It is posted in Railpace that the Morrisville to St J section of the former Lamoille Valley will be ripped up by next spring for conversion to a muli use trail. It appears that efforts to preserve this section for ultimate reuse failed in the eyes of the State of VT. Anybody offer further insight? Is there a stay of execution possible or some sort of further options to keep the track in tact?

bigboy4884@charter.net

When I was in the area in 1995, I ended up on the "Montrealer" with a scrapper en route to the LVRC to evaluate scrapping of the track and equipment. So this "mission" is hardly new, and has been under way for some time.

lner4472@bcpl.net

> When I was in the area in 1995, I ended up
> on the "Montrealer" with a
> scrapper en route to the LVRC to evaluate
> scrapping of the track and equipment. So
> this "mission" is hardly new, and
> has been under way for some time.

Actually, this is somewhat new, as the 1995 efforts were very different than the current scheme. Forbes was still in the picture then, and there was a whole different set of animosities.

In the meantime, two things have changed. First, the State has allowed bridges and grade crossings to be removed on the east end. Secondly, the snowmobile lobby has presented a much better argument for a trail than the railroad lobby has for a railroad.

The snowmobilers are well organized, have done very good grass roots campaigning and have sold the idea that snowmobiling is a better local economic factor than the railroad ever could be.

They may be right, I don't know. What I do know is that they presented their case very well, with stats, emotion and vigor.

The west end of the line is in much better shape and has the more reliable interchange with the NEC since there are still questions about what service to St. J will look like in the future.

Of course, I foam over the east end since it is a really trecherous piece of twisting, climbing mountain railroad. The trailies will love it!

Rob Davis


Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

> The snowmobilers are well organized, have
> done very good grass roots campaigning and
> have sold the idea that snowmobiling is a
> better local economic factor than the
> railroad ever could be.

How many tons of freight can a snowmobile pull?

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

> How many tons of freight can a snowmobile
> pull?

> Dave

Their argument is that the line has no value as a through route since it is duplicated within 60 miles north and south as a cross VT railroad. They also argue that a decade of effort to lure local frieght customers to the line has failed.

Therefore, they argue that the economic benefit to the local econonmy of the snowmobile enthusiasts far out-wieghs that of a dormant rail line.

Snowmobiling, by some reports, draws more tourists to Vermont each winter than skiing. Certainly, it is a buisiness with lower overhead than a ski resort. And, because it is not resort-oriented, the argument is made that a wider variety of local independent business people benefit from snowmobiling than skiing.

Part of the problem is that Vermont's Northeast Kingdom is not only the state's most beautiful area, but also its poorest. Caledonia County, where the trail will go, has a per capita income of around $17,000 per year, or about $5,000 less than the state average and $8,000 less than the national average. In 1990 it was the third poorest county in Vermont with four towns in the 15% poverty bracket. The area has been hit hard by paper mill closings and the difficulty of earning a living farming.

The west end of the railroad passes near somewhat more prosperous areas including the resort areas near Stowe.

I have been following this closely, and it appears that the snowmobile lobby has simply out-played the rail lobby with more due dilligence work.

At one point, it looked like the rails would stay under the snow, but that seems to not be the case as of right now. Of course, it is all subject to change.

Contact VT's transportation head, Brian Searles, if you have an opinion.

This is a hot topic in New England as snowmobiling grows. Any rail line that doesn't have daily service is a candidate to be sought by the snowmobile lobby.

There are few ture rail-first people up there who have managed to stave off the lobby. The New Hampshire Central team is doing a good job.

What's next?

The VRS Bennington Branch is under attack by train interests, even though there are murmurs of frieght customers coming back.

The Maine Cetral Mountain Sub along the Moose River east of St. J is a dream trail for many. So far, the lobby has not focused on this, beware.

The B&M out of Woodsville, NH fell to the lobby a few years back and now there are many regrets being expressed by the state.

Of course, this does not have to be an all-or-nothing. As long as insurance is worked out, allowing snowmobiling over dormant rail lines does not mean the rail has to be torn up.

Ironically, there is not as much interest in reclaiming already abandoned ROW since there are greater NIMBY factors, even for the snowmobilers. The Rutland west of Bennington, the grade up to the snowmobile mecca at Woodford and other southern VT grades are naturals for an organized rail trail.

Until there is a well organized and funded pro-rail lobby, these battles will continue to be lopsided.

Rob



Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

Even spell check can't help the likes of me, if I used it. ;-)

> The VRS Bennington Branch is under attack by
> train interests,

Of course, that's TRAIL interests doing the attacking!

Rob


Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

Hi,

The rail interests could always file a lawsuit. This could possibly set a precedent and maybe save lines that have freight interests from being torn up for trail use.

Just my opinion,

Stuart

gnufe@apex.net

> Hi Guys,

> Only a western piece of this railroad, actually from Greensboro Bend to St. Johnsbury, is to be torn up (Railpace was somewhat inaccurate.) My stomach dropped when I read the article, so I did some digging on the internet looking at government / trail interest sites. This section was to remain inactive under Vermont Rail Link control to begin with, as reactivating this section was not in their immediate plans. Anyway, the state is satisfying both the trail folks and the people who want to see the rail line preserved. Looks like things are still "on track" for eventual restoration of this line, as the state has been putting money away for its eventual operation. The Vermont Rail Link group (website currently inactive) has identified many customers that would use rail for freight, plus they even in negotiations with a steam locomotive owner to run excursions from Morrisville to Swanton. As a Vermonter and railfan, I have been in contact with Vermont Rail Link and have been following this saga for years. Check out this link for more clearer information - http://www.railroad.net/forums/messages ... picID=3962


laflamcs@hotmail.com

If we want to retain railroads rather than let them revert our time may well be better spent working with economic development people to build new industries which require shipments of freight on the line than in fighting trail proponents. If the trails are seen as better for the local economy why shouldn't they prevail?

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net