ADA standards demanding full-length high platforms. Since the station site is on a curve, high platforms won't work due to clearance issues. So now they must find another station site and start all over again. Ain't bureaucracy great?

The folks that did the design work should not be paid! Americans With Disabilities Act is a law and has been for some time. Same thing holds true if you are designing a house to be sold under the Veterans Administration act. Certain things have to be included in the blueprint.
If the accepted design is the one the organizations want then modifications can be incorporated into the plan. Since trains like to stop at a given point on the platform you can figure where to put a power ramp. The ramp could raise, lower or extend as needed. Basically the same type of device used to lower and raise a wheelchair into a mini-bus.
This whole thing strikes me as a power war and issues are being nit-picked to death.

According to the DVARP newsletter, the original design did include lifts, but the ADA changed the regulations recently to require every door access for those with disabilities. You can't blame the designers when the rules change in the middle of the game! Apparently these new regs are also threatening station renovations/redesigns at at least two other classic stations on the Keystone Corridor. Full-length high level platforms add significant cost to any such project. The bottom line is probably that fewer disabled people will be able to ride trains, not more. The Law of Unintended Consequences.

Would garlic improve the taste of "Crow"? Duly consumed!

Maybe you don't need to eat crow. I got curious and checked on the Department of Justice ADA web page. Please note exception 2:

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm




Of course I'm assuming that DOJ keeps their web sites up to date.

Although I agree in principle to the ADA, the law as written is awful.

Here in Georgia, a small rural county had a county wide bus system going and it covered expenses (both operating and maintenance).

The ADA stepped in and said that the county had to upgrade all busses for ADA conformance.

The County could not afford to upgrade that many busses. They offered to have two ADA custom busses and a free phone number for anyone with a disability to call so the bus system could dispatch one of the ADA busses and provide expensive door-to-door service for the needy for the same rate as others on regular busses. I find that acceptable.

ADA said that was not acceptable.

The County shut down the bus system and sold everything off.

No public transportation any more in middle Georgia.

Doug vV

It just goes to show you how much our lawmakers are out of touch with real life. They enact laws with good intentions, but never study the real impact.

I will try to address some of the questions/concerns pertaining to Strasburg's plans.
Forget about a timetable.
The shop will not be torn down and moved.
The Paradise station has been in the works for over 15 years and has been the victim of NIMBYS and red tape. The first location by the former and the second by the later. The problem with the later is indeed ADA and the proposed location on a curve on a line used by high and wide loads. New stations are required to be built with high level platforms, so you can see the problem.
One of the concerns from one of the above posts was the the station area was getting a little too amusement like. The Cagney, pump car, and cranky cars are mainly there for one reason, and that is to get more people to come to the Railroad. What we have discovered over the last 5 - 10 years is that people want to be entertained constantly. Going for a steam train ride and a picnic lunch just isn't good enough anymore. They want more stuff to do, or they will go somewhere else. As the boss says, history isn't that important to many people right now. We think it will be again, but in the meantime, what can we do to get them here other when the blue dude is in town?

R L Musser

About the rides/games/etc. Various make-ups of the Board here in Altoona have argued over the "Museum vs Tourist Attraction" thing for a long time. There are those that are mad at me for adding vending machines to the front porch! Oh my ### - how can you do that to that historic building! Oh come on - its about GETTING PEOPLE IN THE DOOR and leave their money while still offering a tasteful and quality program that's true to the organizations mission. We have concerts, car shows, show movies in the yard on Friday nights - IT BRINGS PEOPLE! More power to Linn and the crew.

Hello,

Although a Paradise station would be nice, it would impact Amtrak's schedule. I have had the opportunity to use the Keystone service several times over the past year and a half to go to NYC and the Philly Airport. On the return leg, I can't believe how fast the trip goes from Gap to Lancaster....even from Parksburg for that matter.

With the upgrade, you catch the 5:30am train in Lancaster, you can be at Penn Station in New York City by 8:30am, time enough for a morning meeting. To top that off, you can work on the bloody train! 110VAC outlets at each seat, real nice to plug in the laptop. It also is good to use the Keystone + the Septa R1 to the Philly airport...right to the gates. Trust me, it sure beats driving in Manhattan or on the "Sure-Kill" expressway. Of course its always nice to take a stroll through 30th Street station. There is a dude down there that is excellant over the PA system in calling off the train boarding, it reminds me of the way it it must have been back in the heydays. They need to keep him on.

The trip to New York City is faster now that they do not need to do the diesel/electric hand off at 30th Street.

Cheers!

Randy Musselman