Light rail in the United States

Light rail in the United States is a mode of rail-based transport, usually urban in nature. When compared to heavy rail systems like commuter rail or rapid transit (subway), light rail systems are typically are designed to carry fewer passengers and are capable of operating in mixed traffic (street running) or on routes that are not entirely grade-separated. Systems typically take one of four forms: the "first-generation" legacy systems, the "second-generation" modern light rail systems, streetcars, and hybrid rail systems (light rail with some commuter rail features). All of the systems use similar technologies, and some systems blur the lines between the different forms.
Overview.
The first-generation legacy systems are typically vestigial elements of sprawling streetcar systems that were decommissioned from the 1950s onward through approximately 1970 as the popularity of the automobile increased. These systems were spared that fate due to these systems having high ridership and some form of exclusive right of way. Many of these streetcar systems have been at least partly upgraded to more closely resemble the more modern second-generation light rail systems.
The second-generation of modern light rail systems began in 1981 with the San Diego Trolley, which ushered in several systems that generally feature large multi-car trains that travel larger distances, and make fewer stops, on exclusive rights-of-way. These systems were inspired by the German Stadtbahn (English: city rail) systems.
The modern streetcar era started in 2001 with the Portland Streetcar, which inspired several other systems that generally feature smaller single-car trains that travel on short routes, with frequent stops, in lanes that are shared with automobile traffic (street running). There are also some heritage streetcar lines, which operate in the same manner using vintage vehicles or historic vehicle replicas, which have been built before and after the modern streetcar movement.
Hybrid rail systems were introduced in 2004 with New Jersey's River Line, which operates light rail-type vehicles as diesel multiple unit trains (DMU's), but like commuter rail run on unelectrified tracks that can be shared with freight trains (which typically only operate overnight, when passenger service has stopped). Unlike most commuter rail systems which only operate during the weekday peak travel periods, hybrid rail systems operate all-day, every day.
According to the American Public Transportation Association, of the roughly 30 cities with light rail systems in the United States, the light rail systems in six of them (Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, and San Francisco) achieve more than 30 million unlinked passenger transits per year.
The United States, with its 27 systems (as counted by the Light Rail Transit Association), has a much larger number of "true" light rail systems (not including streetcar systems), by far, compared to any other country in the world (the next largest are Germany with 10 and Japan with 9).
History.
From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in cities around the world. The St. Charles Avenue Line of New Orleans' streetcar system is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world, beginning operation as a horse-drawn system in 1835.
From the late 1880s onwards, electrically powered street railways became technically feasible following the invention of a trolley pole system of collecting current by American inventor Frank J. Sprague who installed the first successful electrified trolley system in Richmond, Virginia in 1888. They became popular because roads were then poorly surfaced, and before the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of motor-buses, they were the only practical means of public transport around cities.
The streetcar systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined together to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars or radial railways in North America.
Historically, the rail gauge has had considerable variations, with a variety of gauges common in many early systems (e.g. the broad Pennsylvania trolley gauge, etc. used by New Orleans' streetcars and by the light rail systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). However, most modern second-generation light rail systems now operate on standard gauge rail.
After World War II, six major cities in the United States (Boston, Newark, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco) continued to operate large first-generation streetcar systems, although most of them were later converted to modern light rail standards. Toronto in Canada marks the other city in North America with a continuing first-generation streetcar system. Additionally, a seventh American city, Cleveland, maintained an interurban system (e.g. the Blue and Green Lines) equivalent to what is now "light rail", that opened before World War I, and which is still in operation to this day.
When several of these cities upgraded to new technology (e.g. San Francisco, Newark, and Pittsburgh), they called it "light rail" to differentiate it from their existing streetcar systems since some continued to operate portions of both the old and new systems.
In the United States, most of the original first-generation streetcar systems were decommissioned from the 1950s onward through approximately 1970 as the popularity of the automobile increased.
Although a few traditional streetcar or trolley systems still exist to this day the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Modern light rail technology has primarily German origins, since an attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle was a technical failure. After World War II, the Germans retained their streetcar (Straßenbahn) networks and evolved them into model light rail systems (Stadtbahn).
The renaissance of light rail in the United States began in 1981, when the first truly second-generation light rail system was inaugurated in the United States, the San Diego Trolley in California, which adopted use of the German Siemens-Duewag U2 light rail vehicle. (This was just three years after the first North American second-generation light rail system opened in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta in 1978, and which used the same German Siemens-Duewag U2 vehicles as San Diego).
, there are a total of 53 operational light rail-type lines and systems (noting that some cities, such as Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, have more than one light rail system) that offer regular year-round transit service in the United States: 26 modern light rail systems, 14 modern streetcar systems, and 13 heritage streetcar systems (including the San Francisco cable car system).
Systems under construction.
The following table lists entirely new light rail or streetcar systems under heavy construction. LRT systems that are in the planning stages but not yet under construction (e.g. Glassboro–Camden Line, MARTA Clifton Corridor, Austin Capital MetroRail Blue and Orange Lines), are not listed; expansions of existing LRT systems are also not listed here.


Commercial Historic District (Potlatch, Idaho)

The Commercial Historic District in Potlatch, Idaho was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. In 1986, it included seven contributing buildings and a contributing object. It includes work by architect C. Ferris White and work by A.M. Homes.
It includes seven buildings of the administrative center of historic Potlatch, which was a company town of the Potlatch Lumber Company, plus some additional objects. Specifically, it includes:
The city of Potlatch offers a free walking tour guide, "A Walking Tour of the Potlatch Commercial District" at the city hall, at 195 6th Street. The guide is provided by the Potlatch Historical Society.


American Orient Express

American Orient Express, formerly the American European Express, operated a single luxury passenger train set in charter service between 1989 and 2008 and operated on routes throughout North America. The company was based in Seattle, Washington.
Background.
A full dome car was added to the consist in the mid 2000s and offered a panoramic view of the passing landscape. The train was priced from $2,000 to $10,000 per trip one way and included meals, entertainment, and hotel stays. The train operated under contract with Amtrak and used both Amtrak locomotives and crews. It typically ran on freight only routes that had not seen passenger service in more than 50 years. Some of the more popular routes included the Los Angeles–Washington, D.C., transcontinental (taking eight days) and the Rocky Mountain Adventure. Both featured scenic segments with long layovers at certain stops, similar to a cruise ship. The trips were only one way, requiring debarking passengers to either take a bus or airplane to return to their home terminal.
Luxury passenger train excursions, including the AOE, ceased operations during the late 2000s recession. During the final excursions, it was not uncommon for there to be more crew members than passengers on the train. As part of a restructuring, the train was briefly renamed GrandLuxe Journeys with trips primarily running into Mexico. These final trips proved costly and unpopular, and operations was terminated in 2008. Most of the equipment was either sold off or scrapped.
There is no relation between this train and the more famous Orient Express owned by the Venice-Simplon Orient Express.


Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church

Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church is located at 2650 Farnam Street in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Organized on December 5, 1858, as Emanuel's Evangelical Lutheran Church, the church is thought to be the first Lutheran congregation organized west of the Missouri River. In the 1920s the church was credited with being the largest Lutheran congregation in the United States.
History.
In 1856, Augustus Kountze, then a young banker new to Omaha from Ohio, requested a pastor from the church of his youth. Reverend Henry Kuhns conducted the first Lutheran services in Omaha on November 21, 1858, with 14 founding members. In 1862 the church constructed its first building at 13th and Douglas Streets in Downtown Omaha. The second building was constructed in 1885 at 16th and Harney Streets and was named in memory of Kountze's father, Christian Kountze, after Augustus contributed one half of the construction costs.
The current building was opened in 1906, and the church continued to grow, adding neighborhood Sunday Schools across Omaha. Many of these Sunday Schools later developed into separate congregations, including the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer on North 24th Street, Gethsemane Lutheran Church at 19th and Castelar, Pilgrim Lutheran Church at 42nd and Bancroft Streets, and St. Matthew Lutheran Church at 60th and Walnut. In 1916 the church claimed to be the largest Lutheran congregation in the world, with over 2,000 members. During the First World War the pastor of Kountze was embroiled in controversy as he was an outspoken opponent of the war. While many German members supported him, many in the congregation did not; however, he was not asked to leave his position.
The conventional of the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America was held at the church in 1887. In 1940, Kountze hosted the annual convention of the United Lutheran Church in America.
Extensive remodeling and repair work coincided with the 100th anniversary of the building in 2006. Kountze celebrated its 150th anniversary as a congregation in 2008.


Alexander W. Monroe

Alexander W. Monroe (December 29, 1817 – March 16, 1905) was a prominent American lawyer, politician, and military officer in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. Monroe served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1850–1851 and 1862–1865) and West Virginia House of Delegates (1875–1877 and 1879–1883) representing Hampshire County. He was the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates during the 1875–1877 legislative session. Monroe also represented Hampshire County in the West Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1872.
Monroe was born in Hampshire County, Virginia (present-day West Virginia) in 1817. At the age of 18, he and his siblings were orphaned and he became a schoolteacher to provide for the education of his brothers and sisters. He later became a county surveyor, and studied jurisprudence. Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates (1850–1851), during which time he participated in the 1851 reform of the Constitution of Virginia. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1858 and in 1861, he purchased the "Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser" newspaper, which he operated until the onset of the American Civil War.
In 1861, Monroe commanded the 114th Regiment of the Virginia militia with the rank of colonel; he was the oldest person in that commissioned rank within the state's militia. The 114th Regiment took part in several skirmishes in Hampshire County. Following the regiment's disbandment, Monroe volunteered and raised a battalion of cavalry within the 18th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of the regular Confederate States Army. He later commanded the rear guard during the withdrawal of Confederate forces under the command of General Robert E. Lee from the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, successfully protecting the -long wagon train. Monroe served in the Virginia House of Delegates throughout the Civil War.
Monroe returned to the practice of law and in 1872 was a participant in the West Virginia Constitutional Convention. From 1875 to 1877, he was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and was twice elected speaker. He was the first delegate to represent Hampshire County in both the Virginia General Assembly and the West Virginia Legislature. Monroe was twice appointed as a director of the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane. He again served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1879 to 1883. Monroe retired to his farm on the Little Cacapon River and died in 1905.
Early life and family relations.
Alexander W. Monroe was born on December 29, 1817, in Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and was the oldest child of Robert and Elizabeth Monroe. His parents were of Scottish descent. Monroe's great uncle, Dr. John Monroe, was an early physician and Baptist minister in Hampshire County. Monroe had four younger brothers and two sisters: Robert W. Monroe, James W. Monroe, J. Walker Monroe, Marion Monroe, a Mrs. Snapp, and Sarah Ann Monroe Garrett. His brother, Robert W. Monroe, was later appointed by United States President Grover Cleveland as an Indian agent in Idaho.
At the age of 18, Monroe and his siblings were orphaned, and Monroe took responsibility for the rearing and education of his four younger brothers and two sisters. To accomplish this feat, he taught school during the winter months, and worked the family's farm during the growing season.
Early professions and political career.
Monroe studied surveying and began his career in public service as the county surveyor for Hampshire County. During his tenure, he surveyed the majority of the county's land tracts. Monroe read law in Romney under prominent local attorney, Alfred P. White. While studying law, he was elected to represent Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates alongside William P. Stump between 1850 and 1851. Monroe was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates during the 1851 reform of the Constitution of Virginia. In 1857, he was nominated as a Democratic candidate to represent the Hampshire County district in the Senate of Virginia. Monroe was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1858 at the age of 41 and engaged in a law practice in Romney. In 1859, he was elected the Commonwealth's Attorney for Hampshire County.
Monroe and Job N. Cookus purchased the "Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser" newspaper in Romney in 1861. During their joint ownership, the offices for the "Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser" were located in an old stone building that formerly housed the Romney Academy behind the Hampshire County Courthouse. Monroe and Cookus continued serving as its editors and publishers until the Union Army closed down the "Advertiser's" offices in August 1861, after which the newspaper was not revived.
Military career.
Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in July 1861, Monroe commanded the 114th Regiment of the Virginia militia with the rank of colonel. At age 43, Monroe was the oldest colonel, by his commission, serving in the Virginia militia.
On October 26, 1861, Monroe's 114th Regiment took part in a skirmish against a unit within the left column formation of Union Army troops under the command of Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelley. The skirmish took place at present-day Blues Beach where a wire bridge carried the Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike across the South Branch Potomac River at the Lower Hanging Rocks. Monroe also led 300 soldiers of the 114th Regiment in the Battle of Blue's Gap on January 7, 1862.
Monroe remained the commanding officer of the 114th Regiment until its disbandment by the Congress of the Confederate States in April 1862. While serving in the Confederate States Army, Monroe completed another term as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates between 1862 and 1865. He participated in the Virginia General Assembly for each legislative session conducted during wartime, returning to his military duties following each session's adjournment.
Following the passage of the Conscription Bill by the Confederate States Congress, Monroe volunteered and raised a battalion of cavalry within the 18th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of the regular Confederate States Army. He was elected major of the 18th Virginia Cavalry, which was known as the North Western Brigade, shortly after its creation. While he served in the 18th Virginia Cavalry, it was under the command of Brigadier General John D. Imboden.
Monroe was later in command of the rear guard during the withdrawal of Confederate forces under the command of General Robert E. Lee from the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. In this capacity, Monroe successfully protected the -long wagon train. Monroe fought for the Confederate Army throughout the duration of the war, until 1865. Following the war, he was paroled by Union authorities.
Later political career.
During the Reconstruction Era, Confederate veterans were initially prohibited from holding public office or from practicing law in West Virginia without taking a test oath. The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill in 1868 that allowed Monroe to practice law without having to swear an oath. Following the passage of this bill, he resumed the practice of law in Romney. On February 23, 1871, West Virginia announced an election for delegates to a constitutional convention to update the state’s 1863 constitution. The election for delegates was held in August 1871, and Hampshire County elected Monroe and James Dillon Armstrong. Monroe and Armstrong represented the county at the West Virginia Constitutional Convention in January 1872 in Charleston. In 1875, Monroe returned to politics when he was elected as a Democrat to represent Hampshire County in the West Virginia House of Delegates for one two-year term. It was during this legislative session that Monroe served as Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was the first delegate to represent Hampshire County in both the Virginia General Assembly and the West Virginia Legislature.
In March 1875 and a year later in March 1876, he was appointed by Governor John Jeremiah Jacob and the West Virginia Board of Public Works as a director for the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane in Weston. In June 1876 at the state Democratic convention in Charleston, Monroe was selected as a delegate from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district to attend the 1876 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis.
Monroe again served as a member of the House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1879 to 1883. He was nominated for the house speakership but lost to George H. Moffet. In 1881, Monroe was a member of the Joint Revisory Committee, which was charged with amending the laws and statutes of the West Virginia Code.
Throughout his political career, Monroe continued to engage in the practice of law in Romney. In 1887 he and Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy were the defense attorneys for Annie Offner, who had been accused of murdering her lover Benjamin Brooks.
Business pursuits.
On February 23, 1871, the West Virginia Legislature passed an act incorporating the South Branch Railway Company, responsible for the construction and operation of a branch line connecting Romney with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad main line at Green Spring. Monroe was named by the legislature as one of the commissioners of the South Branch Railway Company, charged with the responsibility of signing up investors to purchase capital stock in the company.
Later life and death.
During his later years, Monroe resided on his farm on the Little Cacapon River in the Barnes Mill community of Hampshire County. Monroe succumbed to heart failure and died the night of March 16, 1905, at his home near Romney. Monroe was survived by his second wife Margaret and their four children. Monroe is interred with his wife Margaret at Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney.
Marriage and children.
In 1852, Monroe married his first wife, Sarah A. French, daughter of John and Eleanor French. Monroe and his wife Sarah had one son, James W. Monroe. Following Sarah's death, Monroe married his second wife, Margaret Ellen Pugh, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Pugh, on November 21, 1866. Monroe and Margaret had at least four children:


Foster Blodgett


PATCO Speedline

The Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) Speedline (signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line, or simply PATCO) is a rapid transit system operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation, which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden County, New Jersey. The Speedline runs underground in Philadelphia, crosses the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, runs underground in Camden, then runs above ground to the east end of the line in Lindenwold, New Jersey. The Port Authority Transit Corporation and the Speedline are owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. The line transports over 38,000 people daily. In 2012, ridership reached a ten-year high, with the system having carried 10,612,897 passengers, but dipped to 10,007,256 in 2014.
Speedline operation began on January 4, 1969 between Lindenwold and Camden, New Jersey. February 15, 1969, saw the first trip from Lindenwold, New Jersey, to Center City, Philadelphia. The Speedline operates 24 hours a day, one of only a few U.S. mass transit systems to do so.
History.
Philadelphia to Camden.
The modern-day PATCO Speedline follows the route of several historical mainline railroad lines, some dating back to the 19th century. These railroads all terminated in Camden, where passengers could catch ferries across the Delaware River to Philadelphia. Early in the 20th century, the idea of a fixed Delaware River crossing connecting Camden and Philadelphia gained traction, and in 1919, the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey formed the Delaware River Bridge Joint Commission to build a bridge between the two cities. The Delaware River Bridge (now Ben Franklin Bridge) was designed to accommodate rail as well as road traffic; when it opened on July 1, 1926, it had two outboard structures beside the main roadway for rail and space for two streetcar tracks (never installed) on the main road deck. Construction of the rail line did not begin until 1932, and the "Bridge Line" opened on June 7, 1936. Relatively short, it only had four stations: 8th Street and Franklin Square in Philadelphia, and City Hall and Broadway in Camden (connecting to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines at Broadway).
In Philadelphia, the line joined the 1932-opened Broad-Ridge Spur just west of Franklin Square and shared its 8th Street / Market Street station. A tunnel continuing south under 8th Street, then west under Locust Street to 18th Street, had been started in 1917 as part of plans for a Center City subway loop. The shell of this 8th–Locust Street subway was completed, but not outfitted for passenger service, in 1933. Beginning in June 1949, Bridge Line and Ridge Spur services were through-routed, providing one-seat service between Girard station and Camden. Construction on the 8th–Locust Street subway resumed in 1950. Bridge Line service was extended to 15–16th & Locust station, with intermediate stations at 12–13th & Locust station and 9–10th & Locust station, on February 14, 1953. This section is owned by the City of Philadelphia and leased by PATCO.
Extension to Lindenwold.
Despite the extension, Bridge Line ridership was limited by high fares and not extending east of Camden. In January 1954, due to low ridership on the extension, off-peak service and Saturday again began operating between Girard and Camden, with a shuttle train operating between 8th and 16th stations. Sunday service was suspended west of 8th Street at that time due to minimal usage. By 1962, only 1,900 daily passengers boarded the line west of 8th Street.
To facilitate the construction of extensions in Southern New Jersey, the states expanded the powers of the Delaware River Joint Commission (which owned the Ben Franklin Bridge and the New Jersey portion of the Bridge Line), rechristening it as the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) in 1951. The agency commissioned Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall & MacDonald to study possible rapid transit services for South Jersey; Parsons, Brinckerhoff's final report recommended building a new tunnel under the Delaware and three lines in New Jersey. Route A would run to Moorestown, Route B to Kirkwood (now Lindenwold), and Route C to Woodbury Heights. A later study by Louis T. Klauder & Associates recommended using the Bridge Line instead to reach Philadelphia and suggested building Route B first, as it had the highest potential ridership.
Over the weekend of August 23 to 27, 1968, the Ridge Spur was connected to a new upper-level terminal platform at 8th Street station to allow conversion of the Bridge Line into the "High-Speed Line". Bridge Line service was split into 16th Street–8th Street and 8th Street–Camden segments during the conversion, with a cross-platform transfer at 8th Street. Bridge Line service was suspended on December 29, 1968 for final conversion of the line. Service from Lindenwold station to Camden along former Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trackage began on January 4, 1969; full service into Center City Philadelphia over the bridge began on February 15, 1969. The Lindenwold extension cost $92 million.
An infill park and ride station, Woodcrest, was added on February 1, 1980, along with the PATCO II railcars. Ferry Avenue Local trains were replaced with Woodcrest Local trains on September 20, 1980.
Expansion proposals.
In 2005, PATCO officials began planning a new route in the corridor of the originally proposed Route C that would serve Gloucester County and end in Glassboro on the grounds of Rowan University (formerly Glassboro State College). On May 12, 2009, Jon Corzine, the Governor of New Jersey, formally endorsed a diesel light rail along an existing Conrail right-of-way, which was selected because of its lower capital cost and operating cost. The proposed Glassboro–Camden Line would require riders to transfer to the Speedline at the Walter Rand Transportation Center for trips to Philadelphia.
The 1936 Franklin Square station, closed since 1979, is scheduled to reopen in 2024. The project is budgeted at $29.3 million with construction expected to begin in 2021. The station will be updated to modern standards and accessibility with a surface structure planned at Franklin Square.
In 2021 the City of Philadelphia proposed a westward PATCO expansion to the rapidly-growing University City district via a new rail tunnel under the Schuylkill River. The 40th Street Trolley Portal was identified as a possible terminus, near the University of Pennsylvania and several major hospitals. A connection at Penn Medicine station would provide direct SEPTA Regional Rail transfers with the Media/Elwyn Line to Delaware County, the Wilmington/Newark Line to Delaware, and the Airport Line to Philadelphia International Airport. Next steps include a feasibility study and cost estimate.
COVID-19 pandemic.
The line began operating limited service on March 28, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with trains bypassing , , , and stations. Westbound express service was also suspended. The four stations reopened on September 14, 2020, but express service remained suspended.
Trains and cars.
Rolling stock.
PATCO originally operated 121 cars which were acquired in two separate orders, labeled PATCO I and PATCO II. The original PATCO I cars were designed and manufactured by Budd of Philadelphia in 1968. Cars numbered 101-125 were single units, and cars numbered 201-250 were in permanently coupled married pairs. The PATCO II cars were delivered in 1980 (in parallel with the opening of the Woodcrest Park and ride facility) and consisted of married pairs numbered 251-296. The PATCO II cars were manufactured by Vickers Canada under a license from Budd, but are nearly indistinguishable from the PATCO I's, the only differences being that the PATCO II cars had a fixed partition behind the operator's booth and lack a stainless steel shroud below the door line to ease access to traction components.
The single units differed from the married pairs by having an extra single leaf door located behind each operators booth. This was installed before the fare collection system was finalized and there was a possibility of operators collecting fares on board during the late night hours.
The PATCO I cars were originally fitted with WABCO Model N-2 MU couplers. Because of reliability issues these were replaced by Tomlinson type couplers manufactured by Ohio Brass Company. The original electrical system in the PATCO I cars was found to have certain reliability issues and was completely rebuilt after the PATCO II cars arrived to the PATCO II standard.
As built, the PATCO cars used camshaft resistance type motor controllers common to DC powered rapid transit vehicles up through the 1980s. The unique whine of the motors and gear assemblies can lead many to mistake the cars for using thyristor drive or even a variable-frequency drive, but this is not the case. Bogies are of the Budd designed Pioneer III variety and while lightweight, provide for a very bouncy ride. The married pair cars shared a single motor control unit and automatic operation box. Many PATCO Car design features also appeared in the M1/M3 class of MU railcars for the Long Island Rail Road which provides for a similar riding experience.
Operation.
PATCO was one of the first transit systems to incorporate automatic train operation for regular service. The PATCO ATO is an analogue system that makes use of pulse code cab signaling supplied by Union Switch and Signal. The cab signals supply one of five different speeds (, , , and ) and the on-board ATO gear will supply maximum acceleration or maximum braking force to reach that target speed. The frequent use of such high acceleration and deceleration rates makes for a quick ride, yet one that can occasionally be perilous for non-seated passengers. Automatic station stops are handled by track mounted transponders and can be overridden by the operator for non-stopping trains.
The system suffers from problems handling slippery track conditions and human operators are required to take control in any sort of precipitation. Because of the ATO limitations, drivers must make one trip per day under manual operation to stay in practice and are not penalized for running their trains manually at any time of their choosing. In practice, most operators prefer automatic operation as not only is it less effort, but it also tends to result in faster trips.
The system was designed for one person train operation, also known as OPTO by exclusively utilizing island platforms and right-handed operation with operators sitting on the left side of the vehicle where they can open their window and monitor the boarding process. Where trains have to use the "wrong" side, mirrors are provided to give the operator a proper view. Prior to the rebuild, the operator was not isolated from the passenger cabin, instead being surrounded by a low partition. Operators wishing privacy could pull a curtain closed during operation, but were still on call to answer inquiries from passengers and when the booth was not in use, a lockable cover slid over the console controls. all of the legacy vehicles have been rebuilt with modern controls and full width cabs. The Operators are still responsible, opening and closing the doors, sounding the horn, starting the train from station stops and full manual operation of the train (when necessary). The rebuild also replaced the manual announcements with automated announcements.
Trains operate at a maximum of on the surface portion of the system, over the bridge, and in the subway portion. Trains used to have a top speed of on the surface portion, but this caused excessive wear on the traction motors and was cut back to in the 1970s.
PATCO runs the majority of its trains in 2-, 4- or 6-car configurations. Before the Alstom rebuild, single-unit trains were occasionally seen late at night, while 3- or 5-car trains were encountered only when not enough cars are available to meet the load line. All stations are capable of handling 7- or 8-car trains, but these lengths have never been run except for brief testing and for the annual holiday "Santa Train" special for children. In an effort to contain costs, PATCO actively manages its consist length as opposed to running trains in fixed sets. Train length is matched to the demand level for that particular time of day. In peak periods trains are 6 cars long, on "shoulder" periods they are 4 cars long, off peak they are 2 cars long, and overnight sometimes single units were run alone (this is no longer possible as the single units have since been converted into 2-car married pairs as part of the Alstom rebuild). Due to recent capital improvements, weekend and mid-day headways have grown, prompting PATCO to run 4-car trains all day, albeit less frequently than the 2-car trains.
Cabin.
PATCO maintained the same interior styling in its vehicles from their introduction in 1969 through the end of the rebuilding process in 2018 with the 1980 PATCO II cars receiving the exact same look. The color combination was a base of cream with an avocado green fill. The rebuild replaced this with a grey and white interior with brighter fluorescent lighting. Seating is a 2+2 arrangement, with half of the seats in each car facing the direction of travel, and half facing the opposite direction. Seats originally ran the full length of the car, with the front seats next to the operator's booth having the benefit of a large picture window. However, the newly refurbished cars now have full-width operator's cabs, resulting in the loss of four passenger seats, in addition to a number of folding longitudinal seats for ADA compliance.
Each PATCO car has a pair of doors on each side with a foyer area inside the doors for standing passengers. There are also hand-holds on all seat backs for standing passengers the entire length of the aisles. Car end-doors are unlocked, but inter-car movement is discouraged because of the extreme motions between cars. Interior cabs are halved to free up the space for passengers, however both cabs at the front and rear of any train are left in their full width configuration.
Refurbishment.
PATCO announced plans for the complete refurbishment of the entire fleet with work expected to begin in 2009. The contract for rebuilding the rolling stock was awarded to Alstom, at a cost of $194.2 million, beating Bombardier's bid by $35 million, though Bombardier claimed the contract was incorrectly awarded. PATCO began to ship the railcars with their trucks removed and replaced with highway tires for the road trip to the Alstom facility in Hornell, New York, in March 2011.
The refurbishment consisted of a completely new interior with more modern colors, wheelchair access and more reliable HVAC systems. The rollsigns were replaced with digital displays, and the cars received automated announcements. These changes reduced seating by eight seats, from 160 to 152. The refurbishment also saw the replacement of the propulsion and automatic train operation systems, which used technology last updated in the early 1980s; the camshaft resistance type motor controller was replaced by a new solid state unit using IGBTs and the relay based ATO unit was replaced by a computerized system. The General Electric DC motors, Pioneer III trucks and gearboxes were not replaced, but rebuilt by Alstom as well. Also, Alstom purchased many extra GE 1255 A2 motors from retired Metro-North Railroad M-1A's from a scrap dealer in Ohio, and rebuilt them to provide PATCO with extra DC motors for future replacement if needed, or required.
The first rebuilt cars were redelivered to PATCO's Lindenwold, New Jersey Shops on November 12, 2013, and were tested accordingly before going into service. Rebuilt cars are being renumbered into the 1000 series instead of their former numbers. The formerly single unit cars were converted into married-pair type cars instead of their former singles status, with the former single-leaf door behind the train operators position removed and sealed-off. The rebuilding is expected to extend the lives of these cars by 20 years, similar to the rebuilds received by many of the New York City Subway's cars from R26's thru the R46's. On May 28, 2015, after over a year and a half of exhaustive testing, and after a brief ceremony, along with a public unveiling for the rebuilt cars was held at the Woodcrest Station for all interested parties, passengers or persons alike, the first four (4) of the rebuilt cars (1095-6 & 1101-2, formerly or ex-295-6 and ex-101 and 102 the former single units respectively) were finally placed back into service, as Alstom has worked to iron-out most of the teething bugs and problems with the communications, automatic train control, propulsion, braking systems, and other bugs out of the sixteen redelivered cars during their 500 hours of extensive mandatory acceptance testing period, which these cars passed on December 16, 2014. The recorded announcements on the refurbished cars are provided by Bernie Wagenblast.
In rebuilding these cars, PATCO and Alstom had struggled to incorporate new computer technology into the operational systems of these 46-year-old train cars, causing computer interface problems between PATCO's old 1969 DC technology, and Alstom's new 2014 AC technologies. As a result, Alstom proceeded with the rebuilding of the remaining fleet of cars at a production and delivery rate of 4 to 6 cars per month until all cars went through the rebuilding process.
The final run of the non-refurbished "legacy" trains took place on June 10, 2018, with a contest held for a rider to sit in the front row seat for the last time, something that is no longer possible with the refurbished trains. , All 120 cars have been overhauled and accepted back into service. The car that was excluded for the rebuilding program was single car #116, which was damaged beyond repair by an arson fire back in 1997.
Signaling.
PATCO trains are governed by a Pulse code cab signaling system which transmits signal codes to the trains via the running rails. Wayside signals are located only at interlockings. Even when the Automatic Train Operation System is not in use, the cab signal speed control function is still enabled and if an operator goes above the permitted speed, the power is cut and the brakes are applied until the speed is back within the limit. The entire PATCO system is run from Center Tower, centrally located above a substation near the Broadway station in Camden.
Power.
All PATCO trains are electrically powered. Power comes from a top contact covered third rail at 750 V DC. There are two feeds from the commercial power grid, one located in Philadelphia from PECO Energy for the old Bridge Line tunnel segments and the other in New Jersey from PSE&G for the new mainline segments. In New Jersey power is distributed via wayside AC transmission lines in the 26.4 kV range and a series of 7 substations, located approximately every , transform and rectify the current to the 750 V DC used in the third rail.
Fare collection.
Magnetic system.
From its beginning in 1969, PATCO used a magnetic ticket as the sole means of collecting fares. The plastic tickets may still be bought for single rides through vending machines in the stations. These machines once required coins, so bill changers were placed in stations. Each vending machine was capable of selling two types of tickets, which the rider chose by pushing a button after inserting the correct fare. Several machines were needed in each station, since different types of one-way and two-way tickets needed to be sold. After the ticket was purchased, it was inserted through a turnstile gate. To exit the station, it was inserted again, and if it had rides remaining, returned to the rider. A ticket with no rides was re-encoded by the system and returned to use in the vending machine. Tickets could also be purchased in ten-trip passes, but these were obtained through mail or in an office.
At its inception, this system was state-of-the-art, but became more problematic as the years went on. Tickets were vulnerable to damage from magnetic sources such as cell phones and PDAs that did not exist when the system was put in place, and the equipment to read and code the farecards began to suffer from extreme reliability problems as well as replacement part availability.
Freedom system.
In July 2006, PATCO announced that it would start the transition from a magnetic ticket fare system to an electronic smart card system. Magnetic tickets are still sold, for the occasional riders, however they are now in a paper form. The new computer vending machines allow more advanced purchasing options for Freedom Cards (the term used for the smart cards). Payment can now be in the form of coins, bills, credit cards, or debit cards; however, credit and debit cards can only be used to load fare onto a Freedom Card or purchase a new card. PATCO has a system that allows balances to be reloaded on the Internet.
Each fare machine in the unpaid areas (i.e. outside the gates) performs all transactions (except for SEPTA transfers in PA stations, as the transfers are only sold on the unpaid side of NJ stations). Also, to augment the call-for-aid phones, there are now exit fare machines located inside of the fare gates, so that if a rider has purchased the wrong fare, they may pay the remaining fare to exit.
The system has been in use by the general public at all PATCO stations since its launch in 2007.
The system was put into effect in an attempt to gain ridership, which had fallen sharply since its peak in 1990. The system was designed, built and integrated by Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.
Because of the system's flexibility, it could eventually be used on the SEPTA and RiverLine rail networks, allowing an integration of the systems.
Because the smart cards store value (instead of "rides") and the paper tickets expire after three days, it is no longer possible to hoard "rides" in advance of a fare increase. Also, the combination of the contactless card payment and the new swinging fare gates have decreased turnstile throughput, resulting in long exit queues after a train discharges a load of passengers at a station.
Open payment.
In September 2011 PATCO started Phase One of a pilot program for a new form of open payment called PATCO Wave And Pay Anywhere. Phase One allowed for a PATCO-branded prepaid Visa card. The card was also put in by CUBIC Transportation Systems. It required a $6.00 balance to travel on PATCO. The card works the same as the Freedom Card except it could be used at any location that accepts Visa.
In April 2012, Phase Two of this open payment system was initiated. This phase allowed for station gates and parking terminals to accept other forms of contactless payment systems in use by Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. In addition to credit cards with the technology built in, the system also accepted Near field communication virtual wallet payment methods such as Google Wallet. This pilot program ended in October 2012. Processing costs were deemed too high to continue the program, which was otherwise considered successful by PATCO management.
Connections to other transit systems.
New Jersey Transit connections.
New Jersey Transit buses connect to most PATCO stations in New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line also stops at Lindenwold Station, and the River Line connects at Broadway Station (Walter Rand Transportation Center).
SEPTA connections.
The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Market–Frankford Line connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station, which is two blocks away from SEPTA's Jefferson Station, where all but one of SEPTA's regional trains stop.
SEPTA's Broad Street Line connects to PATCO at the Walnut–Locust station via a short underground walkway to PATCO's 12th-13th & Locust, and 15-16th & Locust stations. The Broad-Ridge Spur connects to PATCO at the 8th & Market Station via a pedestrian walkway.
Formerly, a special "SEPTA Transfer" ticket could be purchased from the unpaid side of any New Jersey station. These tickets were sold for $3.50 ($1.75 per ride, a savings compared to a single $2.25 cash fare or a token for $2.00) and dispensed two paper receipts, one good for a ride within one hour of the time of purchase and another good for a ride within 24 hours of the time of purchase. Originally, both transfers were going to be valid for 24 hours, however, PATCO changed the time limit to prevent the unauthorized sale of PATCO transfers at Pennsylvania stations.
With the release of SEPTA Key, a new type of Freedom card is now required to purchase a transfer to the SEPTA system. The cost of a transfer is $2 with this system and it is debited directly from an account based Freedom Card account, provided a new Freedom Share card is used, which is compatible with both PATCO Freedom and SEPTA Key card systems.
Station list.
Some westbound trains skip Collingswood, Westmont, and Haddonfield during the morning rush hour.


Alabama, Florida and Gulf Railroad

The Alabama, Florida and Gulf Railroad ran from Ardilla, Alabama to Greenwood, Florida. The line started as a logging railroad owned by the E.L. Marbury Lumber Company of Dothan, Alabama, running from Ardilla to Malone, Florida, where the company had a sawmill. Marbury Lumber incorporated the railroad as the Alabama, Florida and Southern Railroad in 1910. The railroad was sold in 1917 to W. S. Wilson, who changed its name to the Alabama, Florida and Gulf Railroad, and extended the track from Malone to Greenwood. The railroad was placed in receivership in 1924 and sold after foreclosure to the Bank of Dothan. The bank was in turn placed in receivership. The railroad was sold for US$10,000 in 1936, and the name was changed again to the Alabama and Florida Railroad. The primary motive power left on the railroad was a diesel railbus. The railroad ceased operation in 1941 and the equipment was sold for scrap.


Acheson Tunnel

The Acheson Tunnel is a railroad tunnel in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Acheson Tunnel has also been referred to as "Taggert Tunnel". In fact, both names can be seen on the portals of the tunnel.


Little River Railroad (Michigan)

The Little River Railroad is a heritage railroad located in Coldwater, Michigan. The train runs to Quincy, Michigan and occasionally Hillsdale, Michigan.
It is dedicated to the restoration and operation of historic railroad equipment such as steam locomotives. The railroad began operations in 1975.
The railroad operates passenger train excursions from Memorial Day weekend through the last weekend in October with eight Christmas excursions in December, along parts of the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, now owned by the Indiana Northeastern Railroad section named "The Old Road."
Locomotives.
Source
Rolling Stock.
Source


South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

The South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge would have carried the South Pennsylvania Railroad rail lines across the Susquehanna River between Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Work began on the South Penn and was abruptly halted by banker J. P. Morgan in 1885 when he called a truce in the railroad wars that threatened to undermine investor confidence in the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. Eight piers still rise from the water at the west side of the river near the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge.


CCT Rail System

CCT Rail System Corporation is a US shortline railroad holding company that owns and operates the Rogue Valley Terminal Railroad Corporation.
The company was founded in Superior, Wisconsin. In June 2014, the company relocated its offices to White City, Oregon in order to be closer to the rail operations of Rogue Valley Terminal Railroad
History.
The company was founded on November 20, 2012 as RVTR Rail Holdings LLC for the purpose of acquiring the WCTU Railway LLC (WCTR) from Marmon Transportation Services LLC, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway. CCT successfully acquired WCTR on December 17, 2012.
To effectively re-organize and re-brand the company as a platform for acquiring and operating other North American shortline railroads in the future, the company was renamed the CCT Rail System Corporation on March 15, 2013. The company's then-sole subsidiary, WCTR, was also renamed Rogue Valley Terminal Railroad Corporation (RVT) on the same date, in order to better market the broader Southern Oregon region served by the railroad.
In March 2019, the company launched Safe Route Railcar Services Corporation, a private railcar storage, maintenance and cleaning firm.


Nevada Northern Railway Museum

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Museum activities include restoration and operation of historic railroad equipment and various hands on experiences and a variety of special events including seasonal trains for Halloween and Santa-themed trains for Christmas. This is one of the few places in the world where visitors can actually operate a steam locomotive, but this experience requires some advanced planning.
Location and history.
The museum is situated at the East Ely Yards, which are part of the Nevada Northern Railway. The site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places as the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops and is also known as the "Nevada Northern Railway Complex". The rail yards were designated a National Historic Landmark District on September 27, 2006. The site was cited as one of the best-preserved early 20th-century railroad yards in the nation, and a key component in the growth of the region's copper mining industry. Developed in the first decade of the 20th century, it served passengers and freight until 1983, when the Kennecott Copper Company, its then-owner, donated the yard to a local non-profit for preservation. The property came complete with all of the company records of the Nevada Northern from its inception.
Collection.
The museum collection includes four of the railroad's original steam locomotives, an electric locomotive and several diesel-electric locomotives, as well as a collection of maintenance equipment and numerous historic freight and passenger rail cars. Two of the steam locomotives, #40 and #93, are in operation in regularly scheduled events throughout the year; with #81 currently under restoration to operating condition. Locomotive #40 is the official State Locomotive of Nevada. The museum also maintains an extensive fleet of its original rolling stock, including passenger cars, wood-side box cars, ore cars, and work trains, all dating from the 1910s. It has the oldest operating tank car and the oldest operating coal-fired steam crane on any American railroad.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, the Nevada Northern Railway was part of the "Olympic Steam Team", carrying spectators to the Soldier Hollow Olympic venue on the Heber Valley Railroad; with locomotive #93 sent to Utah to participate. The day prior to the Opening Ceremony of the games, #93 joined Heber's two steam locomotives in a triple-headed train, and used to transport the Olympic flame from Soldier Hollow to Heber City, Utah as part of the torch relay.
In early November 2020, locomotive #40 was taken out of service for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated 1,472-day inspection and overhaul. The museum currently expects to have locomotive #40 back in service again in 2022. The museum also currently expects to have locomotive #81 completed with its restoration to operation and have it running again for the first time by Memorial Day weekend of 2021. By 2022, the museum will have all three of its operating steam locomotives, #40, #93 and #81, in service.
Depot building.
The "East Ely Depot" served passengers on the Nevada Northern. The Mission Revival style depot was designed by Frederick Hale and built in 1907. It reflects a standardized vernacular that borrows primarily from the Mission Revival style, as well as from Renaissance Revival.
The two story depot is set on a stone foundation. The ground floor is rusticated stone, separated from the upper level by a painted stone belt course, with a stuccoed second story. The gables are curvilinear in the accepted Mission Revival style. The well-preserved interior retains separate men's and women's waiting rooms, with baggage and express rooms. Offices are on the second floor.
The depot was a significant location on the Nevada Northern as the chief embarkation point for the copper mining region of White Pine County. The location of the depot was a matter of controversy between the railroad and residents of Ely, who successfully sued the railroad to change the depot's name from Ely to East Ely to reflect its distance from the main townsite. The railroad, originally owned by the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, was transferred to the Kennecott Copper Company in 1933 when it took over Consolidated's mining operations. Passenger service on the Nevada Northern stopped in 1941, and the depot was used for Kennecott offices until 1985. The state of Nevada acquired the depot in 1990 for the museum.
The East Ely Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Heritage Railroad.
The museum & Ely City own the entire original Nevada Northern Railway route, however only a small segment from Ruth to Ely and from Ely to McGill is currently in use by the railroad for the tourist trains. Another isolated segment connecting to the Union Pacific mainline at Shafter, Nevada is used for car storage.
In popular culture.
The depot building was used for scenes in the 2001 film, "Rat Race". The museum appeared in a 2010 episode of "Modern Marvels", titled "Super Steam." The museum also appeared in six episodes of "American Restoration", and was referenced in a 2017 episode of "The Big Bang Theory". The Railroad's locomotive #40 was featured prominently in the 2017 J-pop music video "Black Train" by artists Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, with the artist riding the front of the locomotive while singing.
In 2019, the railroad's shop cat "Dirt" went viral after photos of him were posted online by professional photographer Steve Crise. Born in 2008, the cat has been named the railroad's mascot.


Western America Railroad Museum

The Western America Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Barstow, California.
The museum collects, preserves and shares the history of railroading in the Pacific Southwest. It is located on the east side of the Harvey House Railroad Depot and is operated by a non-profit organization.
It houses displays inside the depot and has indoor displays of railroad artifacts, artwork, timetables, uniforms, tools and various other types of railroad items.
There are also outdoor displays of rolling stock, locomotives and general railroad operating equipment. The museum also houses Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway #1460, also known as the “Beep”, and Union Pacific EMD SD40-2 #9950.


Alleghany Corporation

Alleghany Corporation is an investment holding company originally created by the railroad entrepreneurs Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 1929 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1984.
After the company's bankruptcy in the Great Depression, control of the company fell into the hands of Robert Ralph Young and Allan Price Kirby. Young used the company as a vehicle for his vendetta against the J.P. Morgan banking interests, who had financed the Van Sweringens and managed to defeat them and the Vanderbilt interests in a 1954 proxy fight for the New York Central Railroad. The failing New York Central was in worse shape than Young had bargained for and he committed suicide shortly after being forced to suspend the dividend in January 1958. After Young's death, his role in NYC management was assumed by his protégé Alfred E. Perlman. Although much had been accomplished to streamline NYC operations, in those tough economic times, mergers with other railroads were seen as the only possible road to financial stability. The most likely suitor became the NYC's former arch-rival Pennsylvania Railroad. During the early 1960s, New York Central negotiated a merger with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was led by Stuart T. Saunders after 1963. Saunders had most recently led the Norfolk and Western Railway through a successful expansion through acquisition and mergers including the Virginian Railway, Nickel Plate Road and Wabash Railway. There was great hope that success would result from the NYC-PRR combination. Penn Central Transportation Company was formed by the merger on February 1, 1968. However, the underlying financial weakness of both former railroads, combined with the fact that the ICC forced the chronically weak New Haven Railroad into the system, doomed the Penn Central and bankruptcy was declared a little over 2 years later, on June 21, 1970. Many of the Penn Central railroad assets ended up in Conrail, formed in 1976. The bankruptcy of the Penn Central railroad mostly ended Alleghany's involvement in the railroad business.
The company's residual railroad investments led to president and CEO John J. Burns serving on the board of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation from 1995 to 2004.
Now Alleghany Corporation focuses on the insurance business (property, casualty, surety and fidelity insurance). Until his death in February 2011, Allan Kirby's son, Fred M. Kirby 2nd, was the chairman of the board and a sometime member of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans.
Current portfolio.
Alleghany's current portfolio includes:
Former holdings.
Former holdings include:


Frederick Baldwin Adams

Frederick Baldwin Adams (5 February 187823 October 1961) was an American businessman and philanthropist.
Early life.
Adams was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a bank cashier. His father had moved to Ohio from New England. Frederick was sent east to attend St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, at the age of fourteen. From St. Paul's, he went to Yale, where he received an AB in 1900. He was a member of the Skull and Bones society.
Career.
His first job after Yale was as a claim agent for the Mohawk Division of the New York Central Railroad. In 1902 he became secretary to Robert C. Pruyn, and the following year became secretary of the Union Trust Company of Albany. It was only a few years later when Robert Pruyn would hire Charles Edward Adams as his secretary, Frederick's brother, a graduate of St. Paul's and a member of Skull and Bones. Adams moved to New York City in 1905 to become a partner in the firm of Potter, Choate and Prentice.
During his lifetime he served as Chairman of the West Indies Sugar Corp. He was also connected with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; the Louisville & Nashville Railroad; the Clinchfield Railroad; and the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railroad. Adams also branched out into other areas, becoming involved with the Union Trust Company of Albany; the Wright Aeronautical Company; the Air Reduction Company; Potter, Choate & Prentice; and Schroder, Rockefeller & Co.
Adams was Chairman of the Board of the Air Reduction Company. It was engaged in the manufacture and sale of oxygen, acetylene, and other gasses and oxy-acetylene cutting and welding equipment. It was the leading company of its field and had links to Lee, Higginson & Co., the Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Guaranty Trust Co. In 1930, the company made over $5 million in profits.
Adams was involved with the Boys Club of New York, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the Fifth Avenue Hospital, and served on the planning committee of the Roosevelt National Memorial. He was a member of the Knickerbocker Club of New York.
Personal life.
In 1907, he was married to Ellen Walters Delano. Ellen, a first cousin of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the daughter of Warren Delano IV, and the granddaughter of William Thompson Walters, a merchant and art collector. They had two children:
With the small fortune he made from his business interests, Adams maintained a house in New York City, a summer home on Campobello Island, and a plantation on the Cape Fear River.
Adams died in 1961 at River House, New York City, from a long illness.


Grand Elk Railroad

The Grand Elk Railroad is a Class III railroad which operates in the states of Indiana and Michigan. It is one of 40+ short-line railroads owned by Watco Companies of Pittsburg, Kansas.
The company leases a line from the Norfolk Southern running south from Grand Rapids, Michigan through Kalamazoo, Michigan to Elkhart, Indiana. The line they lease was a former Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad mainline from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo. From Kalamazoo to Elkhart, IN they use a former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern branch. Watco Companies projects 22,000 carloads per year from 55 customers. Operations began on March 8, 2009.
The railroad connects with three larger railroads, the Norfolk Southern (Elkhart and Kalamazoo), CSX (Grand Rapids) and Canadian National (Kalamazoo, Michigan via CN Kilgore Yard) as well as three short line railroads, the Marquette Rail (Grand Rapids), Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad (Grand Rapids), and Michigan Southern Railroad (White Pigeon, Michigan).


Railway Labor Act

The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law on US labor law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes to resolve labor disputes. Its provisions were originally enforced under the Board of Mediation, but they were later enforced under a National Mediation Board.
Earlier laws.
In 1877, protests broke out in Martinsburg, West Virginia when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut worker pay for the third time in a year. West Virginia Governor Henry M. Mathews sent militia under Colonel Charles J. Faulkner to restore order but was unsuccessful largely because of militia sympathies with the workers. The governor reluctantly called for federal assistance, which restored peace to Martinsburg but proved to be controversial, with many newspapers critical of the governor's characterization of the strikes as an "insurrection," rather than an act of desperation. One notable paper recorded a striking worker's perspective that he "had might as well die by the bullet as
to starve to death by inches." A day after federal troops had restored order in Martinsburg, similar protests erupted in Maryland and spread to New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri. The strikes, which lasted six weeks, would come to be known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Congress later passed the Arbitration Act of 1888, which authorized the creation of arbitration panels with the power to investigate the causes of labor disputes and to issue non-binding arbitration awards. The Act was a complete failure since only one panel was ever convened under the Act: in the case of the 1894 Pullman Strike, it issued its report only after the strike had been ended by a federal court injunction, backed by federal troops.
Congress attempted to correct the shortcomings in the Erdman Act, passed in 1898. The Act likewise provided for voluntary arbitration but made any award issued by the panel binding and enforceable in federal court. It also outlawed discrimination against employees for union activities, prohibited "yellow dog contracts" (in which an employee agreed not to join a union during employment), and required both sides to maintain the status quo during any arbitration proceedings and for three months after an award was issued. The arbitration procedures were rarely used. A successor statute, the Newlands Labor Act of 1913, which created the Board of Mediation, proved to be more effective. It was largely superseded when the federal government nationalized the railroads in 1917, after the US entered World War I. (See United States Railroad Administration.)
The Adamson Act, passed in 1916, provided workers with an eight-hour day at the same daily wage they had received previously for a ten-hour day, and it required time-and-a-half pay for overtime work. Another law passed that year, amid increasing concerns about the war in Europe, gave US President Woodrow Wilson the power to "take possession of and assume control of any system of transportation" for transportation of troops and war material.
Wilson exercised that authority on December 26, 1917. While Congress considered nationalizing the railroads on a permanent basis after the war, the Wilson administration announced that it was returning the railroad system to its owners. However, Congress tried to preserve, the most successful features of the federal wartime administration, which were the adjustment boards, by creating a Railroad Labor Board (RLB) with the power to issue nonbinding proposals for the resolution of labor disputes, as part of the Esch–Cummins Act (Transportation Act of 1920).
The RLB soon destroyed whatever moral authority its decisions might have had in a series of decisions. In 1921, it ordered a twelve percent reduction in employees' wages, which the railroads were quick to implement. The following year, when shop employees of the railroads launched a national strike, the RLB issued a declaration that purported to outlaw the strike, and the US Department of Justice obtained an injunction that carried out that declaration. From then on, railway unions refused to have anything to do with the RLB.
Passage and amendment.
The RLA was the product of negotiations between the major railroad companies and the unions that represented their employees. Like its predecessors, it relied on boards of adjustment, established by the parties, to resolve labor disputes, with a government-appointed Board of Mediation to attempt to resolve those disputes that board of adjustment could not. The RLA promoted voluntary arbitration as the best method for resolving those disputes that the Board of Mediation could not settle.
Congress strengthened the procedures in the 1934 amendments to the Act, which created a procedure for resolving whether a union had the support of the majority of employees in a particular "craft or class," while turning the Board of Mediation into a permanent agency, the National Mediation Board (NMB), with broader powers.
Congress extended the RLA to cover airline employees in 1936.
Bargaining and strikes.
Unlike the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which adopts a less interventionist approach to the way the parties conduct collective bargaining or resolve their disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements, the RLA specifies both (1) the negotiation and mediation procedures that unions and employers must exhaust before they may change the status quo and (2) the methods for resolving "minor" disputes over the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements.
The RLA permits strikes over major disputes only after the union has exhausted the RLA's negotiation and mediation procedures and bars almost all strikes over minor disputes. The RLA also authorizes the courts to enjoin strikes if the union has not exhausted those procedures.
On the other hand, the RLA imposes fewer restrictions on the tactics that unions may use when they do have the right to strike. The RLA, unlike the NLRA, allows secondary boycotts against other RLA-regulated carriers and permits employees to engage in other types of strikes, such as intermittent strikes, that might be unprotected under the NLRA.
"Major" and "minor" disputes.
The RLA categorizes all labor disputes as either "major" disputes, which concern the making or modification of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties, or "minor" disputes, which involve the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements. Unions can strike over major disputes only after they have exhausted the RLA's "almost interminable" negotiation and mediation procedures. They cannot, on the other hand, strike over minor disputes, either during the arbitration procedures or after an award is issued.
The federal courts have the power to enjoin a strike over a major dispute if the union has not exhausted the RLA's negotiation and mediation procedures. The Norris-LaGuardia Act dictates the procedures that the court must follow. Once the NMB releases the parties from mediation, however, they retain the power to engage in strikes or lockouts, even if they subsequently resume negotiations or the NMB offers mediation again.
The federal courts likewise have the power to enjoin a union from striking over arbitrable disputes, that is minor disputes. The court may, on the other hand, also require the employer to restore the status quo as a condition of any injunctive relief against a strike.
Major dispute bargaining is handled through the "Section 6" process, named for the section of the Act that describes the bargaining process. The railroad carriers have formed a coalition for national handling of Railway Labor Act bargaining under Section 6, named the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC). The railroad unions also form coalitions of various unions to increase bargaining power in the Section 6 process.
Discipline and replacement of strikers.
Carriers may lawfully replace strikers engaged in a lawful strike but may not, however, discharge them except for misconduct or eliminate their jobs to retaliate against them for striking. It is not clear whether the employer can discharge workers for striking before all of the RLA's bargaining and mediation processes have been exhausted.
The employer must also allow strikers to replace replacements hired on a temporary basis and permanent replacements who have not completed the training required before they can become active employees. The employer may, on the other hand, allow less senior employees who crossed the picket line to keep the jobs they were given after crossing the line, even if the seniority rules in effect before the strike would have required the employer to reassign their jobs to returning strikers.
Representation elections.
The NMB has the responsibility for conducting elections when a union claims to represent a carrier's employees. The NMB defines the craft or class of employees eligible to vote, which almost always extends to all of the employees performing a particular job function throughout the company's operations, rather than just those at a particular site or in a particular region.
A union seeking to represent an unorganized group of employees must produce signed and dated authorization cards or other proof of support from at least 50℅ of the craft or class. A party attempting to oust an incumbent union must produce evidence of support from a majority of the craft of class and then the NMB must conduct an election. If the employees are unrepresented and the employer agrees, the NMB may certify the union based on the authorization cards alone.
The NMB usually uses mail ballots to conduct elections, unlike the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has historically preferred walk-in elections under the NLRA. The NMB can order a rerun election if it determines that either an employer or union has interfered with employees' free choice.
Protecting employees' rights.
Unlike the NLRA, which gives the NLRB nearly exclusive power to enforce the Act, the RLA allows employees to sue in federal court to challenge an employer's violation of the Act. The courts can grant employees reinstatement and backpay, along with other forms of equitable relief.


Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch

The Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch was a railroad refrigerator car line established as a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1884 to carry perishable commodities. Though the line started out with a mere 25 ventilated fruit cars and 8 ice-cooled refrigerator cars, by 1910 its roster had swollen to 6,055 total units (compared to the 8,100 units its largest competitor, the Pacific Fruit Express, operated).
As of 1929 the line was carrying some 43 percent of California's citrus crop, most of which travelled aboard its "Green Fruit Express" refrigerator car special. Some 100,000 produce loads were shipped from the fields of Arizona and California to East Coast markets each growing season.
Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch Roster, 1890–1970:


2005 New York City transit strike

The 2005 New York City transit strike, held from December 20 through 22, 2005, was the third strike ever by the Transport Workers Union Local 100 against New York City's Transit Authority and involved between 32,000 and 34,000 strikers.
In December 2005, the TWU Local 100 called a strike in New York City. Negotiations for a new contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) broke down over retirement, pension, and wage increases. The strike began at 3:00 a.m. EST on December 20. Most New York City Transit Authority and MTA Bus Company personnel observed the strike, effectively halting all service on the subway and buses, except for routes operated from the Spring Creek Depot, where workers represented by ATU Local 1181/1061 had a contract in force after striking against the predecessor operator, Command Bus Company, the previous year. Millions of commuters were affected. The strike officially ended at 2:35 p.m. EST on December 22, 2005. Service was restored overnight, with all transportation systems fully operational by the morning commute of the 23rd.
On December 27, 2005 the executive board of Local 100 of the TWU accepted a 37-month contract offer from the MTA. The 37-month length was crucial, as the last contract ended on December 15, causing disruption of the New York City economy in the middle of the holiday season. The next contract would expire in mid-January. (However, the union workers rejected the new contract by 7 votes – 11,234 to 11,227 – on January 20, 2006, but overwhelmingly approved it three months later, even though the offer had been legally retracted.)
This was the third strike ever against New York City's Transit Authority. The first was a 12-day walkout in 1966 which prompted the creation of New York's Taylor Law. The second was the 11-day 1980 strike. The 2005 strike, which took place during the busiest shopping week of the year, significantly affected the local economy temporarily, at an estimated total of $80 million.
On April 10, 2006, Justice Theodore T. Jones sentenced Local 100 President Roger Toussaint to ten days in jail and a week later, the union was fined $2.5 million and the automatic deduction of dues from all members was suspended.
Timeline.
Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), Local 726 (Staten Island) and Local 1056 (Queens) of the Amalgamated Transit Union walked off the job around 3:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2005, after contract talks broke down during the night, and union negotiators left the bargaining table. TWU members returned to work after an apparent breakthrough in negotiations on December 22, 2005 at 2:35 p.m. EST.
The strike was illegal under the provisions of an addition to New York State Civil Service Law called the Public Employees Fair Employment Act, more commonly called the Taylor Law, which has been in effect since September 1, 1967. It was passed largely in response to the 1966 transit strike. It prohibits municipal workers from striking and provides alternative means for dispute resolution. The law provides for criminal penalties including imprisonment of union officials, and fines against the union and individual striking workers. On December 20, state Supreme Court Justice Theodore T. Jones ruled that the Transport Workers Union was in contempt of two court injunctions, ordering it not to strike and imposing a US$1 million per day fine against the union.
The International TWU issued a statement demanding that Local 100 TWU members return to work immediately, in light of the court injunction and the illegality of the strike. This statement would legally remove culpability from the International TWU in regards to fines levied by the courts. Additionally, International TWU leaders stated publicly that they believed that the strike should not have taken place as they believed that the talks were progressing, and that the last offer made by the MTA was fair and a show of willingness to compromise.
No formal negotiations were held from the stoppage of talks on the night of December 19, 2005 until December 21, 2005, although various news articles have cited anonymous sources that informal talks were continuing. During this period of time, both sides went to court to argue their cases. The MTA suggested binding arbitration as a possible solution, but that possibility was rejected by the local union representatives. Such a resolution could have been imposed if the state's Public Employment Relations Board had declared a formal impasse between the union and the MTA.
At 1:00 a.m. EST on December 22, 2005, the TWU leadership and the MTA were both present in the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan, talking individually with the state mediation panel. At this time, it is unclear whether the TWU and MTA conversed face-to-face. However, the two sides agreed to resume contract talks and the TWU agreed to direct its membership to return to work. Both parties agreed to a press blackout during contract talks.
Context.
Union negotiations.
Pre-strike negotiations.
The previous contract between MTA and its workers expired at 12:01 a.m. EST (05:01 UTC) December 16, 2005. The MTA and the Transport Workers Union, led by Roger Toussaint, were negotiating to settle a new contract. As they were unable to reach an agreement, the TWU extended the deadline to December 20, 2005, but since the 12:01 a.m. EST (05:01 UTC) December 20, 2005 deadline was not met, the union decided to strike.
A "limited strike" began on two private bus lines, (Jamaica Buses Incorporated and Triboro Coach Corporation), on Monday, December 19, 2005, when their 750 drivers walked off the job. Private carriers were chosen for this "limited strike" because they are not covered under New York state law. However, when these private lines were integrated into MTA Bus on January 9, 2006, their workers became public employees subject to the Taylor Law. It was unclear at the time whether negotiations with the MTA would cover these employees.
Full strikes on subways and buses began on Tuesday, December 20, 2005. The strike was announced by the union and took effect at 3:00 a.m. EST (08:00 UTC) December 20. At the time, Roger Toussaint declared: "The Local 100 Executive Board has voted overwhelmingly to extend strike action to all MTA properties effective immediately." After the announcement, it took approximately 1.5 hours for trains to finish their runs and return to the storage yards.
In the days leading up to the transit strikes, critics and supporters alike contended that any labor action would affect mainly low-income minorities, and the limited strike indeed turned out to be a real hardship for low-income Queens residents. The local union's official reason for the strike was the transit workers' grievances over the hardships that were increasingly being placed on them by the MTA, specifically the issue of pensions. Among other things, the MTA called for the retirement age to be increased seven years (from 55 to 62) and for the amounts received at retirement to be reduced dramatically through the creation of a new "tier" (Tier V) of workers. Most importantly, the MTA had insisted on requiring negotiation of pensions as a condition of negotiating of a new contract although the Taylor Law prohibits this. The MTA had agreed to keep the retirement age at 55 before the strike.
Demands and counteroffers.
The TWU demanded that all members of the union receive a 6% salary increase per year for each of the three years of the contract, plus more expensive accommodations for maternity leave, and more money to spend on station maintenance. The MTA offered a 3% raise the first year, a 4% raise the second year, and a 3.5% raise the third year. The striking workers reportedly earn an average of about US$48,000 annually.
The TWU also wanted to lower the age at which point the employee is eligible for a full pension from 55 to 50, and the number of years worked to qualify for that pension from 25 years to 20. A 20/50 pension plan had been put in place a few years after a transit strike in the mid-1960s. The immediate retirement of thousands of the most skilled workers, followed by the soaring costs of workers receiving one or more years in retirement for each year worked, was a key factor in the financial and physical collapse of New York City's transit system in the 1970s. By 1980, a less generous 25/55 pension had been imposed on new workers by the state legislature. By the time of the strike, the financial damage from the 20/50 pension plan had abated, because most of those who benefited had retired with their pensions funded, but those hired under the 25/55 plan were approaching the age at which those who preceded them had recently retired.
A dissident group within the TWU, the New Directions movement, promised a 20/50 pension plan, among other things, as part of its election campaign. After several close and bitterly contested elections, by the time of the strike it had taken over the leadership of the TWU. Despite the damage done to the transit system by a retroactive enhancement of the pension plan in the 1960s, the New York State legislature passed a 20/50 plan several times over the objections of MTA management in the years leading up to the strike. Each time it was vetoed by then-Governor Pataki, who had signed off on hugely expensive pension enhancements for other public employee unions.
Conversely, the MTA had wanted to raise the retirement age for newer workers from 55 to 62, but dropped this demand in exchange for pension contributions from new workers of 6% of gross salary per year for the first 10 years of employment. Under the previous contract, workers contribute 2% to their pension plan.
The pension benefit is not insignificant because it is estimated to cost 25% of salary over the entire 25-year period to fund a pension benefit of half the salary at age 55 for someone who starts employment at age 30. While this estimate is based on a 5% interest rate for discounting present values, a 3.5% annual salary growth rate and mortality according to the Annuity 2000 Merged Gender Mod 1 Table with ages set back 2.0 years. The key point to use the same assumptions to compare the annual yearly cost as a percent of salary for a half pay pension for someone starting at age 30 and retiring at age 62. The additional seven-year wait would drive the cost down to under 17% of salary annual cost. In essence, the MTA's proposal was a greater than 8% salary cut across the board. Using a slightly worse mortality table, the effective salary cut is still within the 7% to 6% salary cut range in terms of value given up. By not accepting the MTA pension offer, Local 100 of the TWU was not forced to a cut. Citing the rising cost of health care, the MTA wanted new employees to contribute 1% of their salary to pay for health insurance. Transit workers currently do not pay for health insurance.
TWU workers also raised complaints about working conditions, including hazards such as smoke, dangerous chemicals and extreme temperatures, abuse from supervisors, verbal or physical threat from passengers, and inability to access restroom facilities on the bus and subway. Just before the contract ended, the MTA offered a 3.5% per year raise and no change in the retirement age, with the caveat that new transit workers pay 6% of their wages into the pension fund, up from the 2% that current workers pay. The offer was rejected, and a strike declared.
Combined, the pension and health care reforms the MTA sought would cost about US$30 million over the span of the three-year contract. Critics lambasted both the MTA and TWU for allowing a strike to occur over such a relatively small sum. However, the pension costs would balloon to US$160 million in the first 10 years, and US$80 million per year after 20 years. The MTA said that its reluctance to give in to the TWU on this point stems from fear of future deficits (projected to be $1 billion by 2009), although critics contend that its assertion of deficits in early 2005 was fabricated to justify fare hikes. The 2012 MTA budget maintained a $68 million deficit.
In 2005, the MTA reported a $1 billion surplus, but it was borrowing heavily for "capital" projects that were little more than ongoing maintenance. In addition, many operating expenses had been reclassified as "reimbursible" by the capital plan, so money could be borrowed to pay for them. The surplus, in effect, was the MTA going into debt more slowly than expected. Some of the surplus came from abnormally high real estate taxes caused by the real estate boom, and quickly disappeared. Meanwhile, by 2009 MTA deficits outgrew the most pessimistic projections. However, unlike in the 1970s debts run up to add fare discounts and divert tax dollars away from maintenance spending via the capital plan were as much or more to blame as the pension plan, because the attempt to restore the 20/50 pension plan via strike did not succeed.
The TWU, for its part, later claimed that it was forced to strike in order to prevent the MTA from raising the retirement age, rather than striking to reduce the retirement age. That was not the case, however, because it is state legislation that sets the terms of the pension plan, and under state law pension terms may not even be the subject of collective bargaining. Years after the strike, the pension plan remains retirement at age 55 after 25 years worked. And as a result of past underfunding, due to optimistic rate of return assumptions, and other pension enhancements that benefitted the TWU, such a retroactive inflation adjustment for retirees and an end to employee contributions, the cost of the pension plan to New York City Transit soared from $468 million in FY 2005 to $770 million in FY 2010 with a projected $950 million in pension costs forecast for FY 2014.
Consequences.
Losses.
The city estimated that it stood to lose US$400 million on Tuesday — the first day of the strike — and US$300 million each on Wednesday and Thursday. Emergency services response time may have been slowed significantly due to increased traffic congestion, possibly creating a danger to life. It was estimated that retailers and others lost about $400 million a day in the middle of their busiest season. Public schools used a delayed schedule. Some private high schools closed completely for the week, while other schools such as St. John's had an ineffective contingency plan.
The same day of the start of the strike, Justice Theodore T. Jones warned the transit union that there would be a US$1 million fine for every day that the Transit Authority is shut down. In addition, for each day the workers missed during the strike, they would be fined two days' pay (their regular wages for the day plus a one-day penalty). Justice Jones had also considered imposing an additional US$1,000 per day of fines on the union leaders, as well as the possibility of jail time for them.
Legal representatives for the city presented arguments before Justice Theodore T. Jones requesting individual penalties of US$25,000 per day, per public transit worker striking. And an additional US$22 million per day for economic damages as estimated by the mayor resultant to lost tax revenue and overtime required for increased law enforcement. There were between 32,000 and 34,000 strikers.
Contingency plans.
Before the strike, bus drivers were instructed to finish their route and bring their buses to the depot, while subway trains finished their route, and brought their trains back to the yard.
In anticipation of exceptional traffic volumes, an emergency traffic plan was put into effect shortly after the strike officially began. Weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST, Manhattan south of 96th street, as well as all MTA tunnels and bridges, were subject to HOV-4 restrictions; that is, vehicles must contain a minimum of four passengers, and commercial trucks and vans were prohibited. To increase car capacities, carpool staging areas were set up. Alternate side of the street parking rules had been suspended. The HOV car restrictions changed much of the commuting schedules of thousands of motorists. Significantly more inbound vehicles used the Manhattan crossings from 4 to 5 a.m. and after 11 a.m. for the duration for the strike, compared to before the strike. Additionally, during 5 to 11 a.m., inbound strike traffic on Manhattan crossings was reduced compared to regular traffic. The HOV-4 restrictions significantly reduced vehicle traffic into the Manhattan central business district compared to the HOV-2 restrictions during the 1980 strike.
Commuters were being encouraged by the city to walk or bike to work; many bridges were open to pedestrian traffic, including the Triborough Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and George Washington Bridge for commuters from New Jersey. Pedestrian traffic on the four bridges during the strike rose 20- to 50-fold compared to before the strike. On the third day of the strike, a firefighter was critically injured while biking to work when he and a privately operated bus collided. The mayor addressed this in a press conference later on in the day. Many commuters used the New York Water Taxi service from NY Waterway as an alternative to get to Manhattan from the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Hunts Point, South Amboy, and Jersey City. Other commuters simply stayed home from work.
Taxis were permitted to pick up multiple fares, and operated on a zone system rather than metered fare. Manhattan was divided into four zones, with one zone for each of the other four boroughs. The base fare, for travel within one zone, was limited to US$10 a person (although few cabbies charged less) charged in advance instead of at the end of the ride, plus an additional $5 per person for each additional zone. There were reports of much higher prices than normal demanded by taxi drivers, some charging over $50 per person. However, this was not the norm, and most taxi drivers provided their services within the guidelines.
Public schools started two hours later than usual, with school bus pickup times also two hours later than normal. Major universities provided extended shuttle service to students, faculty, and staff; many students were in the middle of taking final exams. While buses under the New York City Transit banner were non-operational, some MTA Bus Company services—such as the Command Bus Company—were running, including some express buses between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Fox News Channel operated its own buses during the strike along several major routes, giving riders a free trip while the station broadcast live from the buses. Multi-day MetroCard passes were extended on a day-for-day basis for the duration of the strike.
Passengers on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad were charged a strike fare of US$4.00 for intracity travel. Metro-North Railroad had a special East Bronx shuttle (making all Harlem Line stops from Mount Vernon West to Grand Central Terminal, but bypassing Tremont and Melrose) by December 21. Regular peak trains did not stop in the Bronx. There were similar plans on the Hudson Line, and in addition there was a special park and ride lot near Yankee Stadium, and at Shea Stadium in Queens. The New Haven Line ran normally, stopping at Fordham only in the Bronx, as usual. Long Island Rail Road customers also faced service changes. There was no service to Bellerose, Hollis, Rosedale, Locust Manor, Saint Albans, or Hunterspoint Avenue during rush hours. Shuttle trains operated between Jamaica/Great Neck and Penn Station. During middays, additional shuttle service was provided to Bellerose and Long Island City. During the strike, the LIRR recorded a 60% increase in daily ridership compared to before the strike, and the Metro-North recorded a 40% increase.
The PATH ran extra service between 33rd Street and the World Trade Center from 6 AM to 8 PM during the days of the strike. During the strike, the PATH recorded a 50% increase in daily ridership compared to before the strike.
Resolution.
At a news conference the morning of December 22, 2005, it was announced that the state mediator, Richard Curreri, had reached a preliminary agreement between the MTA and a TWU team including Roger Toussaint for transit workers to return to work for a time without a contract. Progress had also been made on the pensions issue. At 2:35 p.m. EST, December 22, the agreement was approved by the executive board of the TWU local (36 yes, 5 no and 2 abstentions). Agreements were made on the ability to use restroom facilities by workers during shifts. Workers began to restore services. Buses and subways were restored at midnight, while signals, switches, stations, and other things were checked out. The MTA says that service was incrementally added during the later morning rush hour. By late morning service was running on a normal weekday schedule.
At a news conference on the evening of December 27, 2005, Roger Toussaint announced an agreement with the MTA calling for no change in the pension, 3%, 4%, and 3.5% annual salary increases for the next three years respectively plus a 1.5% of salary cost to workers to help defray health care costs. In addition, they got Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid holiday — viewed to be very important, as the workforce is now mainly black (Caribbean, African-American) as well as Asian, or Hispanic. Also, the union won a refund of some prior employee pension contributions.
On January 2, 2006, several TWU Local 100 representatives gathered up in Union Square and held a press conference, threatening to go on strike again if the MTA does not stop "keeping secrets." Roger Toussaint however, disagrees with the representatives and claims "the contract is fair enough."
On January 5, 2006, MTA chairman Peter Kalikow, a Pataki appointee, conceded that making the pension cutback demand was an error.
On January 20, 2006 it was announced that the contract was rejected by 7 votes out of approximately 22,000 cast.
On January 31, 2006 Local 100's executive board met to decide on its response to both the MTA latest offer and the rank and file's rejection.
On March 15, 2006, Toussaint announced that he wanted a revote on the rejected contract and two days later, there was a vote of 24-12 in favor of a revote and on April 18, Toussaint announced that the union has approved it by a vote of 14,716 to 5,877. The MTA, however, has said the contract is no longer on the table and sought binding arbitration to settle negotiation, which the arbitrator did on December 15 when the board imposed a new three-year contract that both the MTA and TWU Local 100 must accept.
Beginning in June 2006, the Taylor law penalties were deducted from striking workers' checks. Withholding of the Union checkoff was withheld until early 2007. The TWU agree to pay over $300,000 a month towards strike-related penalties.
Public response.
According to a NY1 news poll, 41% of New Yorkers thought both the MTA and the Transport Workers Union were to blame for the strike. About 27% solely faulted the MTA, while 25% blamed the union for the walkout. 54% of New Yorkers thought what the union wanted was fair compared to 36% who did not. But race was also shown to play into this result: 38% of white New Yorkers thought the TWU's demands were fair, while nearly three-quarters of both African-Americans and Latinos agreed with the TWU's proposals. Three times as many white New Yorkers said the union is more to blame for the strike than did African-American New Yorkers.
As for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's handling of the crisis, 51% said he did "not so good" or "poor," while 45% said he did "great" or "good," Governor George E. Pataki attracted more blame, with 69% saying his performance was "not good" or "poor," and just 23% saying he did "great" or "good."
One day before the strike, an "AM New York" poll showed that, when given the choice, 68% of respondents favored the MTA while only 32% favored the local TWU in negotiations.[Citation needed]


Grant Stauffer

Grant Stauffer was an American coal and railroad executive. He served as the president of the Sinclair Coal Company at one time, and headed the Kansas City, Missouri Chamber of Commerce. He also served as the president of the Chicago Great Western Railway for five months between 1948 and his death from cancer in 1949.


Croton-Harmon Yard