As far as the homeless goes, from my experience you have 3 factions/types of homeless: (at least here in Central/Eastern Connecticut).

1. Down on their luck - they don't usually ask for handouts, unless life really has them deep in the corner (but once partially stable will repay you), will usually ask for tasks or jobs to get them back on their feet.
2. Hermits - want little to nothing to do with society, if they need supplies they will usually salvage something, trade something or ask for work.
3. Dead-beats - Think everyone owes them and blames everyone for their lifestyle. No desire to work, know how to work the system. A large portion will steal anything moveable by 3 or less people.

Type 1 & 2 used to make up what were called the noble Hobos (originally Hoe Boys as they were farmers looking for jobs)

Some of type 1 & majority of type 2 are great to have around your site, especially if you can befriend them as they don't want trouble. Once they know you are willing to trade/work with them, they will usually let you know about type 3s in the area or casing your property, and if the type 3 has done something that effects you. Type 3s I have no time for and have caused many things to grow legs around our museum.

Rich C.

first, those renditions are really...poor, borrowing from google maps.

As much as you want to say doing this, you have to remember you have a structure that will eventually need maintenance. Years down the road how will it fare?

Reminds me how the Washington DC streetcars used channels to collect power instead of overhead wire...because they didnt want the wires to block the sky view...

Now you want to cover over the railroad...hooboy.

It isn't so strange a concept, you have to think about Chicago and how its had to become like a 3D city to make everything work, elevated trains, subways, highways turning, criscrossing wherever.. its no wonder something like this is being thought of.

For the homeless issue every society has to deal with this, but its not the crux for this concept, if your going to do this...well do it.

But to me the railroad looks fine to me, who thinks its looking ugly? Aside from that locomotives have exhaust and your making a large wide tunnel, temporarily trapping gasses, or will you have designed venting?

Just thinking about sitting under a tree having a picnic lunch and this 6600 hp locomotive and long train starts clamboring right under me, makes for a very differrent railfan experience...

Hello all,
I thought I'd add some clarifications and corrections to the conversation. I operate the blog and a guest poster wrote it. I encourage different kinds of ideas. As has been noted here, this idea isn't without precedent. I would add a couple of corrections: No one gets "attacked" on my blog. It serves as a place for conversation. In this case, the person who started this thread brought up the homeless issue, which I thought might be a concern and someone disagreed with that being a reason not to do this project. Also, this elevated platform - which will likely never become a reality - isn't suggested for the same side of Gay Street as the Depots, so it would have no impact on them whatsoever. The idea is that the tracks, which are at a low elevation relative to either side already, would be less appealing to a business wanting to locate on either side than would a park. A restaurant facing a park? Yes. Facing a freight rail yard? Probably not. Finally, the other idea referenced in this thread offered a tribute of sorts to rail lines, has gained a lot of momentum and is totally consistent with this project. So, the elevation idea may be impractical and likely will never happen, but it is put up by an urban hobbyist simply for conversation.
Thanks for allowing me to clarify.
Knoxville Urban Guy
InsideofKnoxville.com

Hi,

As for Underground Atlanta, the delays caused by numerous trains caused the building of viaducts over the railroads to allow separation of traffic (horse & wagon) and railroad. It was started sometime around the late 1870s or 1880s. The bridges caused the access to the ground level to the buildings difficult and the building owners just turned the ground levels into basements and the second floor became the main level.

The former first floors are became a bad area. In the late 1960s it was revitalized and became a great and safe tourist attraction being cleaned up and set in the turn of the century (1900) style.

Wonderful place to go. It had one-man bands and clowns antique news paper printing with your name in the headlines and all sorts of fun stuff - I grew up with it. There was at least one museum.

In the late 1970s, bars in Underground Atlanta fought for and won later closing hours causing the expected unsafe feeling. Tourist places closed up and moved out. The last bar closed and moved out in about 1980. There was a move in the late 1980s (I think) to re-establish the original Underground. There was a fire and most of the historic fabric of the buildings was destroyed.

The current iteration is a shopping mall that is not too successful. Why go downtown to shop when the mall 20 minutes away has the same items.

So Underground Atlanta not being safe is relative to the time period.

The New Georgia Railroad 1 hour trip around Atlanta and the dinner train departed from Underground in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It departed from the old Georgia Railroad freight station - the oldest building in Atlanta and next to Milepost Zero.

FWIW.

Doug vV

How about business that make use of the railroad to ship materials in and products out?

dave

Much more technically and economically feasible........

:http://www.roanokeva.gov/85256A8D0062AF37/vwContentByKey/N28C7LHH896JBEDEN

It's not just Knoxville:

http://archrecord.construction.com/news ... tation.asp

http://www.burnhamplace.com/

http://www.burnhamplace.com/images/aerialnv.png

http://www.burnhamplace.com/images/tower.png

http://www.burnhamplace.com/projectvision.html

Do I like it? No.