Don Lovelady informed the Port commissioners that two staff from ODOT Rail as well as Union Pacific Western Regional Operations and Track Managers will travel the entire length of the Coos Bay Rail Link on the hi-rail this Monday. Amongst the guests will be Bob Melbo, Rail Planner for ODOT Rail.
Lovelady says he doesn’t know why the tour was requested. There are several independent reports of visible structural damage to bridges over the lakes of Tahkenitch, Ten Mile and Clear Lake. As a Class I railroad traveling only 10 mph the Coos Bay Rail Link is not scrutinized by Federal Railroad Administration inspectors. According to the Port minutes, engineers have inspected all the bridges and remarked that only minor repairs are necessary to maintain a Class I trip. Hopefully, ODOT will take a look under these bridges before actually driving across them as the images I have been shown look pretty shaky.
Gene is right, they should just start over, but then we have seen how some of these guys use the worm hole method to get from one point to another. They expect to be teleported past the logic problems and just wind up in nirvana.
@RUSerious – well, just skip forward to about 8 minutes and watch the citizen comments, then, they are very entertaining.
@Gene – The governor should be leading but may be more involved, and not in the best way, than we yet know. Don’t forget that his right hand man was on the dole at the Port for years… Methinks the railroad is going to be the downfall of many once mighty kings
I do respect and want to hear what “experts” have to say about the state of dis-repair the tracks, bridges, and tunnels are in.
The question at hand should be something like, Is this the best use of public funds, repair the old infrastructure, or build a new high tech system on the existing roadway.
These people can’t answer that question as they are educated on the existing old systems, not what other countries are doing with high speed rail today. The port people want the old rails repaired, thats it. Scrap it. Start over. The decision should not be left to the port of jordan cove. The governor should be leading on this issue, he’s not.
No thanks on watching the port meeting. I’ll watch for the truck / train while en route to my Eugene cardiologist Monday. If I see them, I’ll stop and get some photos for you. I was trained in conducting meetings by my mentor, the leader of the largest global aerospace company on the planet, then and now. To watch Kronsteiner and company would require more than the supply of Omeprazole, Tums and NORCO in my stash.
If you watch the video and read the port minutes hi-rail is the term they use for the brand new truck fitted with wheels to run the track.
I was surprised by your use of the term “hi rail” – folks will be traveling the Bishop, Kronsteiner, and Braddock railroad on the hi rail. My favorite granddaughters other grandfather, a retired 30 year PG&E manager currently living near Ms. McKeown – who is off learning how to spend an escudo, is a many year model railroader. “Hi Rail”, “hirail”, or “high rai”l are model railroading terms. Perhaps Google, ASK, Wikipedia, or some other web site has a definition. Picture rotund Bishop atop of his Lionel traveling the track. At 10 mph and 130 miles, stopping occasionally to walk across the bridges, that is a full daylight day and a sore butt.