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(erielack) ex-Erie Line In danger of Shutting Down

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	dale woodward, INTERNET:dwwrdg_@_erols.com
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Date:	7/26/2002 10:00 PM

RE:	[nerrandcoal] Funding sought to keep train riding the rails

 =


Funding sought to keep train riding the rails




By Christine Pinto  07/25/2002




After nearly a quarter of a century of train rides, the Stourbridge Line
will stop running at the end of the year unless the Wayne County Chamber
of Commerce can secure funding.

As a result, Wayne County could lose as much as $750,000 in tourism
revenue.

Chamber president Don Doyle made the announcement Wednesday. He said the
Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association, which operates the stretch of
track between Honesdale and Lackawaxen, has decided to suspend
operations on the railroad after the new year, citing a continuing
decline in the amount of freight being moved.

The association had allowed the chamber to use the railroad track for
free in the past, said Annetta DeYoung, executive director of the
chamber. But starting next year, the association will be charging a
$50,000 per year user fee, plus require the chamber to put additional
funds in escrow to pay for maintenance and repairs of the track, she
said.

That would nearly double the chamber's $170,000 annual budget for the
Stourbridge Line.

The impact on Wayne County could be disastrous.

The Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau estimates the train generates
$500,000 to $750,000 in tourism revenue annually to Wayne County.

Mr. Doyle said as many as 20,000 people annually ride the line, named in
honor of the Stourbridge Lion, the first steam locomotive in the United
States, which took its first run in Honesdale.

"And they eat, buy gas, shop," he said. "I have no idea exactly how much
money they spend, but it certainly will have an economic impact."

The association's final decision to suspend operations came after
Flexible Foam decided to search for a different location for its new
Northeastern Pennsylvania factory. The Ohio-based company has been
approved for a manufacturing plant that would bring 125 new jobs to
Wayne County on a site with rail access in White Mills. The foam company
would have shipped much of its products by rail.

Tom Shepstone, executive director of the shippers association, said that
when it formed in 1976 as a way to preserve rail service in Wayne and
Pike counties, more than 1,500 cars a year passed through the Honesdale
area. Now there are only about 50.

The foam factory, he said, was essential to the continuation of rail
service in Wayne County.

But heavy resident opposition and the threat of lawsuits that would hold
up the project led Flexible Foam to look elsewhere, Mr. Doyle said.
Residents have been outspoken against the project from the beginning,
citing environmental concerns related to the materials used to create
the foam.

"We were like the little engine that could," Ms. DeYoung said. "We're
very proud of the fact that we did this on our own. We bought and paid
off our locomotive and (passenger) cars and never had to ask for
anything."



- --
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
                 Mike Rushton  mrushton_@_epix.net

     "Exploring Rail, Anthracite and Industrial History in Northeast PA"

     Railroad and Anthracite Homepage(s):
           http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/6444
           http://NEPA.railfan.net

     Lackawanna & Wyoming Rail Historical Society Homepage :
           http://www.laurellines.org/

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>




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Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 23:10:50 -0400
Subject: [nerrandcoal] Funding sought to keep train riding the rails
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