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State finally finds a use for that abandoned train track to the waterfront: To test the new Red Line cars
MassDOT announced today it will spend $32 million to convert the abandoned Track 61 along the Haul Road up by the convention center into a test bed on which to test the new Red Line cars that are expected to start showing up in 2019.
The move puts the kibosh, at least through 2023, when the last of the Red Line cars are scheduled for delivery, on alternate plans for the tracks, not that they've ever amounted to much, such as running little shuttle trains between the Convention Center and Back Bay and, more recently, using them to run some Fairmount Line trains to the waterfront.
The state says the track is perfect for putting the new Red Line cars through its paces because it has at least 1,800 feet of straight track, it's near the Red Line's South Boston maintenance facility and cars can be moved from there to the track without causing any impact on actual Red Line service.
Work to turn the track into a mini-extension of the Red Line could begin this fall, officials say.
Track 61, part of which dates to 1855, is the last remnant of the days when the waterfront was full of train tracks, when Fan Pier got its name because of the way its train tracks fanned out towards the dock.
Restore rail freight to the
Restore rail freight to the port terminal!
That they haven't extended the tracks to the Conley terminal is shameful. How many other ports have to truck their containers miles to the yard. Even Beacon Park was too far compared to what they do in New York or even Halifax.
Something stinks with this Red Line plan. If they have $32 million sitting around, they could spend it in countless other places to help infrastructure.
Red Line spending
This is only one of many upgrades coming to the Red and Orange Lines beginning in the next 5 years.
Many, actually
Have you ever seen a west coast container port? Almost the entire stretch of Puget Sound from Seattle to Tacoma is container port, and most of the transport is "in yard". Ditto for the Port of Long Beach, where the pollution from trucks considered to be off-road was so bad that regulators stepped in.
Not just west coast.
Not just west coast.
Port Newark-Elizabeth may not be quite the same geographic scale (overall, PANYNJ is busier than Seattle-Tacoma), but they have a good chunk of rail intermodal running in and out of the seaport.
Conley isn't big enough to
Conley isn't big enough to merit that. It's MA's biggest container port, but it's just too tiny compared to NY/NJ, Halifax, Norfolk, Baltimore, and so on to be anything other than a niche ship-to-truck port for shooting trucks out on the Haul Road to points around Eastern Mass. Adding Trailer On Flatcar (TOFC) train transloads on top requires more acreage than Massport has available even post- Conley expansion. The railcar storage alone would be a major problem, since CSX would only be coming to fetch once a day vs. every truck being able to drive off the second the crane plops the cube on top. They don't have enough land to let stuff be sitting around for hours on end clogging up space after it comes off the boat like they do with city-sized ports like L.A.
We already get way more container traffic by rail coming into Worcester on CSX from points west out of all of the mega-ports (PANYNJ, Halifax, Norfolk, etc.) than Conley produces Boston-out. So the money the state spent upgrading CSX for double-stacked trains and building them that state-of-art yard in Worcester already addressed that issue. There's no way to goose those volumes to any significant degree by hooking rail up to a gnat-sized terminal like Conley. There WILL, however, be a second direct-competing rail corridor from the west when Pan Am Southern's Patriot Corridor to Ayer is upgraded for stacked cubes in the next 5 years after they enlarge the Hoosac Tunnel in Berkshire County. CSX's arch-rival Norfolk Southern co-owns that line 50/50 with local/regional carrier Pan Am, and is self-funding most of the work so it can compete with CSX for New England supremacy. Which means we get access to even more really big shipping ports and direct price competition between two mega-carriers. The state will end up making money back several times over from all the $$$ it spent on CSX from the economic impact of all those stacked containers flooding in from the west, and the pot-stirring that got Norfolk Southern buying its way into the region.
If, for whatever reason, Conley does need rail service later the new haul road they built to Summer St. has enough room on the side for a single railroad track...and they can build a small trestle adjacent to the Summer St. bridge across Reserve Channel to connect it up with Track 61. But they won't ever have a business case for doing it. The division of labor for container traffic just tilts so overwhelmingly outside-in vs. inside-out that it'll never make dollars and sense. The misc. freight that Massport's targeting with the Marine Terminal spur is much smaller in carload volume than Conley's container loads, but is geared to specialties like perishables and other niches where purely local ship-to-rail has clear advantages over routing a refrigerator car 1000+ miles between Halifax and Worcester. It's niche, but it's an exploitable niche we need more of unlike Conley rail which is a surplus-to-requirement raindrop in a swimming pool compared to what containers Worcester & Ayer will move 24/7 from points west when they're both operating at full-tilt.
Outstanding post
A lot of things I didn't know!
Are any rail freight companies actually interested in this service? As in, willing to pay to maintain and use the tracks?
MassDOT or Massport owns the tracks, does the maintenance, and gives access to CSX to use the tracks. Just like they do over almost the entire south side system (I mean, freights aren't going to Scituate or Needham currently, but they are going to Mansfield and Framingham.)
The Port of Long Beach built and owns the Alameda Corridor. Massport could do the same thing for the same reason.
CSX still has operating
CSX still has operating rights; it was never abandoned, just placed out-of-service when the most recent customer at Cypher St. left town about 10 years ago. And it can't be abandoned unless CSX voluntarily gives up its perpetual operating rights, which it has no incentive to since they are free-of-charge per the state's purchase agreement for the track.
Massport has long-term plans (5-8 years, after the Inner Harbor gets dredged) to spur from where Track 61 crosses into Design Ctr. parking lot up Tide St. to Marine Terminal once that site gets built out. They want to attract businesses that can do ship-to-rail transloading (cold storage warehousing & the like). CSX has already committed to serving the Terminal with an overnight freight job out of Readville via the Fairmount Line if Massport signs on the customers. Not at the top of Massport's priority list, but cracks the lower Top 5 and a matter of when, not if.
And why the bridges were raised
And that also confirms why all of the bridges on Fairmount were raised in the last decade. None of them were "deficient" and trains passed under them quite well.
They only needed to raise to accommodate the possibility of electrification in the future, or assure that double-stack containers could pass under them.
See one here
This is the real reason why Fairmount was never going to be a "subway" line which a number of people already knew but didn't want to say out loud, though enough people "in the know" already knew this from way back. FRA says subway trains and heavy rail cannot occupy the same tracks, at least at the same time of day. It goes on from there for a page and a half. There are known exceptions if a line is closed for the night when freight can resume but it's a stack of paperwork to make that happen at the fed level. So day use as a test track and night moves of freight have a set precedent elsewhere.
Increased commuter service on the Fairmount line will be best served if the MBTA gets the rebuild done on some of its semi-retired F40 locomotives in storage. Not the rebuild they are doing because of the failing HSP46 (new) locos, but the gear change-out that would allow a rebuilt loco to start-stop quicker and run at a slower speed (up to about 50 mph - keeping in mind that MBTA subways are locked down at 40 mph). They could run shorter trainsets, and at some point extend the service beyond Fairmount to Rt 128, Canton, or up the Frankling branch to Norwood, Walpole, and even Foxboro.
$32 million?? I'm sure there
$32 million?? I'm sure there's some major work involved, adding 3rd rail etc., but might it be easier to test them on the real Red Line tracks during the overnight hours when there are no trains?
The Red Line is only actually shut down for a few hours each night, and those few hours are crucial for maintenance. Given the amount of testing that needs to be done before each car enters service, it would not be practical to try and juggle nights of testing with nights of maintenance...
...especially given labor costs. The T's maintenance staff mostly works during the day. Asking them to come in at night would either mean the shop is short-staffed during the day, or they're paying copious amounts of overtime (or both).
I know many people here like to think they could do things better than the T, but nope, this is not a special problem unique to us. The T tests Orange and Blue line trains on the unused 3rd track from Charlestown to Wellington. Some other transit systems have dedicated test tracks at shops and yards. Others test trains mixed in with regular service. This would theoretically be an option here, but I'm guessing the T didn't want to take the risk of disrupting regular Red Line service.
Since it's a "test" and
Since it's a "test" and things will go wrong, you don't want to spend hours tying up commuters while you rebuild what the train broke or has broken on it.
red line testing
I seem to remember seeing 01800 trains tested on the regular red line tracks during revenue hours (without passengers of course!). Have things really changed that much in 20 years?
The 25 - 30 years of deffered
The 25 - 30 years of deffered maitanence was just getting started back in 1993 so yes - a lot has "changed" (rotted) since then.
If there wasn't that
If there wasn't that ridiculous requirement for the cars to be built at a nonexistent factory in Springfield, they could have been built at an established railcar factory that had a test track.
The CRRC factory in
The CRRC factory in Springfield is nearly complete and it includes a half-mile test track that will be used to test the MBTA's and other cars. The track that's being built in South Boston is for internal testing - emergency brake testing, operator training, etc.
An anchor for CRRC
The Springfield plant is becoming their anchor in the USA for rail car manufacture. They have already accepted contracts for other rail cars for other transit systems which will start soon after the MBTA order is underway or near completion. They are also building a second plant for heavy rail near Chicago. So the Springfield plant will not roll-over after the MBTA job is done. It will be going for quite some time.
While giving the finger
to all the people in the seaport with no rail (real) mass transit access. Buses don't count.
Follow the money or the tracks?
What companies will enjoy the 32 million? Why not use the tracks during the night when trains are not running? How will these tracks be used once testing is complete for all delivered trains? If test tracks are needed for Red Line trains will the T also build tracks to test new Orange Line trains?
The Orange Line already has a
The Orange Line already has a test track. It's the third track that stretches from Wellington to Community College. The track was originally built in the 1970s for express service to Melrose, Wakefield, and Reading that never came to fruition. In 2007, it was used to test the new Blue Line trains, and it'll likely be used again to test the new Orange Line trains. The new Red Line trains cannot be tested on this track, because Red Line trains are about a foot wider than Orange Line trains and would strike the platforms at Wellington, Sullivan, and Community College.
The new Orange Line trains
The new Orange Line trains can be tested on the unused 3rd track between Charlestown and Wellington.
See my comment above for why they likely can't run test trains during the night.
The tracks will likely be removed or at least turned back into rail (as opposed to rapid transit) after testing is complete, but I'd hardly argue it's a waste since best case scenario, they're used until 2023, and components can be reused elsewhere in the system (e.g. the sections of third rail can be reused in future replacements on the Red Line), so it's not like it's just being thrown away.
Shouldn't contractor be doing the testing with MBTA supervision?
Why does the MBTA have to pay for a test drive? Shouldn't that be part of the contract? If the T must pay, whatever happened to the weekend, "Red Line will be closed for track work between JFK and Broadway but shuttle buses will be in place?" Sounds like another money grab for someone.
You can't work on track when trains are on it
Track work = No Trains. For them to stop service only to test new vehicles is asinine. If this new section of track lets them put new cars into service months sooner, it's worth it.
Every delivery of new trains has the owning agency do extensive testing using their own personal. It also gives conductors a chance to learn the new controls, maintenance staff to learn what to expect, etc.
Thinking out loud …
Most of this money is probably for the physical track connection from the Cabot Yard leads to Track 61, and then power along Track 61 and probably laying new rail (subway and mainline rail has somewhat different profile, and the track there is probably too degraded to use much anyway).
Of course, if you rebuild the track there and install power, it's not a huge leap to actually running service. As I've pointed out, you could run streetcars (same voltage as the Red Line) between Andrew and the Convention Center pretty easily, and then loop them in to the Silver Line tunnel to South Station, which would dramatically improve capacity there (a two-car Green Line train has four times the capacity of a Silver Line bus). You could also restore some of the PCCs from Mattapan and bring them up to the Seaport to run as a tourist attraction, and give Mattapan actual new cars, even.
Or you could even rebuild Malfunction Junction (a.k.a. JFK/UMass nee Columbia) and have it be a transfer for a line to the Seaport.
Knowing the T, they'll spend $32m, build this, use it for two years, and then let it rot away.
It makes one curious if someone at MBTA HQ is pushing this idea as a way to get viable revenue service ready without the debate that normally comes from expansion proposals.
That's what I....
That's what I was (wishfully thinking). Build the "test" track, then in 5 years..."Hey, we have this newly built red line capable ROW directly to the seaport, why not use it for revenue service?" That would be a clever way to get it built without having to propose and "expansion".
Few issues with it however. I don't think there is massive demand for south shore to the south boston waterfront direct rides. Everyone else would still need to transfer to the red line in town, take it out to JFK UMass, then back to SBW. It's much easier to just grab a silver line bus. The rail connection, if it ever happens, needs to be back bay, to the waterfront, and would make the most sense to run the green line out there.
Another issue is it's a single track ROW, and I don't think there is any room to add an additional track. This would mean only one train at a time could exist on the track between JFK/UMass & the convention center, which would undoubtedly lead to bunching & delays.
Heavy rail rapid transit and
Heavy rail rapid transit and mainline railroad have the same wheel profile. It is streetcar/light rail that has a different profile from heavy rail/main line railroad. So this work does not help convert the line for light rail/streetcar unless they put railroad/rapid transit profile wheels on any light rail/streetcar equipment that runs there.
It is crafty...
...if it works. $32 mill for the track, tie-in, power and rail seems like a steal. Well, what happens when they find that the ties are shot as well as the rail? More money, but, "Hey, we got this far, might as well finish it."
I'm not being negative, it just seems like a good way to ensure the project is started. Running trolleys seems like a good idea also, but I'm no expert.
Just one more question...OK, so they test the new cars on 1800 feet of straight track. No curves? What if they start acting like the old Green line trolleys that didn't like curves?
Testing is for emergency braking
They need enough track to get up to speed and then slam on the brakes.
However, as was mentioned
However, as was mentioned above, when the 01800 cars were delivered in 1993/1994, they routinely did burn-in testing in between revenue trains during the day, and at night they were tested on the long shop lead between Cabot and the junction at JFK, which is a longer distance than what they will have with this new test track. So is it worth $32 million to avoid using the shop lead track for testing like they did 23 years ago?
The deeper question is
Are there any managers at the T who were there when the 01800s were delivered?
OK then...
"They need enough track to get up to speed and then slam on the brakes."
Um, if the brakes don't work, do they float?
The difference in wheel profile between tram/metro and railroad stock is the buzzkill for the otherwise sensible proposal you float in your blog post. See here. The difference in profile is what allows streetcars to run on streetcar tracks easily fitted to the confines of auto lanes, and trams or metro cars to negotiate much tighter curves than even the most nimble first-world mainline RR stock. That divide between rapid transit and mainline track exists pretty much everywhere in the world for that same reason. You could more easily plug in an unmodified Mattapan PCC on a random streetcar system behind the old Iron Curtain than you could on Track 61's current rail because of wheel profile.
Track 61 is still on the FRA RR network since CSX has not relinquished its freight rights on it, and is unlikely to ever do so because their trackage rights are free of charge and Massport has plans to build that freight spur to Marine Terminal giving CSX a new shot of freight revenue. Even if plans change or delay the spur buildout the fact that new port freight was the prevailing Massport plan with fully-crunched revenue numbers means CSX is going to be sitting on those rights forever as a hedge on "a" plan happening...even if "the" plan currently drawn up doesn't happen. Because of federal interstate commerce protections and legal entanglements from the state's line buy (and many previous line buys from CSX and their bankrupt predecessors), they can't be forced out of their trackage rights agreement against their will, either. Nor would a blank "Go Away!" check accomplish anything other than lighting too much money on fire to make the transit build worth pursuing at all...while salting over the ability to pay any of it back in year-in/year-out port revenue.
So a permanent re-grinding of the tracks to rapid transit profile isn't going to be in the cards. When the Red test track use is finished and Massport plan advances they'll re-run the rail grinder over the (generally decent-condition for freight) tracks on 61 to reset it to RR profile.
The profiles are *loosely* compatible, in that it is physically possible to safely operate on unlike-profile wheels vs. track. But the speed restriction for it, extra wear on the railcar's trucks, and increased derailment odds (correlated with frequencies & speeds) makes it a practical nonstarter. Compatible enough wheels for a rail museum to take its antique equipment out once a week for a spin on a lazy Sunday...yes. But not nearly compatible enough to run functional fixed-route transit frequencies of any real-world usefulness.
The only way to run rapid transit rolling stock reliably on RR track (assuming all other logistics like time-separated ops are worked out) is to outfit the trucks with wheels ground to RR profile. Which breaks interlining compatibility with all other rapid transit track. So, yes, you could borrow the Mattapan PCC's, switch the wheels out to RR-profile, and run them down 61 like it's second-nature. You could even keep the third rail and run no-foolin' Red Line trains over it. But you wouldn't be able to go anywhere useful other than pinging from one end of 61 to the other. *Maybe* ping from one end of 61 and into the Transitway on street-running RR track laid in the Silver Line pavement, but the sharp-by-RR-standards South Station bus loop is probably going to be murder on the elderly PCC's trucks when they round the curve wearing RR wheels. So still a tad too fugly in execution to hack it that way even if you manage to solve for where to usefully wrap the Cabot end of 61.
The few systems in the world where mainline rail and tram/metro stock do mix--time separation or otherwise--do so with vehicles and lines intentionally built to the same RR wheel profile (sacrificing the ability to do sharp tram turn radii). NJ Transit's RiverLINE, the oft-cited successful example of a time separation agreement, uses lightweight "diesel LRV" -type DMU's with a RR wheel profile. So unfortunately if you brought the Camden end of the line across the river into Philly it can't ever interface with any form of SEPTA or PATCO subway track. Likewise, you wouldn't be able to run tram-wheeled Hudson-Bergen Light Rail across the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge onto Staten Island without some very novel kludges (gauntlet track ground at trolley profile???) for getting safely across that single-track RR-profile span.
You could make it work the other way around if the freight loads were small/intermittent enough to skate on wheel incompatibility. Newark Light Rail's early-00's Grove St. extension overlapped with 3 city blocks of Norfolk Southern freight trackage, where trolleys had to shut down early so NS could *crawl* across the trolley-ground track to spot a couple carloads at one last remaining customer (who's since gone out of business, ending all co-mingling). Top-condition trolley track is way less derailment-prone than god-knows-what condition barely-regulated spaghetti rail is on excepted industrial tracks and customer sidings across the world, but they're only running at sub- 10 MPH so the stakes are much different for a one-off light freight move vs. all-day passenger service. And CSX would not be running light down 61, as this will be double-digit carloads from Marine Terminal every single night for many (i.e. harder-to-insure) terminal customers rather than some local-yokel single factory taking a couple boxcars twice a week. What Massport's proposing for Marine T. is a cut above what CSX or the state could reasonably rationalize for liability if they had to tiptoe across 1.5 miles of rail ground for rapid transit-by-day. And because this is a niche corridor for ridership the various Track 61 proposals to-date have all eyeballed that steady Massport freight revenue as a primary means of amortizing a chunk of the costs for building and running the transit corridor by day.
Unfortunately it is what it is, with the plausible workarounds either being very limited (same boat as the underwhelming Back Bay-BCEC Olympics dinky) or costs & difficulty for reconciling physical compatibility (gauntlets, payola to CSX for insurance) all running afoul of the ROI target for the corridor's limited ridership potential. There's good reason why Track 61 is such a tough nut to crack. In 2D on a map it's a tempting eye-of-beholder solution begging to be matched to a problem, but devil's always in the details (e.g. "cutting across busy Amtrak yard traffic limits its RR shuttle frequencies" / "it's isolated and can't hook up with rapid transit track" / "we need to wring more revenue out of our deepwater port if we want a diverse economy that can pay for nice things" / etc., etc.).
Pin this
Adam - pin this message and reference it frequently. It's gold, and explains a lot. Now if people were to only read, comprehend, listen, and accept rather than just be an armchair bitchy because the T doesn't run like Thomas the Tank engine. (Tweet Tweet!). It's not as simple as it looks.
So now we should have a
So now we should have a freight-only railroad running parallel to the trucks-only Haul road?
So two ways out of the city South for freight, but only one way for cars? (A Street)
I thought we long ago decided there was better use for our waterfront than gumming up the works with these Massport pipedreams that benefit the very few and lead to acres and acres of underdeveloped land in the heart of the city.
It's a deepwater port.
It's a deepwater port. Designated deepwater port areas have all kinds of zoning restrictions keeping their land use maritime-oriented because they're a scarce resource the federal gov't has deemed worth protecting with extra checks-and-balances on acceptable land use. Go do some reading on the Deepwater Port Act before complaining that we aren't building ritzy condos on that slab of Marine Terminal land. There's a good reason why deepwater port areas are uniformly ugly and industrial. Hate the existence of the DPA at the federal level if you will...that's a legit debate. But acknowledge that it does exist as federal law, that it's part of Massport's very agency charter to be faithful stewards of their designated deepwater port areas, and that City of Boston has no say in the matter when it comes to re-zoning that land. The terms of engagement are what they are, so the haul road and rail line that take a straight shot into the DPA area are...shock!...going to be existentially pretty darn freight-centric. Otherwise they never would've been built pointing arrow-straight at the port.
FWIW, Boston 2024 was completely and pathetically oblivious to the DPA when it thought it could build stadiums and shit all over Marine T. like it ain't no thang. Reason #394 why the Olympic bid belly-flopped: failure to do a Google search's worth of research on land use regs and thinking all the B24 business fun bux in the Hub was somehow going to make the federal Maritime Administration bend over and go "Aww, shucks!" because the USOC asked pretty-please. It was a big reason why everything ended up riding on that Widett Circle/"Midtown" hail-Mary: they had no recourse but to double-down by the time they realized that using Marine T. was way more complicated than a free land grab.
Path of least resistance--far and away--is finding some economically useful deepwater port activity to put there and make that happen instead of tying oneself in knots trying to agitate for a zoning change that's so goddamn difficult to pull off, or screaming in impotent rage that it's no fair we can't have pretty things there. We need a more diverse shipping economy to spread the field so we can better-control Boston's cost of goods/cost-of-living and have supplemental revenue streams to pay for other nice things. Might as well use the DPA asset for its intended purpose and make some forward progress with the whole supplemental revenue thing. We ain't at a loss of other pretty unbuilt things to get on with building, or other low-hanging fruit transit corridors to get on with exploiting. Just use the DPA areas for what they're worth, because that's beneficial economic stimulant for plenty of other useful shit we want/need to accomplish.
Oh, please. The Deepwater
Oh, please. The Deepwater Port Act was created in a time when we were importing insane amounts of oil/gas, and the legislation allowed the gov't to offer breaks to those oil/gas companies. It is completely outdated and a form of job-protectionism. You can put anything in the light of "revenue might be generated from it." And its societal benefits, when you can move goods in numerous other ways, are overblown.
The fact remains that in more than 25 years, the marine park has barely been developed. There's simply no industry to support it. It's gone — or maybe you can get Trump to bring it back along with the coal mining jobs. That's why they're already looking into finding other uses for this land, including possibly rezoning all of it. All of these "supplemental revenue" generations are a pipedream spouted by places like Massport so they can sit on the land and screw the city and its residents. Heaven forbid Massport yield some power from what is continuously the most corrupt agency in the state govt.
The few systems in the world
The few systems in the world where mainline rail and tram/metro stock do mix--time separation or otherwise--do so with vehicles and lines intentionally built to the same RR wheel profile (sacrificing the ability to do sharp tram turn radii). NJ Transit's RiverLINE, the oft-cited successful example of a time separation agreement, uses lightweight "diesel LRV" -type DMU's with a RR wheel profile. So unfortunately if you brought the Camden end of the line across the river into Philly it can't ever interface with any form of SEPTA or PATCO subway track. Likewise, you wouldn't be able to run tram-wheeled Hudson-Bergen Light Rail across the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge onto Staten Island without some very novel kludges (gauntlet track ground at trolley profile???) for getting safely across that single-track RR-profile span.
You could make it work the other way around if the freight loads were small/intermittent enough to skate on wheel incompatibility. Newark Light Rail's early-00's Grove St. extension overlapped with 3 city blocks of Norfolk Southern freight trackage, where trolleys had to shut down early so NS could *crawl* across the trolley-ground track to spot a couple carloads at one last remaining customer (who's since gone out of business, ending all co-mingling). Top-condition trolley track is way less derailment-prone than god-knows-what condition barely-regulated spaghetti rail is on excepted industrial tracks and customer sidings across the world, but they're only running at sub- 10 MPH so the stakes are much different for a one-off light freight move vs. all-day passenger service.
RiverLine would've been vastly more expensive to build if they wanted direct track connections to PATCO (and complicated, too, but more in the bi-state politics sense than the engineering sense), and probably would never have been built at all. As it is, the Line crosses PATCO, ACRL, & NEC, with stations at each. I'd call that pretty useful for NJ-Philadelphia commuters, especially since being an arterial spoke is not its primary purpose.
Funny that you earlier mentioned tight loops for PCCs and then mentioned Newark light rail extension (about other matters). Back in the Newark pre-extension PCC days, the track loop at Franklin Av station (the old end station, eliminated with nearby Heller Pkwy station and consolidated as Branch Brook Park station) was just about the tightest loop possible. Only PCCs could scrape through it, and NJT only ran singles at that time.
Not that the HBLRT is anyplace near the Arthur Kill, but has anything run across that lift bridge yet? They were talking about fixing that 20 years ago, and at that point it had been years since it had moved. I suspect it would be more likely to be revitalized as a freight (or as some sort of mixed use) than a strictly passenger line.
It's interesting to contemplate, though... If Amtrak, the feds, NY & NJ keep struggling along 'til the NEC Hudson tunnel and Penn Station track maintenance and the Portal Bridge is a complete nonfunctioning disaster - alternates will be needed and it might be attractive to have some sort of connecting passenger service between the NEC (somewhere at Elizabeth or Linden) and the Staten Island Ferry. Probably less practical that other alternatives even in that worst-case scenario, but it's fun to imagine...
Not that the HBLRT is
Not that the HBLRT is anyplace near the Arthur Kill, but has anything run across that lift bridge yet? They were talking about fixing that 20 years ago, and at that point it had been years since it had moved. I suspect it would be more likely to be revitalized as a freight (or as some sort of mixed use) than a strictly passenger line.
Back in action for freight since '06 and sees 3x daily freight traffic to the container terminal and garbage transloads on the west side of Staten Island. More planned from there, as the city is looking to consolidate more of its garbage hauling around that connection since they can run at-will out of Staten while the other NYC outbound trash train out of Queens & Bronx only gets slots when Metro North's Hudson Line goes idle between midnight and 5:00am.
Point of entry for HBLR-to-Staten I. focuses on the Bayonne Bridge, with Arthur Kill being the escape for terminating in Elizabeth. Newark Light Rail had a separate proposal for going to Newark Airport then Elizabeth, swinging within about a half-mile of the bridge. So either a direct joining of the two light rail systems or a cross-platform transfer was part of the hazily sketched-out vision thing for that one. It's moot now that the Elizabeth extension of NLR has been canceled, since that was the main motivation for lusting-from-afar at the lift bridge.
The problem is still the same: there's no way you're running a trolley from either/both light rail systems over the as-is RR track even though there's plenty of time-separation slots to be had. It's either a gauntlet ground to trolley wheel profile, or there's no way it's safe enough to risk plunging the trolley off the bridge in a derailment.
That's the #1 thing to remember as a self-check against overestimating the transit prospects of every seemingly underutilized bit of urban rail like Track 61. New York pols are making that mistake yet again recently proposing a light rail line between Brooklyn & Queens on the freight-only track of the LIRR Lower Montauk branch because track exists, it was too much a misfit for LIRR fares/frequencies (hence it being downgraded to freight-only), therefore "something!" needs to go on it. Visions of time separation and all the cool on-street places it could go after spurring off the Lower Montauk mainline. And they're probably going to race ahead to keep the hype machine inflated and burn through some real study money before taking 5 seconds to listen to a real transit engineer 'trainsplain' it to them that:
-- "No, you can't have RR wheels and be able to make 90-degree streetcar turns at street intersections at the same time."
-- "No, there's no elegant fix or Jetsons Shit technology or can-do spirit that'll make it so at a cost your niche vision can live with. Physics doesn't work that way."
-- "Saying 'Fuck the freights; just kick them out!' is commercially destructive and legally impractical in the extreme. Not to mention childish and counterproductive to your own cause."
So far nobody's gone that full-on stupid racing ahead of themselves with 61. Knowledge is power, and when it only takes 2 minutes on Wikipedia to get a sense of the boundaries it becomes a hell of a lot easier to pick our transit battles. 61's tempting, but it's not a hill to ever want to die on or tie self in straightjacket over given those boundaries. The city's got boundless transit improvements a little commitment can help solve throughout the Seaport. We can treat it systematically rather than getting caught up in another episode of target fixation thrice per year when the Globe breathlessly pushes another story about 61-to-BCEC.
Back in action for freight
Back in action for freight since '06 and sees 3x daily freight traffic to the container terminal and garbage transloads on the west side of Staten Island.
Glad to hear it. I don't go by too often in recent years. Mostly from the turnpike, and from there, the paint job is all I see. It's always been in raised position whenever I go by.
I have some hazy recollection of one HBLRT branch originally intended to run further, closer to Bayonne Bridge that was eventually built.
Too bad they stopped the western branch where they did. Then - all they would've had to do was rebuild the harbor bridge and negotiate passenger service through a very busy freight sea-rail intermodal facility, and head for Perth Amboy! Long live the CRRNJ Chemical Coast passenger service!!!
One thing I'm a bit confused
One thing I'm a bit confused about here is that the CRRC plant in Springfield supposedly will include a half-mile test track, at least according to multiple news articles about it.
I would think initial testing (the cars themselves) should occur there, followed by final testing (the cars interacting with the T's infrastructure) occurring on the actual Red Line.
Using Track 61 only makes sense if the CRRC plant has been downsized such that it no longer includes said test track.
The test track in Springfield
The test track in Springfield is for the builder to test them before they are shipped to the customer. The testing at the MBTA is to test them before they are accepted, rail equipment is tested both by the seller and then by the buyer
Different agendas
Kinda like the car dealership telling you you can't test drive the car because they already test drove it for you at the factory. :)
Springfield will do all the testing they need. As new owner, the T has different things they will be testing, and do so under their own supervision, simulating their own conditions... The initial cars also get beat up a little more with the intent of seeing what they can break.
Or, to build on your simile,
Or, to build on your simile, it's kinda like when a banker asks you why the value of the car loan for which you are applying is for way more than the value of the car and you say "Well because I need a new place to test drive it too of course !"
I acknowledged that in my
I acknowledged that in my comment. Please re-read it:
I would think initial testing (the cars themselves) should occur there, followed by final testing (the cars interacting with the T's infrastructure) occurring on the actual Red Line.
To use your analogy, this would be the car dealership telling you "you need to build a proving ground to test drive this car, since it's never ever been driven before".
When you buy a car, you expect the manufacturer to certify that the model of car you're buying has been thoroughly tested.
As I said, previously, I would expect initial testing to be done on the test track in Springfield, then final testing to be done on the T - without the third, intermediate step of testing on the T's test track.
I'm hoping it's an example of
I'm hoping it's an example of good, lateral thinking. Money put into track bed, ties, rails, etc... is an investment in usable infrastructure for any future plans for Seaport.
By the way...
I saw something yesterday that brought my mind back to recent discussions of electrification for commuter rail.
I was on the Expressway and looked over as a double-decker commuter rail coach passed under Boston Street. It might have been just the angle I was looking from, but I don't think there's enough clearance there to install overhead catenary (if running double-deckers). That would rule out electrification for the three Old Colony lines until that bridge could be changed.
Is anybody aware of other such points?
Electrifying the Old Colony
Electrifying the Old Colony lines may well require raising some bridge clearances. This can usually be accomplished with relative ease by undercutting the trackbed and leaving the bridge intact.
I don't think so. Most of
I don't think so. Most of the Old Colony was pre-designed for future installation of 25 kV overhead electrification, since the restoration of passenger service came after the Big Dig was deep enough into design to know that we'd have space reserved underneath the O'Neill Tunnel for the North-South Rail Link. NSRL had its first prelim scoping study released before Middleboro and Plymouth service were even 5 years old, so that study was cued up while they were still doing the heavy construction work in the mid-90's on those two lines. All that Old Colony restoration was done 20 years ago foresight for the same exact NSRL script we're reading from today. Nothing's really changed with the Link proposal at all with the recent renewed advocacy; it's just being picked back up where it left off after 10 years of procrastination.
Amtrak also has its electrified Southampton Yard runaround track running alongside the Red Line Cabot Yard leads and Old Colony main down to Boston St. a little before JFK, where it stubs out. So everything Southampton St. overpass and points north is already fully clear.
Boston Street over the RR was
Boston Street over the RR was built in 1977 (maintaining the street profile of Boston Street over the Expressway, which was built in 1957).
Amtrak's overhead yard electric ends just north of Boston Street. I don't know if that's because they didn't need any more space than that (from their yard to that point) or because they couldn't fit under Boston Street, but - that's where it ends. I'm assuming their yard electric wasn't put in until around the time the line from New Haven through Providence was electrified. Can't remember - mid 90s, early 2000s?
Southampton over the RR was built in 1981. Southampton over the Expressway was sometime 1956-1958.
W 4th over the RR was built in 1989.
Broadway Bridge was built by 1999.
North-South Rail Link doesn't have much to do with it.
'99 was when Amtrak installed
'99 was when Amtrak installed that track. Only reason it doesn't extend beyond Boston St. is because it runs out of side room, as the Red Line yard track starts spreading there around the subway portal that's on the verge of popping up from underground. It's wrong side of the Red Line to merge into the Old Colony anyway, so the far south end is only used as a test track for Amtrak electrics and Acelas that just came out of Southampton Shops for service/inspection.
UglyBridges.com, a searchable database of the National Bridge Inventory, has vertical clearance stats for every active road and rail bridge in the state. Boston St. and Southampton are +/- 3 inches the same height. Big caveat that NBI stats require some interpretation because they don't say whether the quoted vertical clearance is measured at the side abutment, center, or wherever...or whether the measurement is a minimum, average, or maximum clearance. Centerline over the rail is the only clearance that matters for rail, so if UglyBridges says Southampton St. over that wired-up track is only 15.4 ft...it's not quoting the track centerline because you wouldn't be able to fit 25 kV wires over an Amtrak Sprinter locomotive if it were *truly* that short. 15.4 ft. is probably at the abutments where the gravel masses up on a mini-embankment, and track centerline is probably a full-regulation 18 ft.
The FRA definitely collects records on vertical clearances, but that's unfortunately one of the few data streams of theirs that isn't publicly searchable. So you have to rely on some guesswork from UglyBridges, and *roughly* extrapolate from there by compare/contrast with other spans of more firmly-verified dimensions. So...since Southampton & Boston St. are very similar recorded height and very similar slope up top...they both probably have +/- couple inches the same centerline clearances. It appears from Google Street View they have very similar/exact same gravel massing along the abutments causing the very low 15+ ft. reported readings. Thus, you can say with reasonable confidence that Boston St. isn't going to be a problem at all for electrification because it's either an identical match for Southampton and A-OK for wires...or, is off by very negligible fudge factor solveable at track--not bridge--level with a cheap shaving.
Dig from there and you can ID the potential problem spans pretty easily and isolate what % of systemwide spans you'll need to load the piggybank for mods/replacement. It's fewer than you might think, and only a couple of northside lines that are going to be a real money-chewing pain in the ass to get cleared for wires.
after the Big Dig was deep
after the Big Dig was deep enough into design to know that we'd have space reserved underneath the O'Neill Tunnel for the North-South Rail Link
"Reserved" for the NSRL? Oh, you mean the voids created underneath the tunnel after they cancelled construction of the fire suppression system with retention tanks because the Boston Fire Department decided they didn't want it.
Maybe improving a track for
Maybe improving a track for testing COULD be an investment in passenger rail in the area. But I predict this track will never get used again after the last Red Line car is accepted.
I'm on the fence about this idea. Why not just use the Cabot Yard leads? Double-tracked with signals and third rail already in place. Sadly no roller-coaster loops, but at least 1800' of straight track. Presumably there would be no issue scheduling test trips on this section of track betwixt the regular yard pulls. From what I know and have observed there seems to only be a few moves in the early morning, some after the PM rush hour, and then some late pullbacks; plus the work train moves after service ends.
But the prospect of Red Line photo ops in the Seaport seems too awesome to pass up...
I had the same question
But it appears there might not be enough tangent track there. Plus you'd have to build test times around equipment moves in and out of the yard, which might not leave you with any long blocks of time. Of course, that fact that the T owns and operates damn near two miles of yard lead is interesting, as is the fact that the main yard for the Red Line is on such prime property a stone's throw from the Financial District. (Of course, you need a yard like Cabot, and the only other place on or near line it could conceivably be located is down by the Braintree Split. Or maybe even in the middle of the Braintree Split. That could cost some pretty long dollars to build, but Cabot may be worth a pretty penny on the open market!)
Cabot's already deckable for
Cabot's already deckable for air rights pegs and cover-over on the Rolling Bridge Park-Traveler and Traveler-W. 4th blocks the way the tracks are spaced, so there isn't even a land use incentive to try to relocate it. Those two blocks would arguably be higher-value on the pecking order for air rights redev than much-overhyped Widett Circle since there's a real pre-existing rectangular street grid to engage on those blocks, and it directly aids with knitting together Dot Ave. @ a post-USPS expanded South Station with GE headquarters @ Ft. Point and the immediate Broadway Station area with contiguous density. The state's and BRA's 50 years of futility at moving any of the Pike air rights between Back Bay Station and Albany St. without snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is unfortunately the main reason why these two over-Cabot parcels aren't subject to much mindshare for on-again/off-again dev proposals. They're more valuable once you've moved the even more geometrically perfect Pike parcels on the other side of 93 rather than a compelling priority by their lonesome, so lack of progress filling in the grid of Pike airspace a stone's throw away hinders Cabot's immediate infill value.
The only 'sacrosanct' part of Cabot's land usage is the actual Red Line maintenance complex between W. 4th and Southie Haul Road. Multi-story and space-intensive for the size of the fleet it has to maintain, so can't be tucked under a deck and doesn't have any equivalent-size tracts of land in equal shot of JFK/Columbia Jct. that could substitute its functions. But that's tucked in back behind the (also mission-critical) Cabot bus yard and the commuter rail inspection facility in the middle of a big break in the street grid, so is conveniently on the least valuable redev parcel of all anywhere the whole mile length from Rolling Bridge Park to Southampton St. Too many better parcels that could be decked-over first before enough land is gobbled up for anyone to start coveting the footprint of the Red Line maint complex.
If they move the Food Market from Widett and install ground-level commuter rail storage that can be decked over, then there's almost 2 million sq. feet of developable land reclaimable between Widett/etc. and those two Cabot blocks without squeezing one single transpo-supporting building structure. It's the canvas of our wildest SimCity dreams AND we get to eat cake too with 50-year needs for transit storage. If only this weren't the same state that's so inept at moving even better Pike airspace after a half-century of futility, we might actually see that canvas exploited before the heat death of the universe. :-\
Random Question
What's the budget for "Railfan Containment" during the test runs?
We use the leftover barriers
We use the leftover barriers from Grand Prix.


text:
Town Board Meeting
The Town of Crawford public parks are located on Red Mills Road and Lybolt Road. Each park contains pavilions and barbeque pits which are available to the public. Reservations for park pavilions can be made through the Town Clerk's Office. The normal park season is from April 1st thru November 1st. Parks open at 8:00 am and close at dusk.
You must call (845) 744-2020 and reserve your date before filling out the park reservation form. Do not mail in the form without calling or your date will not be guaranteed.
Park Reservation Form: Download Link
Park Reservation Form: Download Link

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Speciesism: The Movie - Washington, DC Premiere
Speciesism: The Movie
Thursday, October 10, 2013 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
Event Details
Modern farms are struggling to keep a secret. Most of the animals used for food in the United States are raised in giant, bizarre factories, hidden deep in remote areas of the countryside. Speciesism: The Movie director Mark Devries set out to investigate. The documentary takes viewers on a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening adventure, crawling through the bushes that hide these factories, flying in airplanes above their toxic "manure lagoons," and coming face-to-face with their owners.
But this is just the beginning. In 1975, a young writer published a book arguing that no justifications exist for considering humans more important than members of other species. It slowly began to gain attention. Today, a quickly growing number of prominent individuals and political activists are adopting its conclusions. They have termed the assumption of human superiority speciesism. And, as a result, they rank these animal factories among the greatest evils in our history. Speciesism: The Movie brings viewers face-to-face with the leaders of this developing movement, and, for the first time ever on film, fully examines the purpose of what they are setting out to do.
Join director Mark Devries in his hometown for the Washington, DC regional premiere of this historic documentary, and ask him anything you'd like at the Q&A afterwards.
You'll never look at animals the same way again. Especially humans.
When & Where
E Street Cinema
555 11th Street Northwest
Thursday, October 10, 2013 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
Add to my calendar


text:
The collection contains:
C. T. Shaw
First Published - March 2002
Softback, 35 Pages
This booklet reviews how CFD simulations are run and the requirements needed to do this in terms of software, hardware and suitably skilled people. It has been written to guide those who make commercial decisions about the use of CFD technology and so it is aimed mainly at the industrial user. However, it also has relevance for other users, such as academics seeking to start work in this field.
It discusses the steps that are needed to develop a CFD analysis capability including assessing the need for CFD, obtaining suitable hardware and software, finding and training staff, validating test cases and establishing CFD procedures.
It is hoped that the reader might avoid the common pitfalls that occur when getting started with CFD and will be confident in establishing a CFD capability tuned to their organisation's requirements.
C. J. Lea
First Published - July 2010
Softback, 92 Pages
This book examines the issues which should be considered when making decisions on the allocation of resources. It aims to show how to maximise the usefulness of CFD simulation by making optimum use of resources.It provides examples and guidance on how to undertake CFD which is fit for purpose.
It is often the case that idealisation and thus simplification of the flow problem and CFD modelling approach is the key to ensuring that simulations fulfil project requirements. Therefore, a major focus of this book is on the areas in which idealisation and simplification can be fruitful.
The scope of the book is primarily the application of CFD to complex industrial flows. However, there is often no clearly defined boundary between industrial and other flows. For example, although the prime aim of a simulation may be to ensure that drug delivery to the lungs is effective – and this is clearly a biomedical flow - this may, in turn, require the modelling and optimisation of the design of a spray inhaler. In addition, examination of the treatment of complex flows in other application areas can lead to a useful cross-fertilisation of ideas. With this in mind, the book also draws on examples from application areas such as fire safety in the built environment, of resources marine hydrodynamics, as well as biomedical flows. Furthermore, although the book focuses on complex CFD applications, the principles and practice of CFD which is 'fit for purpose' are applicable to all CFD simulations – whether complex or otherwise.
The book is written for the relatively new CFD user who is faced with a range of industrial applications of significant complexity, rather than experienced users with considerable CFD knowledge in their particular application areas. In fact, this book seeks to close the gap between the relative newcomer and the expert user. It shows how to make thof resources, by outlining the principles and practice of idealisation and simplification.
The book is of most relevance to the users of general-purpose and application specific CFD software that provides a wide range of options when meshing, in selecting physical and numerical sub-models and boundary conditions, in obtaining and interpreting flow solutions. Nevertheless, users of all manner of CFD tools should find some benefit from this book. In general, the book focuses on turbulent industrial flows in which the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved. Mention is made of more advanced approaches to the simulation of turbulence, namely Large Eddy Simulation, but details of this approach are beyond the scope of the present volume.
The papers in this 10th volume of the Journal offer a wide range of CFD application topics each presenting comparisons with experiment as validation.
Technical textile fabrics have many uses, one such use, is in the paper making industry. In the paper by Farber et al water needs to flow through a textile with specific properties, requiring much trial testing of the fabric structure. A technique of "weaving" single cylindrical filaments together is used to create a small sample of a commercial fabric. The sample is used to simulate an experimental set up where water flows through the fabric and velocities are compared to Magnetic Resonance Imaging results.
Friction stir welding of metals is a new technology with equipment design largely relying on empirical data from welding performance tests. The process is highly non-linear comprising complex heat transfer, metal plastic deformation and flow. Simulating the welding tool at the plunge, dwell and traverse stages allows a better understanding of the process and parameters. The paper by Mackenzie et alcalculates transient temperature distributions and metal flow visualizations in the welding process.
Lifeboats launched from ships and offshore platforms must avoid overloading the occupants and vessel hull. A computational method using overlapping grids, to simplify the handling of lifeboat motion and specification of initial and boundary conditions, is used in the paper by Mørch et al to calculate vessel accelerations and pressures. The achieved accuracy in numerical simulations is comparable to the accuracy of experiments and provides a new design evaluation method.
Sanding systems are used to prevent a tram skidding on the rails, keeping sand used to a minimum.Simulating a sand-air mixture requires modelling the behaviour of the sand particles on the surface of the rails. A stochastic sub-model described in the paper by Möller et al, tuned using in-house experiment results, led to an improved design of the sanding device and sand jet which were later tested.
Water is inevitable in aircraft fuel tanks and aircraft movements create waves or "slosh" the fuel and water interface. Removing the water requires the positioning of scavenge pick-up locations to be optimised. The paper by Hylands et al uses CFD to simulate the dynamic motion of two liquids in a rectangular tank and compared to flow visualisation and pressure data results from a sloshing test rig.
Three of the papers mention the desire to make CFD the preferred method of analysis, the experimental approach is variously described as laborious, time-consuming, costly and requiring many optimisation tests. This is an old debate – "CFD replaces the wind tunnel" was mooted thirty years ago and we are still waiting! Most CFD practitioners realise that both are currently required for real engineering design - the challenge is to understand where each technique may augment the other.
Order Ref: B01
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£20.00 | $24.83 | €22.14
Non-member Price
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text:
Rock Band: Led Zeppelin spotted on film editor's resume
Employee at Beatles: Rock Band cinematic studio lists project surrounding English rock band; Harmonix rep says no work ever done on such a game.
Employee at Beatles: Rock Band cinematic studio lists project surrounding English rock band; Harmonix rep says no work ever done on such a game.
Rather than being subjected to questions, the Harmonix team turns the tables and asks the questions instead.
Two weeks after it ruled out Rock Band 4 in 2011, the Boston-area developer confirms it will use annual expo to unveil its latest title.
We count down to the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo with a series of features about the issues affecting the future of the games industry.
Beatles drummer files mark for computer game software, as well as toys; intention is unknown.
Harmonix bought up by private holding company; says "unannounced projects" are on the way.
Go back to school in style with the best picks for party, portable, and laptop computer games for those late-night dorm room sessions--along with selections of the best new games ...
Media multinational reports worldwide ancillary revenues declined 7 percent due to slowing sales of rhythm game series; Tragic Kingdom to be available next week as DLC.
GDC 2010: Naughty Dog's acclaimed shooter nets record number of statuettes, including Game of the Year; Batman: Arkham Asylum upsets in Game Design category; Scribblenauts top handheld; Flower and Farmville ...
Harmonix and MTV Games getting the band back together, Electronic Arts handling distribution once more.
Media conglomerate wants back a "substantial portion" of $150 million in performance-related payouts to former Rock Band developer shareholders.
Conglomerate calls out MTV Games' rhythm game for Media Networks segment's 6% slide in Q4 to $2.33 billion; overall quarterly revenues reach $4.1 billion.
Naughty Dog's acclaimed action adventure scores seven nods; fellow GOTY hopefuls include Dragon Age, Assassin's Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Demon's Souls.
Industry watchers pull varying lessons from the year's retail wreckage, predict return to growth in 2010.
NPD analyst pegs total store-bought software figure at $1.46 million last month; Activision's shooter franchise most lucrative so far in 2009.
MTV Games confirms elimination of 39 positions as Rock Band development studio restructures QA department; no games canceled or delayed as a result.
[UPDATE] Wal-Mart, Amazon match $50 deals on Halo 3: ODST, Dragon Age, Madden NFL and more; GameStop cuts deeper; big box retailer to offer $50 gift card with purchase of ...
Draft of Digital Economy measure proposes exceptions for games situated in athletics, rhythm, religion genres.
Eight remaining tracks from Fab Four's classic album available beginning Nov. 17 for $2 a track or $13.49 as a bundle.
Despite "strong" start of Beatles, Viacom CEO says MTV Games and Harmonix's rhythm game series negatively impacted margins during July-Sept. period.
Fab Four's gaming debut helps reverse slumping rhythm game sales, but can't push media empire to revenue growth.
Activision's latest rhythm game strikes discordant retail note as Football Manager 2010 jumps in at number one.
Lead singer of classic rock quartet says band-specific installment in rhythm game franchise is planned for next year.
Aion, Champions Online debut atop NPD's monthly PC rankings, while Kingdom Hearts 358/2, Scribblenauts, and NHL 10 and in bottom half of top 20; [UPDATE] Need for Speed Shift moves ...
Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter predicts that after potentially disappointing October results, "double-digit gains will be the norm" until the back half of next year.
MTV Games' Fab Four tribute shifts 595,000 units in opening month, nearly 100,000 more than Activision's flagship contender; Abbey Road DLC out this week.
$1.28 billion haul, 1% growth ends months of double-digit decline; Sony's console sells 491,000 systems; Halo 3: ODST sells 1.52 million units; analyst split on implications.
Revamp of the Xbox 360's online interface will add dedicated music DLC and content channel as well as MSNBC news updates, New Yorker cartoons, and...Dilbert?
The folks at Harmonix are nothing if not busy. Sometime next month, the developer of the Rock Band franchise will surpass the 1,000 song mark (including both disc content and ...
Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson says October will likely see a return to shrinking revenues, projects Guitar Hero 5 outsold Beatles: Rock Band in debut month.
Wedbush Morgan projections have Fab Four game outselling Activision's latest nearly 2:1 in debut month; EEDAR says both titles exceeded expectations.
Wedbush Morgan's Pachter, EEDAR's Divnich project double-digit game growth last month, say Sony has most to gain from price cut.
After passing on Harmonix collaboration last year, Irish quartet is now open to band-centric rhythm game a la The Beatles: Rock Band.
School's in, and so are some of the best gaming gifts for the students, teachers, and classmates on your shopping list.
Microsoft's Fab Four-themed console raises thousands for Doctors Without Borders; "All You Need Is Love" becomes "fastest-selling" Rock Band track in two days.
Activision exec tells Financial Times its rhythm game is outselling its competitor fourfold in US, 9-to-1 in "other markets."
MTV Games and Harmonix's Fab Four-only rhythm game sells 25% of inventory in first week; special edition package gone by November; song downloads hit 60 million.
Can the Fab Four make it to the top of the game charts in their debut week?
Become an honorary Beatle with our tips for The Beatles: Rock Band, including achievement and trophy details.
To commemorate the launch of MTV Games and Harmonix's The Beatles: Rock Band, Microsoft announced yesterday a special-edition console bearing the Fab Four's likeness. Not exactly a retail offering, the ...
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text:
Mayor William J. Healy II, like our national leader, has a strong desire to waste taxpayers' money. Healy's appointees are selected as "yes" people with hopes their families, friends and acquaintances will support or vote for the person who appointed them.
Canton's safety forces have been allowed to decrease to a dangerous level because the general fund has been used to provide bonuses and hire more appointees who are not necessary for the city to run efficiently.
Healy is now hoping that Issue 1, the Canton park levy, will pass so the funds now in the park budget can be pulled and used to hire a very few safety personnel as a token. But this will provide a discretionary fund that Healy can waste as he has in the past.
Wake up, citizens, this mayor couldn't care less about your safety.
Editor's note: The writer is a former Canton safety director.


text:
The USA Cycling Pro Ultra Endurance Tour is set for 2012:
USA Cycling announced Friday the dates and locations for the 2012 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Ultra-Endurance Tour (Pro UET). The Pro UET recognizes the best competitors in 6-hour, 24-hour, marathon and ultra-marathon mountain bike competitions across the country.
Below is a look at the complete 2012 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Ultra-Endurance Tour:
March 10: Spa City 6-Hour Mountain Bike Race (Hot Springs, Ark.)
May 20: Sagebrush Safari 50 (Lake Morena, CA)
June 3: Big Bear 50 (Big Bear Lake, CA)
June 30: Galena Grinder Whit Henry Memorial (Galena Lodge, Idaho)
July 21: 12 Hours of Snowmass (Snowmass, CO)
Via USA Cycling. Nothing in NorCal again this year, but three dates within roadtrip distance (Sagebrush, Big Bear and Galena Grinder).


text:
W3C::LogValidator::CSSValidator - [W3C Log Validator] Batch validation of CSS style sheets (using the W3C CSS validator)
use W3C::LogValidator::CSSValidator;
my %config = ("verbose" => 2);
my $validator = W3C::LogValidator::CSSValidator->new(\%config);
$validator->uris('http://www.w3.org/StyleSheets/home.css', 'http://yoda.zoy.org/mt-static/styles.css');
my %result= $validator->process_list;
This module is part of the W3C::LogValidator suite, and is used as an interface to the W3C CSS validation service.
- $val = W3C::LogValidator::CSSValidator->new
Constructs a new
You might pass it a configuration hash reference (see "config_module" in W3C::LogValidator and W3C::LogValidator::Config)
$validator = W3C::LogValidator::CSSValidator->new(\%config);
- $val->process_list
Processes a list of sorted URIs through the W3C Markup Validator.
The list can be set
uris. If the $val was given a config has when constructed, and if the has has a "tmpfile" key,
process_listwill try to read this file as a hash of URIs and "hits" (popularity) with DB_File.
Returns a result hash. Keys for this hash are:
name (string): the name of the module, i.e "CSSValidator" intro (string): introduction to the processing results thead (array): headers of the results table trows (array of arrays): rows of the results table outro (string): conclusion of the processing results
- $val->trim_uris
Given a list of URIs of documents to process, returns a subset of this list containing the URIs of documents the module supposedly can handle. The decision is made based on file extensions (see
auth_ext) and content-type (see
- $val->HEAD_check
Checks whether a document with no extension is actually a CSS document through an HTTP HEAD request returns 1 if the URI is of an expected content-type, 0 otherwise
- $val->auth_ext
Returns the file extensions (space separated entries in a string) supported by the Module. Public method accessing $self->{AUTH_EXT}, itself coming from either the AuthorizedExtensions configuration setting, or a default value
- $val->valid
Sets / Returns whether the document being processed has been found to be valid or not. If an argument is given, sets the variable, otherwise returns the current variable.
- $val->valid_err_num
Sets / Returns the number of validation errors for the document being processed. If an argument is given, sets the variable, otherwise returns the current variable.
- $val->valid_success
Sets / Returns whether the module was able to process validation of the current document successfully (regardless of valid/invalid result) If an argument is given, sets the variable, otherwise returns the current variable.
- $val->valid_head
Sets / Returns all HTTP headers returned by the markup validator when attempting to validate the current document. If an argument is given, sets the variable, otherwise returns the current variable.
- $val->new_doc
Resets all validation variables to 'undef'. In effect, prepares the processing module to the handling of a new document.
Public bug-tracking interface at http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/
Olivier Thereaux <email@example.com>
W3C::LogValidator::LogProcessor, perl(1). Up-to-date complete info at http://www.w3.org/QA/Tools/LogValidator/


text:
Financial Services
Why are FICA refunds being paid to medical residents and their employers?
On March 2, 2010, the IRS announced that it had made an administrative determination to accept the position that medical residents are excepted from FICA taxes based on the student exception for tax periods ending before April 1, 2005, when new IRS regulations went into effect. This announcement means that the IRS intends to provide a refund of the FICA taxes for individual medical residents and institutions that timely filed refund claims for tax periods ending before April 1, 2005.
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Who is eligible to receive a refund?
Medical residents employed by the University between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2005 who signed consent forms authorizing the University to file on their behalf and who were deemed eligible. These refund claims are subject to the same requirements that apply to all FICA refund claims including verification by the IRS of the amount of the claim and payment of interest.
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If I previously didn't consent for OUHSC to file a FICA refund on my behalf for the time period January 1, 1994 through March 31, 2005, can I consent at this time?
No. The deadline has passed. We filed the claims with the IRS in November 2010.
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Can a FICA refund claim still be filed for periods before April 1, 2005?
No. The period of limitations for filing a claim for tax periods before April 1, 2005 has expired.
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I was a resident after April 1, 2005, will I be able to receive refunds?
No. The IRS enacted regulations effective April 1, 2005 that make payments to residents FICA taxable. One part of these regulations states that an employee who works 40 hours or more (full-time employee) for a school, college or university is not eligible for the student exception. The regulation excludes medical residents from the student exception. See new regulations at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-regs/td_9167.pdf
This was confirmed on January 11, 2011 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the regulation denying FICA exemption to Medical Residents after March 31, 2005. For more information, review item #5 at: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=234493,00.html
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Can I just file my own refund claim?
This is a matter that you should discuss with your tax professional. We cannot provide you with tax advice. Be aware that there are time limits for filing refund claims.
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Who should I contact with any questions?
If you have any questions, you may email firstname.lastname@example.com. Include your name, telephone number(s), e-mail address, current mailing address and years of residency or fellowship in your email message. Your inquiry will be answered by email as soon as possible. We will also update information on this webpage with any additional information as the refund claim process progresses.
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What should I do if I move while the refund process is still ongoing?
It is anticipated that the refund process may take several months. As a result, if your contact information changes, please provide updated information by email at email@example.com.
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Once the IRS provides the FICA tax refund, when can I expect to receive my share of any refund?
Once the claims process is completed, the IRS will send the aggregate refund to the University. The amount refunded to the University will only include the employee share of FICA taxes for those residents who consented to the University's refund claim. Although we do not know how long it will take for the IRS to administer the refund claim, once the University's claim is allowed, we will send those residents who consented to the University's refund claim a check for their share of the FICA tax refund in a timely manner. We anticipate this occurring before the end of the calendar year 2011.
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If I do receive a FICA tax refund, do I need to pay taxes on it?
No, the refund is not subject to income tax. However, the IRS intends to pay interest on your share of the FICA tax that is refunded. The interest paid by the IRS on your share of the FICA tax refund is subject to tax in the year it is received. You will be provided a form 1099 in the calendar year paid if more than $600 in interest is paid. You should contact your tax professional for more information on this subject and to discuss your specific tax situation.
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If I do receive a FICA tax refund, how does this affect my eligibility for and calculation of social security benefits?
Your eligibility for and calculation of social security benefits (either current or future) may be affected in the event of a refund, depending on your personal circumstances. If you consent to the refund claim, you will be issued a Form W-2c which will reflect a reduction in your earnings for social security benefits purposes. Whether social security benefits that you are receiving currently or in the future are impacted by a reduction of wage credits as a result of the refund will depend on your particular facts and circumstances. You should contact your local Social Security Administration office with any questions regarding your particular situation.
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Small business owners' plea to credit unions: earn my business.
Among them: not having convenient branch locations, a lack of expertise on staff and not offering robust online banking services, according to feedback shared by a focus group comprised of 10 business owners, CEOs, and accountants with annual sales ranging from $1 million to $10 million.
The focus group was coordinated by a market research firm for CU Business Group in Portland, Ore., the business services CUSO said.
Participants were asked about their relationship with their current financial institution, the products and services that were most important to them, and their perception of credit unions.
"One of the key findings was credit unions were not stepping up in both letting business owners know what they were capable of offering and not educating them on how they can compete with big banks," said James Weaver, chief operating officer of Consumer Opinion Services, a Seattle-based research group, who served as moderator of the focus group.
Branch location turned out to be a must-have for both owners and their businesses' employees, Weaver said. Having convenient locations was critical, particularly for staff at small to midsize firms who rely on being able to cash their checks in person without having to pay fees, he added.
Another important area expressed among the focus group participants was having the right type of expertise, Weaver noted. This was especially true for those that had ongoing relationships with banking individuals that spanned several years.
"They pay attention to the talent. The expertise of people handling business at credit unions was important to them," Weaver said. "They like it when someone has 20 years of experience."
Some of the respondents said credit unions haven't marketed their business services to them, while they get contacted by larger banks on a regular basis, according to CUBG.
"Just call me and take me to lunch," said one participant. "I never have been contacted by a credit union so why would I even consider them?"
Indeed, the two toughest hurdles for credit unions are engaging business owners and getting in front of them, said Ted Rosen, president of Expert Business Development LLC, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based financial service management consultation firm. He attended the viewing of the focus group's session, which was featured at CU Business Group's recent business services conference in Portland.
"The challenge is 'how do I follow up.' There's a simple concept called respectful persistence. While you always want to be respectful and not badger, there's always a way to follow up," said Rosen, whose firm links small businesses with credit unions and community banks.
That engagement is critical because all of the focus group's participants didn't even consider credit unions when it came to meeting their financial needs, said Larry Middleman, president/CEO of CU Business Group, which serves more than 430 credit unions in 44 states.
"It didn't even surprise me because some credit unions don't even have the product suite," Middleman noted. "Credit unions were barely, if at all, on their minds."
Rosen said one of the biggest mistakes credit unions make when it comes to courting small businesses is approaching them with a retail banking focus. In that world, people traditionally come through the branch door, respond to ads or employees will become members because the companies they work for are select employee groups.
"In the world of business services, these are businesses where the entrepreneur is working 70 hours a week, they're balancing a lot of balls in the air," Rosen explained. "You're not going to expect them to find you through an ad or direct mail. One way is to get them on the phone. It's often just an awareness issue--so many say they just didn't know credit unions offered business services."
Size perception was an issue. One participant said using a national bank makes his business seem larger and more sophisticated, while using a credit union would make his clients think he was a smaller organization, according to CUBG. In particular, he shared that he didn't believe credit unions could handle his international banking needs.
Interestingly, all of the focus group participants were members of credit unions, Weaver pointed out.
"One of the key comments was 'I'm in your credit union every day, every week. But you're not trying to win my business on the business services side. Take me to lunch, do something to win me over,'" he said.
Across the board, the focus group agreed that online banking was the product or service that was most important to them, which includes everything from checking balances and transferring funds to remote deposit capture, cash management and ACH origination, according to CUBG. Middleman said those products are still very exotic to some credit unions.
Despite the voids that may be keeping small businesses away, credit unions still have an edge over banks that can help fill the spaces. All of the focus group participants expressed admiration for their friendly service, Rosen said.
"What's interesting is there's this wonderful opportunity for them to capitalize on the market," he offered. "Big banks have done a wonderful job of shooting themselves in the foot, which is always good for credit unions."
The sale of questionable derivatives and a scourge of subprime lending that eventually contributed to the Great Recession were primarily led by some of the nation's largest banks, Rosen said. Middleman said focus group feedback was consistent with what he's heard in the past.
"This is very eye-opening. Many credit unions are considering expanded business services and this session (provided) excellent direction for what is needed to serve larger businesses," Middleman said. "These will be some of the most profitable relationships at the credit union and it is imperative that we know how what it takes to win them over."
LEARN more on business lending
RELATED ARTICLE: The Rundown
* Focus group shares honest feedback on credit unions.
* Most business owners want to be heavily courted.
* Expertise, online banking, branches were important factors.
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Indiewebifying my #digpen lanyard: http://photos.waterpigs.co.uk/p/t4
Indiewebifying my #digpen lanyard: http://photos.waterpigs.co.uk/p/t4
#mole sighting
Field full of #mole hills sighted
7559 #steps today
If you traverse google street view in the opposite direction the camera was going, you're going back in time
#taproot / #webactions design #principle: easy things should be easy, remove friction so hard things are no harder than they need to be.
16256 #steps today
#exeterweb conversation summaries:
Doing acceptance #testing in a different language to your application is philosophically a good idea.
When syndicating data, the quality can be used to determine the canonical version even if the separate versions don't link to each other (example: photographer takes RAWs, gives TIFF to client, RAW is proof of provenance) #POSSE
Not drinking tea and not having cream on cream teas reduces the day to day hassle, stress and confusion of living in Devon by approximately 90%.
RobMMcCarthy both! Really looking forward to your talk — but expect heckling if you mention schema.org ;)
Checked into Localeyes, Ashburton for the two-yearly eye excercise session. First time I'm having to pay for it (not being in school is scary)
14273 #steps today
#watching Insect Dissection. Amazing stuff, but I wish they'd stop using "insect" and "bug" interchangeably.
Jack Way Cmd + F5, Ctrl + alt + a and see what it says :)
archiveteam do you have archives of personal sites killed by Wanadoo/Orange at mysite.freeserve.com?
And the compliment of that #universallaw: the simpler the text-publishing service, the more interesting uses it's users will put it to, provided it paves their cow paths (e.g. Twitter with RTs, #hashtags and @-replies).
Give users constraints and simplicity, see what they do, then solidify that functionality — or, from an #indieweb point of view, give yourself constraints, then pave your solitary cowpaths.
New #universallaw:
It doesn't matter what the original intention of the service was, if it allows people to publish text on the web, it will be used as a chat room, a blog and an advertising outlet.
@willnorris aw crap, an order of magnitude out! Thanks for the heads up :)
10460 #steps today
This article makes me even more excited about going to #iceland /via Robin Andrews


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Message Board
Dorrith M. Sim Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Sim has written!
Author Sim's Book Reviews
In My Pocket
Dorrith Sim tells her own story as a member of the Kindertransport. Using short sentences, simple language, and brightly colored illustrations, In My Pocket recounts a nameless child's (Dorrith's) trip to England and her experience upon arrival. The train trip to Holland, the boat trip to England, and the experience of acceptance within Scotland are addressed. The child protagonist tells of learning English using the phrase "in my pocket" as a mneumonic ...


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Everett Golson, whose heroics under center last season led the Fighting Irish to the BCS Championship game, is no longer enrolled at Notre Dame due to academic violations, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The news broke late Saturday night, with sources telling the Tribune Golson had committed a Residence Life violation before clarifying to reporter Brian Hamilton that an academic violation was the reason for Golson's departure from Notre Dame.
That's an important distinction, because as NCAA bylaws expert John Infante points out, an academic violation would render Golson ineligible to receive scholarship funding from any college in the upcoming year.
Golson started 12 of Notre Dame's 13 games last season, and was the core of coach Brian Kelly's offensive scheme. Senior signal-caller Tommy Rees is expected to take Golson's spot under center; Rees has considerable experience for the Irish, but is a clear second option for Kelly's offense. Rees was also jailed last year for allegedly assaulting a cop.
Photo Credit: Getty Images


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Our campus is a 24-hour living and learning community where our students not only eat, sleep and study, but socialize, get involved, develop lifelong friendships and become better citizens. All full-time undergraduates live on campus (unless you live with your family). With more than a dozen residence halls and student apartments, there are plenty of housing options at St. Mike's that are sure to make you feel comfortable and at home.
You'll find that our dining options provide something for everyone, just about any hour of the day or evening. The Green Mountain Dining Room is open daily from early morning until night and serves three meals a day with unlimited servings. You're sure to find some favorites on the menu, which changes daily and includes a variety of main dishes, pizza, a deli counter, burritos, grill specialties, chef's exhibitions, custom salads, soups and desserts. Vegetarian options are available for every meal and most offer vegan specialties as well.


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When God Whispers Your Name
by Max Lucado
The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
—John 10:3
WHEN I SEE a flock of sheep I see exactly that, a flock. A rabble of wool. A herd of hooves. I don't see a sheep. I see sheep. All alike. None different. That's what I see.
But not so with the shepherd. To him every sheep is different. Every face is special. Every face has a story. And every sheep has a name.The one with the sad eyes, that's Droopy. And the fellow with one ear up and the other down, I call him Oscar. And the small one with the black patch on his leg, he's an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joseph.
The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name.
When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd. Filling a stadium or flooding a mall. When we see a crowd, we see people, not persons, but people. A herd of humans. A flock of faces. That's what we see.
But not so with the Shepherd. To him every face is different. Every face is a story. Every face is a child. Every child has a name. The one with the sad eyes, that's Sally. The old fellow with one eyebrow up and the other down, Harry's his name. And the young one with the limp? He's an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joey.
The Shepherd knows his sheep. He knows each one by name. The Shepherd knows you. He knows your name. And he will never forget it. I have written your name on my hand (Isa. 49:16).
Quite a thought, isn't it? Your name on God's hand. Your name on God's lips. Maybe you've seen your name in some special places. On an award or diploma or walnut door. Or maybe you've heard your name from some important people—a coach, a celebrity, a teacher. But to think that your name is on God's hand and on God's lips . . . my, could it be?
Or perhaps you've never seen your name honored. And you can't remember when you heard it spoken with kindness. If so, it may be more difficult for you to believe that God knows your name.
But he does. Written on his hand. Spoken by his mouth. Whispered by his lips. Your name. And not only the name you now have, but the name he has in store for you. A new name he will give you . . .
When God Whispers Your Name is a book of hope. A book whose sole aim is to encourage. I've harvested thoughts from a landscape of fields. And though their size and flavors are varied, their purpose is singular: to provide you, the reader, with a word of hope. I thought you could use it.
You've been on my mind as I've been writing. I've thought of you often. I honestly have. Over the years I've gotten to know some of you folks well. I've read your letters, shaken your hands, and watched your eyes. I think I know you.
You're busy. Time passes before your tasks are finished. And if you get a chance to read, it's a slim chance indeed.
You're anxious. Bad news outpaces the good. Problems outnumber solutions. And you are concerned. What future do your children have on this earth? What future do you have?
You're cautious. You don't trust as easily as you once did.
Politicians lied. The system failed. The minister compromised. Your spouse cheated. It's not easy to trust. It's not that you don't want to. It's just that you want to be careful.
There is one other thing. You've made some mistakes. I met one of you at a bookstore in Michigan. A businessman, you seldom came out of your office at all and never to meet an author. But then you did. You were regretting the many hours at work and the few hours at home and wanted to talk.
And the single mom in Chicago. One kid was tugging, the other crying, but juggling them both, you made your point. "I made mistakes," you explained, "but I really want to try again."
And there was that night in Fresno. The musician sang and I spoke and you came. You almost didn't. You almost stayed home. Just that day you'd found the note from your wife. She was leaving you. But you came anyway. Hoping I'd have something for the pain. Hoping I'd have an answer. Where is God at a time like this?
And so as I wrote, I thought about you. All of you. You aren't malicious. You aren't evil. You aren't hardhearted, (hardheaded occasionally, but not hardhearted). You really want to do what is right. But sometimes life turns south. Occasionally we need a reminder.
Not a sermon.
A reminder.
A reminder that God knows your name.
From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado
Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com and find resources at MaxLucado.com


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MILTON — Nine-month-old Braxton Staples successfully received a liver transplant on New Year's Eve at Boston's Children's Hospital, but his mother said his fight for life is just beginning.
"The liver transplant went well, but five days later we discovered, after an ultrasound, there was clotting in his veins," said Braxton's mother, Michelle Frampton.
Monday morning Braxton underwent another set of procedures to promote blood flow to his portal vein, which is imperative to the function of the liver.
Braxton's health problems have been part of his life from the beginning. Frampton noticed some irregularities in him shortly after he was born.
"He didn't sleep, he didn't eat," Frampton said on a public Facebook page designated to raising awareness of Braxton's condition.
At just a week old, Braxton was admitted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where they detected Braxton was born without a spleen. The defect is called Heterotaxy Syndrome, which effects four out of every 1 million births. In even more rare circumstances, 10 to 20 percent of those detected with Heterotaxy Syndrome carry a liver disease called Biliary Atresia Spelnic, a defect in which the bile duct between the child's liver and small intestine is blocked or nonexistent.
Braxton was one of those rare cases and has been undergoing surgery since he was merely eight weeks old.
"We don't know how long this will work, we don't know a lot of things about Braxton, so now we wait," Frampton said Tuesday morning from Boston Children's Hospital. She has been staying there with her son.
Surgeries are far from over for Braxton as he will face inevitable liver transplants through out his life. The average transplanted liver needs replacing every 10 years, according to Frampton. Open-heart surgery may be in store for Braxton by the time he reaches six, due to a hole in his heart that is too big to close on its own. That defect threatens the tot's life with risk of stroke, right-side heart failure and the overflow of blood to his frail lungs. Braxton's mother also said a hernia had been discovered in one of his major surgeries.
Due to Braxton's inability to fight infections, he has to remain close to home and within proximity to Boston Children's Hospital.
"A common cold could kill him," Frampton said.
In an effort to help raise the money for the liver transplant, Frampton and her friends have organized a fundraiser called Hope for Braxton to help with endless expenses. Katelyn Day, a friend of Frampton's, mentioned on Tuesday that Braxton's mother set a small goal of $500 to be raised for her son.
"She didn't want to disappoint herself if the money did not come in," Day said.
The donations as of Wednesday topped $1,400.
Braxton's mother remains by her son's side as much as the Boston Children's Hospital allows, which leaves Braxton's father, Joey Staples, to support the family on one income. Donations in any amount are welcomed. Donors may choose to remain anonymous if they wish. To see the fundraiser's process or to donate, visit the website at http://www.giveforward.com/hopeforbraxton. A Facebook page has also been set up, which Frampton has been updating frequently, www.facebook.com/hopeforbraxton. The fundraiser has a set end date of March 26.
"Through all his pain, he always seems so happy," Frampton said.


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