Re: (erielack) Re: CNJ Interchange

[Jim Guthrie <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

Brad asks:

>Ok well then this begs the question. If there was a physical connection to the LI and NH at Hells gate bridge, why was anything >floated at all? It just seems dumb, if you have a land line way to get there everything should use it.

If the PRR opened up either gateway to themselves, then everyone would want to use it <g>.

The PRR say a competitive advantage in their Hell Gate investment. They fought tooth and nail against the New York Central's attempt to preserve Hell Gate Routings after the USRA mandate expired. "Look at what Socialism did! It made us run trains across the bridge instead of running efficient carfloats!"

In the end, it was also cheaper for the NYCentral to run a carfloat from 60th Sreet than to share a division with the New Haven between Port Morris and Fresh Pond, especially as thy needed to run floats for traffic from Weehawken anyway. Balancing diversions of revenue to the carfloat interchanges against paying to run trains hither and yon while having idle marine equipment did not seem like a good idea. 

For the scoop on how all this cme about, you need to spend a few days (weeks?) studying the testimony in the New York Rate Case of the WWI era. It will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how dumb and provincial the railroad managers could be.

And once dumb and dumber figured out the stupid way of doing things (at least in our 100-year-later Monday Morning Quarterback eyes <g>) they would persuade the ICC to make sure that the stupidity was cast in stone.

And like blaming the USRA, they could blame the ICC later if someone should point out their folly.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie
ELHS #1296

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