Update from Tampa

[fsujax]

Gasp...dare i say they learned something from Jacksonville!

[billy]

Is there a map of the CSX lines in Pinellas County and Tampa?

[tufsu1]

ock posted one on Page 3 of this thread

[thelakelander]

Here you go:

[FayeforCure]

the benevolent "invisible hand" of Adam Smith will save the day.

So true and what a myth.

If the benevolent "invisible hand" of Adam Smith would be so perfectly operational, then Banana Republics would be non-existent.

The reason private enterprise works so inefficiently in Banana Republics is that the institututional ( yes governmental) infrastructure hasn't created the safeguards and foundations for private enterprise to operate efficiently.

Thus "Getting government out of the way" hurts private enterprise.

What we need is NOT necessarily smaller government, but BETTER government, wherein private defense contractors do not have the opportunity to rip off the tax payer, as is so prevalent in the US war endeavors.

And wherein private enterprise ala Rick Scott doesn't get to rip off the tax payer by defrauding Medicare!

[tufsu1]

the line that could be purchased is the one coming down from Hernando County...it also goes straight west intgo Pinellas and then down to St. Pete

CSX has said they are not willing to sell the line coming in from Lakeland and Plant City

[thelakelander]

Yeah, that's a pretty busy line heading down to the Port of Tampa and it provides access to Bone Valley. So basically CSX is willing to sell every thing west of the Uceta Yard in East Tampa?

[JeffreyS]

I just want them to sell ROW for commuter rail on the A line in Jacksonville.

[tufsu1]

Yeah, that's a pretty busy line heading down to the Port of Tampa and it provides access to Bone Valley. So basically CSX is willing to sell every thing west of the Uceta Yard in East Tampa?

as I understand it, yes

[tufsu1]

Here's the full article

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/19/tbarta-talking-to-csx-about-using-tracks-for-regio/news-politics/

[Ocklawaha]

Strange thing is, we might have more data on the Tampa possibilities then they do! BTW, we have this information for the Jacksonville Commuter Rail lines too. If your wondering how this 1950's-70's stuff applies check out the miles (from Richmond VA), between stations you'll find those track miles down to the 10Th, the right hand column gives the facilities at each location such as a "Y" (think 3 point turn), yards, fuel, sidings with car capacity. The lines that are now abandoned are likely trails, or empty right-of-way's, hence reusable to some extent.

OCKLAWAHA  

[Ocklawaha]

NOTE THE LINES IN PURPLE, each of these segments is on CURRENT ABANDONED right-of-way, which is why we need to be watching Tampa VERY closely. There is opportunity here for an entirely new rail passenger route in place of a one-time turnpike plan. We could easily support regional service (corridor style) between Jacksonville and Baldwin-Starke-Alachua-Gainesville, and Tampa could just as easily support Tampa-Sulphur Springs-Brooksville-Inverness-Dunnellon, commuter rail services as well as regional service to Alachua-Gainesville. Two and two plus Amtrak = OPPORTUNITY.

You will also note two other routes in purple, these are at our end of the line, and represent two abandoned routes that could short-cut the service to Gainesville. The WALDO-Gainesville-ARCHER segment is entirely intact as a right-of-way or grade and would include service right past the Veterans Hospital, Shand's, UF and the Gainesville Regional Airport. You can see this as a complete route in the 1954 SEABOARD AIR LINE MAP at the top of my previous post. In those days the population was so slight between the two metro's that only a gas-electric doodlebug served the territory. Today the west coast and the Jax-Gainesville segment would be two of the more densely populated routes in the state with not more then 30 miles of real rural area left.

OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

You can see this as a complete route in the 1954 SEABOARD AIR LINE MAP at the top of my previous post. In those days the population was so slight between the two metro's that only a gas-electric doodlebug served the territory. Today the west coast and the Jax-Gainesville segment would be two of the more densely populated routes in the state with not more then 30 miles of real rural area left.

In case you were wondering "What the hell is a doodlebug...?" Think of it as school bus - post office - UPS truck - farm wagon - and oh yeah, a passenger coach, in effect a VERY casual service offered where steam trains couldn't make the budget.

OCKLAWAHA