Norfolk, Virginia Opens Light Rail Line After 20-Year Sojourn To Get There

Norfolk, Va (August 18, 2011) – With the snip of the scissors, nine Siemens S70 vehicles began making their way through the streets of Norfolk, Virginia in revenue service after twenty years of waiting and planning. The 7.4-mile, $318 million light rail line that’s operated by Hampton Roads Transit, was celebrated with a full agenda of events and celebrations on Friday the 19^th to mark the official “Opening Day,” with festivities that stretched through the weekend. The start-up that was beset by protests, delays and cost over runs, was finally on a roll.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was marked by the usual congratulatory speeches. Mayor Paul Fraim said, “This is an historic moment for the City of Norfolk, the Region and certainly the Commonwealth. It's good to see all of you here and I mean all of you.”

HRT President and CEO Philip A. Shucet was the last speaker and said just before offering a gold-colored commemorative fare ticket in lieu of a golden spike, “This is an important day. We've worked hard to get here, we've taken good care of every penny we've spent and of every penny that belongs to you. It's important for so many reasons. It's important for the City Of Norfolk and certainly the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

After the ceremony, the officials and everyone else that attended the event, piled into LRV number 407 for the one-stop trek to the next westbound stop at Monticello Avenue for the reception where officials would be available for interviews and good cheer.

Silverstein Properties Unveils The Sixteen-Acre WTC Construction Site To Media Eyes

Lower Manhattan, August 24, 2011 - My first recollection of Larry Silverstein was right after the destruction of 9-11 where nearly 3,000 people died and hearing that he was going to build his towers at Ground Zero amidst negative comments from other developers, economists and urban scientists. On August 24, 2011, I saw the vindication of Mr. Silverstein’s dream.

Nearly ten years after the destruction caused by a terrorist attack, it is called The World Trade Center and not Ground Zero. Five towers arise instead of rubble on the ground. Eighteen days before the tenth anniversary, the new National September 11 Memorial and Museum is surrounded by the 30-foot high memorial waterfalls, trees, a transportation center and new skyscrapers. The 16 acre site is half memorial, half new construction. The memorial falls and pools of water are located where the footprints of the Twin Towers once stood. The plaza is filled with 400 trees. The aerial view of the current 16-acre site compared to the destruction of almost 10 years ago is a stunning view that can move you to tears.

As the press conference began, Glenn Schuck, President of the New York Press Club that hosted of the event, made his first introduction - Larry Silverstein. Mr. Silverstein proudly stated his resolve to rebuild was a success and Lower Manhattan is reborn by stating that, "Today for the first time since 9/11, every part of the World Trade Center is under construction. You have to have enormous respect for what's going on here.” He later added, “Looking at this area now, it's hard to remember that many were concerned that downtown was finished. You should never bet against New York. This town always comes back bigger and better."

Joseph Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, was clearly proud of the accomplishments being shown this day. "I remember walking toward the pools with no idea what the sound would be like. With 52,000 gallons of water cycling through the pools every minute, I worried that the effect would be too loud, that it would take away from the peace of the memorial. But the falls are just what you would hope. They create a beautiful whisper, a sound envelope that drowns out the noise of the city." He added that the names will not be in alphabetical order, but grouped so friends, co-workers for example will be together on the wall of the memorial. Mr. Daniels further remarked that, “…We wanted to bring together voices that were involved in what happened here. Construction workers, first responders, family members, just really telling the country that we’re opening, that they should come down and visit, that this is America’s memorial to what happened.” The 1993 attack victims are also recognized together as are 2001 first responders, plane and Pentagon victims respectively.

The different building constructions will be completed at different times in a manner that resembles a cascading timeline effect. The memorial will open to the public the day after the ceremony of September 11, 2011; the museum on September a year later; 4 WTC (designed for 72 floors is now 48 floors high) will open in 2013; One World Trade is already 80 stories high; 2 and 3 WTC foundations are up to street level from 80 feet below.

According to Mr. Silverstein, "I expect these buildings to be impregnable (earthquake proof),” and later added that they, “…will be a model of energy efficiency. The greenest, most high tech buildings – that’s a winning combination.”

In my estimation, with the rebuilding of the site from the destruction of Ground Zero into a working World Trade Center site is quite literally like the rising of a Phoenix out of the ashes.

Maine-Eastern Wins Travel Award

• Rockland, Maine, August, 2011 - The Maine-Eastern seasonal May thru October excursion train service based in Rockland, Maine, was recognized by New England Travel Magazine as the "Winner of Best of New England Travel 2011 - Attractions - Way To Beat Summer Traffic." The M-E also provides Christmas holiday shoppers specials in addition to operating a freight railroad operation. The views are scenic and are worth the ride on the train which uses vintage 'heritage' rolling stock. I've visited this operation and can say they run a great railroad. I'm hoping they'll be able to connect with Amtrak in Portland, Maine someday to give a commuter operation that is sorely needed. Congratulations to the The Maine-Eastern Railroad!

A PCC will once again ply the rails of the streets of San Diego

San Diego, August 27, 2011 - Beginning August 27, 2011, the PCC will once again ply the rails of the streets of San Diego. Car #529 was restored and modernized to current standards by volunteers at a cost of $850,000. The program was led by MTS Chairman Harry Mathis.

Trolley service in San Diego ended in 1949 and this car built in that year for operation in San Francisco.

These PCC streetcars were built in St. Louis by the St. Louis Car Company in 1945 and delivered to the St. Louis Public Service Company in 1945 and 46. They served in San Francisco from 1957 until retired in 1982. In 1992, Gunnar Henrioulle of South Lake Tahoe purchased the cars for a proposed street car system in Sacramento, California.

Hurricane Irene Results In Unprecedented System Wide New York Metropolitan Region Shutdown

New York Metropolitan Region, August 26, 2011 - The entire transportation network of the New York Tri-State region will be shut down due to Hurricane Irene's entry into the area.

New Jersey Transit, The Port Authority of NY & NJ (including PATH subway) in addition to the MTA's transportation venues will be shut down for the first time in history. All three agencies are following a similar script. The New York City governments issued similar statements basically stating that the New York City Office of Emergency Management offers a wealth of information about preparing for the hurricane and for disasters in general.  You can enter your street address on the City website to determine if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone and your level of risk.

Beginning at 12 Noon on Saturday, August 27, 2011; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York (MTA) announced the unprecedented orderly shutdown of their entire bus and rail (subway, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road) network in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irene.

In order to ease the mandatory evacuation process in southern Queens in New York City and Long Island, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that in order to facilitate the mandatory evacuation of residents living in low-lying Zone A areas and the Far Rockaways, the MTA has suspended certain fares and tolls in addition to temporary policy changes. MTA stations and rail terminals are not designated shelters and will be closed in the event of a service shutdown. Those in need of assistance will be directed to nearby shelters.

Starting on Friday at 8 p.m, fares were suspended on buses throughout the city as well as all subway and rail passengers at stations in mandatory evacuation areas. Pets will be allowed on board MTA vehicles. Dogs must be leashed and, if possible should be muzzled. Cats and other pets should be in carriers.

Scheduled weekend construction projects have been cancelled to allow for potential evacuation and suspension of service. All MTA construction sites were secured, with cranes lowered.

If winds reach sustained speeds of 60 mph, each of the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for closure.

UPDATE:

One of the issues to deal with are the gas stations that can't pump gas because there's no gas or electricity. Here are a couple of photos taken at the Gulf gas station on Main Street in New Rochelle, NY this morning. This storm is really one of the big ones so be safe and dry!!!

These Vehicles Are Just Electric!!!

Lower Manhattan, Friday, August 12, 2011 – Advances in battery technology have created new possibilities in the transportation field. T3 Motion announced ‘T3 Day’ at the New York Stock Exchange as a venue to display their new T3 and R3 series electric vehicles as the latest entries into this upcoming transportation area.

T3 Motion (NYSE AMEX:TTTM) is a producer of clean technology electric vehicles. An area in front of the NYSE on Broad Street known as ‘Experience Square’ is where rides were given on the T3, a cutting-edge 'green' personal mobility vehicle. The same area was also the showcase location of the sleek, two-passenger R3 automobile with its innovative design and state-of-the-art technology.

The T3 is a ‘personal mobility’ stand-up tricycle built for use by law enforcement and security officers that costs less than ten cents a day to operate according to the manufacturer. Its zero-degree turning radius allows you to almost spin like a top and change direction. When moving, the personal mobility vehicle allows you to proceed at 20 miles per hour clip in the direction you chose. The built-in superior vantage point comes from the 9-inch raised platform the rider stands on.

This R3 series advanced technology car is a stunningly beautiful piece of environmentally friendly machinery that’s built to look like an Italian sports automobile with a top speed of 70 mph. The two-seat front wheel drive car has a low rolling resistance capability and a proprietary (patent pending) single, wide-stance, rear wheel with two high-performance tires sharing one rim. Electric power is managed by the T3 Motion's intelligent power management battery system. The hotel amenities include an in-car, integrated "black box" video and data recording system.

The modern vehicle age is upon us right now and ‘green’ is the order of the day. If you’re going green, this looks like it’s the way to go.