WHY RUN WITH THE BIG DOG'S OF THE AMERICAN EAST COAST ?

Quick Quiz: Which are America's REALLY big East Coast Cities? Name me the top Ten Eastern Cities by population...

Natoinal Population Rank - East Coast States Rank

1. New York City
6. Philadelphia
11. Jacksonville
19. Baltimore
20. Charlotte
23. Boston
25. Washington
34. Atlanta
43. Miami
55. Tampa

Forget Tampa (Shallow Bay and one railroad), Miami (No room to grow and 300 extra miles to market), Atlanta (no port). Bet YOU wouldn't have guessed it, but in the EAST we are the NUMBER 3, of the "Big 3". In land mass we are number one.

This fact and the map in the sidebar "Here comes the Zeppelins" story, says it all. We are in position to take the hub of World Transportation. The recent rush to our docks prove us a very Big Dog Indeed. Call it unbridled boosterism if you wish, but watch us land 3 of the Worlds largest steamship lines within the year. But I'm not going to say who they might be. Count Von Zeppelin? Are you watching?

JTA moves forward with Southside BRT, Damn the FACTS...Full Speed Ahead

San Marco - Ortega - Riverside - 5 Points - Riverside Streetcar Station?

I hear it all the time, "Bob, what do you mean, little like the JTA stop's but with a dash of old Jacksonville classic?" Well they say one picture is worth 1,000 words so this is my final word on the (beats the heck out of Tampa - Memphis - Little Rock - Dallas - New Orleans) JACKSONVILLE STYLE streetcar station. This drawing could have come from our own Ortega collection, but JTA dumped that file back in 1984, (forget HELL!) So I dug up another rendering for your enjoyment. This is Resident Park, San Francisco, 1913. Now place this next to the historic districts and watch the rush into downtown. Hope this clears the air of Small but Classic!

Hey if you have a rendering or idea, send it over, I'll be glad to post it.

ANSWERING KANSAS CITY FROM JACKSONVILLE

INCOMING!

KANSAS CITY ANTI-RAIL LOBBY ATTACKS LIGHT RAIL AND THE JAX BLOGGER FIRES BACK

The so-called Citizens Transportation Committee is at war in Kansas City trying (with help from City Hall) to kill a citizens ballot vote that put Light Rail into a plan that only included KC Transits BRT plans. The BRT went flaming into the garage, then the City Council overturned the peoples vote! OUTRAGE! Court cases threatened and suddenly Light Rail is back on track only now there is a "new" group of very vocal citizens against light rail. Interesting? You bet. Suspect? Oh right out of the General Motors handbook of 1932...

So just for fun let's play a game here. Jacksonville and JTA could take this same approach, they could come back from a "Streetcar" and "Commuter Rail" study with horrible tales from the Kansas City group. What if this were JTA or the Jacksonville Citizens asking these questions, how would you and I answer them?

FROM AN IMAGINARY CTC ("Citizens Transit Committee") - JTA REPORT... (WE DEMAND ANSWERS TO THIS)

1. The inclusion of all elements of transit into the discussion of a city’s transportation plans.
2. The early inclusion of all segments of the population in transportation discussions.
3. The use of standardized methods of route comparison.
Beginning January 1, 2008, the CTC presented a series of questions to the Light Rail Task Force. Each question was supported by additional comments and reference sources when available, but only the questions are included here.

Question # 1 - January 1, 2008 Why does the Task Force continue to work with erroneous construction cost figures? You are using $50 million per mile for light rail and $40 million per mile for streetcars. Evidence shows that your $50 million per mile figure for light rail is very low and your $40 million per mile for streetcar is very high.

The CTC seems a bit confused. We NEVER said Light Rail would cost us $50 million a mile in Jacksonville (or elsewhere for that matter). Certainly it COULD if we built it in a subway or on a Skyway like structure, but not as we plan it. In fact the contractors think Modern Streetcar Track can be built down the center of streets such as Water Street for as little as $5-10 Million a mile and that includes the overhead wire system and cars. Light Rail would cost more due to larger vehicles and more weight, but even for private right-of-way and all double track it shouldn't surpass $30 Million a mile.

Question # 2 - January 2, 2008 Why does the Task Force completely ignore operating costs? Operating costs are a continuous expense to taxpayers. Citizens should have this information available before they enter the voting booth to decide the fate of light rail.

Fair enough, we currently pay about $17.00 per Skyway passenger, and our bus system carries only 5% of the working city at some cost to taxpayers. Modern Streetcars on the other hand operate in the area of $1.00 - 2.00 per passenger in subsidy. Heritage Streetcars, that is historic or replica historic cars often do much better. In post Katrina New Orleans, the Streetcars are in the black and massive expansion is in the works. Operating and Maintenance (O&M) costs are lower for streetcars then for buses.

Question # 3 - January 3, 2008 When will the Task Force discuss light rail crime? Crime is a real problem both in terms of quality of life on the trains and in actual dollars.

Frankly we are very concerned about this, the Rosa Parks Center, the driver less and conductor less Skyway leaves patrons to their own devices most of the day. Bus driver and passenger crime happens with some regularity at JTA bus stops. A Streetcar system, would have double the defense. We would have station shelters, which while far smaller then the Skyway could have central camera surveillance 24/7 and we would run Streetcars with Motormen and on occasion, roaming Conductors for added security. That equals about double the man power available to a JTA bus patron and Camera=Police presence.

Question # 4 - January 4, 2008 Why does the Task Force continue to discuss “Fast Streetcars” when no such device exists? Since the early 30s, all streetcars have operated at a top speed of around 45 mph. This includes historic, traditional, and modern streetcars. In urban environments, all hard rail transit vehicles that operate at ground level operate at speeds of 17 to 20 mph. Only when operating below the traffic as a subway or above traffic as an elevated are transit vehicles able to escape the speed restrictions caused by mixing with automobiles and pedestrians.

We have mentioned this before in the local press. The old JCCI study that labeled streetcars as slow, clunky, little more then tourist toys was completely wrong. (For NASCAR-LIKE evidence of what street railway equipment is capeable of doing see the side-bar article on "Those old and Slow Trolleys"). Frankly the motors that power any Streetcar or Light Rail Vehicle can be made to run at speeds none of us would be comfortable with. Did you know the 300 MPH trains in France are the same basic technology as streetcars? Where it gets interesting is where do you want our streetcars to hit 50 or 60 MPH?

Main Street? Water? Park? San Marco? Hardly. We can still outrun the cars on I-95 by using some private right-of-way such as that of the old F&J (Maxwell House) branch that connects downtown with Gateway Mall and doesn't go down a single street. So if your driving on North Main and the lights flash, the gates go down, all you'll hear is a faint "Woo" type Interurban Horn, and a classic streetcar will whoosh past at 45 MPH. Fast enough.

Question # 5 - January 7, 2008 When will the Task Force discuss construction disruption times as it impacts local business? All small businesses are concerned with anything that interferes with customer access to their business.

Unlike Highways and Busway's for BRT, streetcar construction usually is done in segments of 3 or 4 city blocks at a time and about 30 days from cut to finish per segment. Thus no business should be without easy access for more then 1 - 2 months.

Question # 6 - January 8, 2008 After the Task Force establishes a final route, when will local business owners at the station sites be advised that eminent domain may be required for their property?

No streetcar station should be so big as to require anyone's property. The needed right-of-way and station sites are already in place all along the streets and railroad grades of Jacksonville.

Question # 7 - January 9, 2008 When will the Task Force examine your recommended routes to insure they serve those most in need and provide the greatest benefit to the most people?.

The first goals will be to create a downtown double loop that allows cars to move to all of the hot spots in Jacksonville Development. Courthouse site, La Villa, Prime Osbourne/Transportation Center, Water Street, Landing, Omni, Hyatt, Cathedral and Stadium districts. Add to that the need to reach out and touch the neighborhoods such as the Riverside, 5 - Points, San Marco, Springfield communities. See the chart above for a Conservative estimate of the growth that our new - OLD streetcar system would promote in downtown.

JUST ANOTHER SLEEPY SOUTHERN PORT? NOT!

From a tiny native American canoe that doubled as a ferry which crossed the St. John's River at the "Cow Ford" in the heart of todays metropolis, Jacksonville has bloomed all along it's waterfront. Quick quiz? Which of all groups employ the most people and drives the economic engine of America's First Coast? If you guessed the
military, insurance, finance, or factorys you would be wrong. JAXPORT our booming international window on the world is the unstoppable king that dominates our City.

LOST STREETCAR OF THE WEEK

A feature of lost transit around the America's (A whole woods full of dumped Trolleys in MD?)

Happy passengers, busy commuters, holiday shoppers are now but ghosts, the door opens, but nobody cares anymore. Wasps and mice have populated the forlorn car bodies. Sometimes gone, sometimes nearly hopeless, and occasionally completely rebuildable, how many of these long lost rail cars will find their way back to civilization? to museums? or the tender loving care of historians and preservationists? How many others will simply fade into the elements from which they came?

LOST RAILROAD?

A new feature of lost transportation around the America's

Quick where is it? Anyone know? Anyone care? What is it? It is a General Electric 44 Ton Center Cab switcher in Navy gray. Now? Okay. When the Jacksonville Traction Company built it's Interurban line out to Black Point on the St. Johns River in what was then Camp Johnston, it was far out in the Country. Things could have been much, much worse. The original property for what is now NAS JAX was at Camp Blanding! The Army was content to make a land swap for some property closer to a major port and rail center turning 1/2 of Camp Blanding into a State Park and Forrest. Thus the current site of NAS. The Yukon Baptist Church (still standing across from the base) was moved from the Black Point Community. Other houses were removed to Yukon, or what was then known as Dewey Park. The Atlantic Coast Line built a wooden station at Yukon, a twin of the one in Orange Park. (Oddly the Orange Park Station was torn down years ago but the Yukon depot was moved to a private business location on the East side of the hill just South of the Orange Park Mall, off Blanding). The Dough boys had only 2 ways to get out to the base with any reliable transit. Five or six ACL trains each way a day dropped whole companies of recruits at Yukon depot. Finally the Trolleys reached the base, and not only gave the boys a way into town, but a ride every 15 minutes for a quarter! When the tracks came up after the great Streetcar Conspiracy of GM - Firestone - Standard Oil infamy wiped away our transit lines, the Navy moved onto the old Trolley tracks. For the next 40-50 years the base expanded and worked it's very own self contained railroad system. Nobody ever knew the North Gate access, which ran along the front of the hangers and exited through the new "Truck gate", was part of the Trolley system. Military Intelligence being an oxymoron, the Navy decided to abandon the old railroad system and by the 2000 it was but a memory. The locals will always remember it as "The Navy Train" and part of it's route even ran in front of the base for a mile or so and passed on the East side of the Yukon Depot. Freight was interchanged with the ACL. Often sensitive cargo would have passenger cars or cabooses full of armed marines on either end of the "mystery cargo". For all the Millions of times I talked to the crew, rode the Navy engine, and was even presented with a map of the "system" by a base commander, I never took a photo. NOT ONE! My map is long lost and so is my own special little railroad. Like thousands of others that dot the country, it died just 20 years before it was needed again. Sad our hindsight is always 20/20. This artistic version is as good as it gets. And YES, if YOU have a photo or memorbilia from our "Navy Train" please contact me, it would mean a lot.

Union Station is it Transportation Center or Social Darwinism?

A REAL TRANSPORTATION CENTER OR SOCIAL DARWINISM IN JACKSONVILLE

Belgian Railways are hard at work with passenger expansion programs. One has to wonder how a tiny country-state in the European Union can do such things and mighty Uncle Sam and his lovely daughter Florida can't. Miami, Tampa and Orlando are also working on true one-stop centers for Transportation. Ocala's is up and running, and Miami's will share airport-rail-metro-bus all in one place, amazing foresight. We keep talking about Jacksonville Transportation Center, yet our plans are scattering it all over LaVilla. Thus it will not be a "Center" in the classic sense, more like a Transportation Neighborhood. In a still somewhat parochial city like Jacksonville, the bait or carrot, seems to be "Amtrak". We'll move Amtrak back to the old station, and send all of the JTA buses (the stick) and Monorail down there to get those unfortunate passengers out. Meanwhile, Greyhound, (the big-dog stick) will bite and send it's coaches out of downtown. Thus in one swoop, we move Amtrak from a horrible location to a better position, offer escape, and get the "smelly bus patrons" out of our path. Is this Transit Planning or "social engineering?" We wiped out a prosperous African-American business district and very historic neighborhood for this. Now we have a "moonscape" on the West side of downtown and nothing to show for it. Could it be we WANT to scatter these various passengers and NOT bring them into a true center? Could it be this won't be where right meets left, rich sits with poor, and lions and lambs all converge in peace? Why would a City with millions of ground passengers annually, want to run those dollars away from either the City Core businesses, The grand old Union Station, (which contains acres of space for malls and shops) or a centralized tourism generator? Suspect - YOU BET! Watch this Darwinism carefully to see if the powers that be keep the useless "Convention Center" in place until the rail and bus stations are up and running. Just long enough to FORCE us to scatter out the masses of "undesirables", then suddenly the whole convention show will leap out for the downtown or the stadium district. Watch this closely, as our hypocrisy seems to know no end. Apocalyptic planning on a grand scale. Someone prove me wrong please! I would hate for these foriegn guests label us the City that is Minorität frei. It would appear that the Belgians don't have these problems. Perhaps, they just like everybody to come together, smile on their brother and love one another right now..." Antwerpen Central (pictured) and the North-South Junction projects are part of the Brussels-Amsterdam improvement program.

The River the City the Sea

Standing His Post, originally uploaded by Digit_AL.

The spirit of moving is an eternal factor in Jacksonville as the river flows northward toward the sea. Our bronzed sailor stares forever toward new and exotic horizons. He'll turn his back on his home port for months on end, until the day the whole city rejoyces over his ships return. Welcome home to Jacksonville.

What is and What isn't a Trolley?

Photo 1: THIS IS NOT A TROLLEY

Photo 2: THIS IS A TROLLEY

What is...and isn't...a trolley?
This (Revision) from the Sacramento Bee Newspaper - Oct 2007

On the ongoing plans to build a streetcar line between Sacramento and West Sacramento prompted quite a few comments. One thing I notice is that, for many people, it isn't at all what a streetcar, or a trolley, is.

The term "streetcar" refers to fixed-rail transit that is run on city streets, rather than on separated grades like a railroad. The term was originally used to describe horse-drawn cars operating on rails, but can also cover cable cars, steam dummies (small steam locomotives intended to pull cars on city streets) and electric trolleys. Because horse cars, cable cars and steam dummies were all supplanted by electric trolley cars, the terms "streetcar" and "trolley" are pretty much identical.

The term "trolley" comes from the pole used to connect an elevated high-voltage power line to an electric vehicle. One of the earliest prototype electric streetcars had a four-wheel device that hung from the overhead wire, connected via a cable to the car, referred to as a "troller," is probably the origin of the term. Trolley poles came in various forms, using either a wheel or a shoe at the end of the pole to ensure good connection to the wire.Trolley vehicles normally run between 24 to 50 feet: about the size of a LARGE modern bus, but generally wider. Speeds vary, but for the most part trolleys run at 20-40 miles per hour.That being said, what ISN'T a trolley?

What about Jacksonville's new Riverside Trolley? The problem is, this ISN'T A TROLLEY. It is intended to look like a certan type of trolley, if you kind of squint, but it fails for several reasons. For starters, it's still a smoky, noisy bus. Second, it runs on wheels instead of rails, and therefore doesn't run as smoothly. Third, because it has no fixed path, its schedule and route can change at the whim of the operating company, thus it gives little security to land developers who want to encourage transit-oriented growth that the transit won't vanish in the next fiscal wind.

Finally, this isn't a trolley because "quaintness" is not a required feature of a streetcar. Modern streetcars (and even some historic ones) aren't necessarily long on charm, wood paneling or quaint design (even though many of them are.) They're a vehicle built for a purpose, and the purpose isn't to look cute (even though many of them do): they exist to move people.

Many people assume that LRVs (light rail vehicles) were the modern version of trolleys/streetcars. While it could be said they evolved from the Trolley roots, they are wrong. LRVs are intended to run primarily on private right-of-way rather than city streets, are typically 60-80 feet long and intended to run as multi-unit vehicles, are capable of higher speeds (up to 50-70 mph) and are intended for inter-city and suburban service. They are the historical replacement for the interurban, which is a type of transportation virtually unknown in modern society. Interurbans operated like LRVs do now: they run on streets in cities, but their real strength is in open country and private ROW where their larger size and faster speeds aid commuters. But a city trolley isn't usually intended to do that.

The classic example people think of when you refer to trolleys is the Pacific Electric (aka the "Red Car") of Los Angeles and Orange County,(See the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" for the sad-comic-true story) but that was an interurban system. Streetcar service in Los Angeles was covered by the Los Angeles Railway (aka the "Yellow Car"), a physically separate system (originally a cable car system, they operated on 3'6" cable car gauge instead of standard 4'8/5" gauge) owned by the same person (Henry Huntington.) Why would Huntington, a financial wizard on a par with his uncle Collis P., operate two "redundant" electric railroad systems in the same area? Because he realized that they served two distinct and separate roles! LARY streetcars moved people around in downtown Los Angeles and adjacent neighborhoods: PE interurbans moved people around throughout the greater Los Angeles area, in between cities.

In some parts of the country, the line between Trolley and Interurban blurred. Often the Trolley served as something of a rural or regional Interurban. In the Southeast, lines such as the massive Jacksonville Traction Companys, Camp Johnston (NAS JAX) and Ortega, routes even called for heavier more Interurban like Trolley cars. In fact Jacksonville had a fleet of restroom equipped, bar and lounge section, "Observation-Lounge" Trolleys. Also a common practice in the American South was to use grade separation on the Trolley lines themselves, often in the downtown area's. These routes were laid with treated hardwood cross-ties and then covered in lush landscape and grasses. Jacksonville's Main Street, Palmetto Avenue and Pearl Street lines are just three example of this construction that was billed as "The most beautiful Trolley Line in the World."

Vision for Jacksonville Traction Company, Inc.

VISION FOR THE JACKSONVILLE TRACTION COMPANY, INC.

Imagine a string of pearls illuminating one of the greatest downtown waterfronts in the world. Each pearl is a world-class destination: culinary, cultural, historical, recreational. Now, imagine that the string is a destination in itself—attractive vintage vehicles from around the world, each with its own rich history, each representing a great city or country. That string of pearls is Jacksonville Traction Companys vision for the proposed Water Street-Downtown historic streetcar line.

The idea of the revival of the original JTCO is decades old. But a comprehensive vision for the line is especially timely now, in the wake of soaring fuel costs, vacations close to home and the rebirth of Jacksonville's core. This measure would return the question of downtown urban Transit to the private sector and allow for rapid construction and completion along our booming transportation corridors. Among these improvements is a major streetcar and transportation museum, as well as a Trolley based Theme Park. The JTCO-line, as proposed would serve as a primary landside distributor of bus, Skyway and any BRT passengers and well as the anchor for all downtown tourism.

President JTCO

Hello Jacksonville wer're back

Commuter Rail in Jacksonville Past? You Bet! Number One In The State!

JACKSONVILLE TRACTION COMPANY, INC.

Since 1912 - Reactivated in 2008

This is the massive system we junked in favor of more "flexible modern buses." Shortly after the buy out by National City Lines, Motor Transit Company, the City was "gifted" with becoming the hub of a new General Motors Distribution Center. While the buses might have seemed like a great idea at the time, they added fuel to our sprawl. No longer would development be confined to easy commuter rail routes (Yes, streetcars and light rail are "Forms" of commuter rail but NOT what is usually ment by the term). The routes could be altered on a whim, and thus the heavy investment of livable spaces never developed along them. Autos took control and suddenly as if by magic, all of the National City Properties went bankrupt one by one to be pawned off on the Cities and taxpayers. Amazing that today, we are fighting those same agencys to see the error of their ways. Sadly, many efforts have fallen on deaf ears, "Skyways" and "BRT" or "Hovercraft" would save us. Did you know the Automobile and it's sister vehicles were NOT AMERICAN by invention and neither was the ship or the monorail? FACT! The Streetcar and Interurban train are our own unique creation and gift to the world. Won't you join me in leading the charge in bringing them home again!

TRAVEL? or TRIP?

A Series of Micro-Posts on a Lost Art

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TRAVEL?

Do you Travel or do you make trips "swiftly?"

trav?el ?? (trvl) KEY ?VERB: trav?eled or trav?elled , trav?el?ing or trav?el?ling , trav?els

VERB: intr.
To go from one place to another, as on a trip; journey.
To go about in the company of a particular group; associate: travels in wealthy circles.
To move along a course, as in a groove, (or track?).
To admit of being transported without loss of quality; Some wines travel poorly.

Informal To move swiftly. (Note: there is no formal meaning that equates travel with moving swiftly).

VERB: tr.
To pass or journey over or through; traverse: travel the roads of Europe.

NOUN:
The act or process of traveling; movement or passage from one place to another.
travels
A series of journeys.
An account of one's journeys.
Activity or traffic along a route or through a given point.
The activity or business of arranging trips or providing services for travelers.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English travelen, alteration of travailen, to toil, from Old French travailler ; see travail

Where's the Bar? Got drink? Sandwich? Chips? Salsa? Music? Conversation? Care to Dance?

I always thought it important to have just a bit more room, a place to kick back, maybe take in some music, read a good book, or watch some video, hey, there's an open card game in the corner... can't you see it? Of course you won't on this crowded aircraft, but then we're in a rush remember? 2 hours to get to the airport ahead of the flight to get through security, 1 hour to fly and 1 more hour to get your bags and get out of security = 5 hours and we only went from Jacksonville to Tampa. Sorry but my train is arriving downtown in about 5 minutes and you

won't feel any pain on landing.

Here are 3 meals, only one is from an aircraft and two are onboard a train, can you decide which you'd rather eat?

Ever meet anyone that loved airplane food? I'm not talking about keeping it down, or someone that considers it edible or even good, I mean in the sense that they'd fly just to eat the stuff? Yet I've known dozens, maybe even 100 people that would ride the Hiawatha to have the baked Salmon, or the Silver Meteor to eat the Peanut Soup. Unlike airline or bus terminal food, each railroad dinning car has it's own chef, and each train it's own idenity, so no one just eats, they bask in a long tradition of excellence as they dine with ever changing views.

*(The one wrapped in plastic and paper is the airplane meal)