I get the feeling Jax can be in or out but Amtrak expansion in this state will be happening.
Quote(http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/graphics/prheader.jpg)
5/19/2009 Facility
Amtrak launches construction on new Auto Train station in Florida
Yesterday, Amtrak broke ground on a new Auto Train station in Sanford, Fla., the southern most terminus for the service, which enables passengers to travel with their own vehicles from Lorton, Va., to Sanford.
To be funded through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars, the $10 million project calls for replacing the current 2,500-square-foot facility â€" which includes three separate structures â€" with a 10,00-square-foot station that will feature a passenger waiting area, ticket counter, gift shop, café and restrooms. The waiting room will include seating for 600 customers. The current waiting area, which is partially housed in a tent, seats 370.
In addition, the station will incorporate a new traffic flow to provide easier access for passengers as they drop off their vehicles prior to boarding the train.
During the past decade, Amtrak has worked to improve the service by adding new passenger equipment and car carriers, and building a new station and mechanical facility at the northern end of the route. In fiscal-year 2008, Auto Train ridership totaled 234,839 passengers, a 7.8 percent increase compared with FY2007 data. In addition, the railroad carried 112,188 cars and 1,757 motorcycles.
Amtrak plans to seek other places throughout the country where it can launch other Auto Train services.
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=20445 (http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=20445)
I'm still trying to figure out how 600 people can fit a 10,000 sq. ft. space...plus $10 milion for 10000sf is ridiculous.
Its not mentioned in the article above, but the $10 million also includes new track infrastructure.
(http://www.house.gov/mica/Images/Autotrain.JPG)
QuotePlans are underway to replace the outdated and inadequate Auto Train facility in Sanford. The new terminal will be designed to accommodate more passengers, local commuters and bus service, and potentially will be intermodal with a link to the Central Florida Commuter Rail system. Rep. Mica has been working with Auto Train, Amtrak, FDOT and local transportation authorities to complete plans and to secure federal assistance to expedite this project.
The project calls for the station to be built on the north side of S.R. 46 where two CSX rail lines converge. Amtrak would need to buy the property, known as the Rand Yard. The City of Sanford is already working to extend water and sewer services to the area, and has been coordinating with Seminole County and FDOT on plans to expand the surrounding roads.
http://www.house.gov/mica/projtransautotrain.shtml
Wonder how I knew where it would go? Because it was in my plan for the City of Sanford under Mayor Betty Smith back in the day... Good for them. Now if WE don't get off our butts, Sanford will kick us into a dark corner.
OCKLAWAHA
Good for them!
Anyone remember the story about how the Jacksonville City Leaders passed on the Evil Mouse, back in the day? That could be our terminal and a lot could have changed, had we had the progressive thinking back in the day. Can you imagine what Jacksonville would have become with the Mouse?
I know we passed on Busch Gardens who wanted to build on our Zoo Site close to the Brewery but I haven't heard about the Mouse.
every City in Florida seems to think they had a shot at the mouse....fact is Disney privately researched land and then went and bought....there was very little discussion with local officials anywhere.
Just read the book "Married to the Mouse"...you will get all the history you need on Disney and the reasons why it is where it is.
QuoteJust read the book "Married to the Mouse"...you will get all the history you need on Disney and the reasons why it is where it is.
Forget the books, you need to listen to the people who were here during that time. They can tell you alot, if you listen. Not everything in a book is true, especially in this town.
mtrain, do you have any idea what the book says? Or are you just shooting from the hip, again?
And for those of us who haven't read it, could you (if you've actually read it) or fsujax post a brief synopsis of the key question - Did Walt ever consider Jacksonville?
Quotemtrain, do you have any idea what the book says? Or are you just shooting from the hip, again?
Charles - I don't know where you get your information, but I prefer that from the Historical Society, the people who actually live in Jacksonville and have a history of Jacksonville. I have heard from a number of the members on the subject and would encourage all to participate more frequently with the History of Jacksonville.
I appreciate your questioning.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 30, 2009, 06:25:44 AM
Quotemtrain, do you have any idea what the book says? Or are you just shooting from the hip, again?
Charles - I don't know where you get your information, but I prefer that from the Historical Society, the people who actually live in Jacksonville and have a history of Jacksonville. I have heard from a number of the members on the subject and would encourage all to participate more frequently with the History of Jacksonville.
I appreciate your questioning.
Thanks, I appreciate being appreciated :)
Now, to my question ... Did Disney ever really consider NE Florida?
Or does the Historical Society have any info on this?
(My apologies for side-tracking the discussion.)
This is from ancient memory, not someones book... I lived this, enjoy.
Disney did indeed make a visit or two in our area. The reason it's not widely reported went something like this:
Disney had eyes on a location west of Tallahassee. The property in question was in the hands of St. Joe Paper, as endless tree farms. He came into town to talk to St. Joe, which also owned thousands of acres west or north of Duval. The press went wild, and everyone was pretty convinced Disney could be swayed into a Northeast Florida park. Ed Ball, CEO of St. Joe, Dupont, and Jacksonville National Bank got a telegram (instant messaging 1960 style) from Walt asking for a JACKSONVILLE meeting. I don't think anyone REALLY knows where this would have/could have gone, but it never happened! Ball sent an infamous telegram back to Disney:
"JACKSONVILLE DOESN'T DEAL WITH CARNIVAL PEOPLE," ED BALL.
Was Walt enraged? Was our city cheated by our own Billionaire? Did we have a shot at the park at that early point? Could Walt have built the park west of Baldwin on paper company land? Was Disney ONLY interested in West Florida? ...and what about Mary Lou? (just kidding).
It wasn't long after this went down that someone (gee I wonder who?) started buying every available piece of land in Green Swamp, West of Orlando. It was still a few years before ANYONE knew it was Walt Disney. God knows since the death of the great man, the spirit of the parks left the station and the happy little mouse became a RAT. So maybe old Ed did the right thing, then again, what would our downtown look like had it gone the other way?
OCKLAWAHA
... endless strings of T-shirt shops? ;)
Quote from: Ocklawaha on May 30, 2009, 09:42:40 AM
Disney did indeed make a visit or two in our area.
......So maybe old Ed did the right thing, then again, what would our downtown look like had it gone the other way?
I don't really miss Disney. It created runaway uncontrolled growth in Orlando and a slew of low paying tourist jobs and overcrowded roads. Orlando was impacted more by Disney because it was a sleepy farm town with no ocean, port, river, or other natural benefits to living there other than a few sink holes (they call them "lakes"), slightly warmer weather in the winter, and being located in the population center of Florida. This last beneft is really its strength and compares to Atlanta being at the center of the Southeast US. The better things in Orlando seem to me to derive from this central location, not necessarily from being a tourist mecca.
From what I understand, Orlando's qualitiy of life may have been more positviely improved by its proximity to the technology mecca of the Kennedy Space Center than from Disney. Jacksonville missed the boat on not trying to piggyback this same opportunity over the decades. At the beginning of the space program, we probably could have had the inside track being the more mature, connected, and larger market.
As a kid, I remember the real Orlando when it was nothing but orange groves as far as the eye could see. All gone today.
They can keep the congestion, lack of community because everyone moved there from somewhere else within the last generation and because Orlando is, for many, just a stop on the way to somewhere else. It's a family version of Las Vegas - a land of fantasies, not a place to live and play. Couldn't pay me to live there.