Great news everyone!

Our normal MARP monthly meeting will be changed this month to become a joint Midwest High Speed Rail Assoc. and MARP meeting with attendees from both organizations. The details are below:

August 16, 10:15 am
St. Joseph Public Library
500 Market Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085

1. Rick Harnish, Executive Director of Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MWHSRA ) will be our featured speaker. MWHSRA has been very successful in Illinois in adding train frequencies and routes. MARP is working with MWHSRA, along with the Environmental Law and Policy Center and the United Transportation Union, to build a strategy for similar success in Michigan. The discussion will center on how we can work with Amtrak, the state and our communities to add frequencies, new routes and expand the capacity of the Porter (IN)-Chicago (IL) rail corridor to support better transportation options in Michigan.

This part of the agenda is expected to last 90-120 minutes and our goal will be to lay out a specific plan on what we can jointly do to achieve our goals

2. Rick will then share some information about an upcoming trip to Barcelona – 15-30 minutes

3. Following the joint meeting, we will enjoy lunch at Silver Beach Pizza located in the Amtrak Station. Gelsosomo’s award-winning pizza is featured. Salads and sandwiches also available.

4. We will then reconvene for a condensed MARP meeting as John Delora has some important topics he feels we need to discuss – roughly 1 hour

After the meeting, you’re on your own to explore St. Joseph’s many attractions, including:
• Silver Beach – ranked one of the top 10 family beaches in America
• wineries and fruit orchards- there are 7 wineries in the area – the climate of SW Michigan is ideal for growing fruits
• the Berrien County Youth Fair – the biggest youth fair in the Midwest – it runs from August 10 to August 16
• other things to do may be found at www.michigan.org and www.sjcity.com

Folks in the Grand Rapids-Holland area and points south can ride the Pere Marquette arriving in St. Joseph at roughly 9:30 am. We’ll meet you at the train station for the easy walk to the St. Joseph Public Library two blocks away. The northbound train leaves at 8:00 pm, leaving plenty of time to explore the many pleasures of this great beach community.

If you would like to find someone in your area for carpooling, please email Rich Vavra-Musser doottime@ sbcglobal.net

Hope to see you there!

Including a typically busy and important agenda, the July 12 meeting of Michigan Association of Rail Passengers (10 a.m. in Lapeer, east of Flint) will have both historic and current features for members and guests.

The historic portion is the site of the meeting, which is the early 1900s GTW Railroad Depot on the north side of the CN tracks, at 73 Howard St., 48446. That’s just south of old M-21 and south of downtown Lapeer. Historical buffs should check this link: http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Stations/CountyStations/LapeerStations/LapeerArea/LapeerMI.htm.

Not only will the historic depot and its adjacent rail equipment be a top attraction, but the guest speaker will bring the group up to date on the status of the the Great Lakes Central Railroad, the company that took over the operations of TSBY.

And he will know what he is talking about. The guest is Mike Bagwell, president of Great Lakes Central. Link to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscola_and_Saginaw_Bay_Railway

Vice-chair Don Monteith is responsible for bringing Bagwell our way so he can discuss the status of Wally, the proposed commuter service from Howell to north of Ann Arbor along the Great Lakes Central route that probably will be using commuter passenger equipment owned by the GLC.

Just as importantly, Monteith wants Bagwell’s take on the proposal that MARP actively support the state’s smaller freight rail lines, like GLC, “to help keep what operations (that) are still going in the state of Michigan, and in reality, to expand these lines usage!”

Monteith wants to preserve these lines for future passenger service and contends that “If we lose the freight lines, we won’t have passenger trains there, like to Traverse City, Petoskey, Grayling, Gaylord, Tawas City and Alpena!”

Monteith also says: “We have a great opportunity to expand these operations, because rails have a big advantage over trucks, by using only 25 percent the fuel when compared to trucks! Truck’s biggest expense, is fuel cost. Also, almost everything that travels over 600 miles on U.P.S., travels on trains, except air service, but these costs are also skyrocketing!

“Trucks can move between 70 to 90 ton-miles per gallon of fuel, and rails haul over 430 ton-miles per gallon of fuel – and nobody is making any more oil to put into the ground!” (Can you believe that Monteith is a retired auto company executive.)

Monteith also will report on his progress on helping to bring Indian Trails service to Charlevoix and an indirect connection to the Beaver Island ferry service there.

If you would like to carpool with someone from your area, please email Rich Vavra-Musser at doottime@sbcglobal.net

-0-

Those who checked this link http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Stations/CountyStations/LapeerStations/LapeerArea/LapeerMI.htm learned that the depot is just a few yards west of the defunct interlocking with the New York Central line from Detroit to Mackinaw City. Remnants of that line are still operated by the Lapeer Industrial Rail Road (LIRR) south of the CN line and can be traced by drivng south through Lapeer before or after the meeting. LIRR is owned by the Adrian & Blissfield Railroad. Check this link: http://cnplus.cn.ca/it/Shortlines/SL_Static.nsf/Shortlines/AC066CBBE1822576862567F5004CEC63?OpenDocument

Questions? Email Jim Wallington at jwallington@msn.com

The agenda will be posted at marp.org before the meeting.

Dick Pakarek should be credited for setting up the meeting site and Don Monteith for arranging the speaker.

-0-

Station Location:
73 Howard Street Lapeer MI 48446

Directions:
Take I-69 to exit 155, Lapeer Road, M-24. Turn north onto Lapeer Road (a.k.a. M-24) and go 1.8 miles. Turn right onto Genessee Street and go 1/2 mile. Turn right onto Court Street. The Amtrak station is just before the railroad tracks on your left (Howard Street.)

##

Including a busy and important agenda, the June 14 meeting of Michigan Association of Rail Passengers will feature activities that members should enjoy.

Taking advantage of meeting in the railroad town of Owosso, the meeting has been set for 10 a.m. at the Steam Railroading Institute’s Visitor Center & Museum, 405 South Washington St.

The regular meeting will be held amidst displays at the institute and many members will be seated in historic train station benches. Museum Director TJ Gaffney will make a short presentation on the future of the museum, including the operation of its steam locomotives.

Immediately after the meeting, members can explore an Indian Trails inter-city motor coach that will be parked at the museum and then ride the coach to the bus company’s nearby maintenance facilities for a tour.

The Indian Trails participation is appropriate because the bus company provides Amtrak Thruway service and MARP and Indian Trails have been exploring the expansion of Thruway and other inter-city service.

The coach will return members to the Railroading Institute where they can explore the museum and grounds until 4 p.m. thanks to the $5 donation each member will pay to enter the museum for the meeting.

They can examine Pere Marquette No. 1225, the largest operating steam locomotive of its kind. This locomotive was used to generate computer images for the Warner Brothers film, “The Polar Express.” The engine pulls the North Pole Express each November and December from Owosso to Chesaning. It often is used for other excursions (although none are slated this year).

The Institute also features Flagg Coal Co. 75, a switcher tank-type steam engine resembling the childhood favorite, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Non-members are always welcome to MARP meetings, but in this case they will have to join members in paying the $5 donation to the Steam Institute.

The institute’s offices and museum are at 405 South Washington St., which is M-71. The site is situated south of downtown Owosso between the Shiawassee River and the mainline of Great Lakes Central Railroad. It also is a few yards north of the track of the Huron & Eastern Railroad.

Questions? Email Jim Wallington at jwallington@msn.com

The Steam Railroading Institute’s web site is at: http://www.mstrp.com/

The agenda will be posted at marp.org before the meeting.

MARP members and supporters,

The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers will meet this month at the Padnos Transportation Center in Holland, MI. The Saturday, May 10, meeting begins at 10 a.m.

We will hear remarks by Al McGeehan, who, in addition to serving as the Mayor of Holland, is an enthusiastic supporter of passenger trains. Mayor Al has a passionate interest in studying and collecting artifacts from the time of the American Civil War and has lectured and written on the subject.

Also on the agenda is a discussion of proposals relating to the rail crossing of the Detroit River between the U.S. and Canada as well as a continuation of the discussion of possible infrastructure projects that could qualify for funding under a new federal grant program to the states.

Following the meeting we will adjourn to the New Holland Brewing Company for a no-host lunch and some casual conversation.

Meetings are informal and anyone with an interest in train travel is welcome to attend. The Tulip Time Festival will be in full swing, so plan to stay around to enjoy the fun. If you would like to carpool with someone from your area, please email marprail@yahoo.com and we’ll try to match you up with someone.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GETTING THERE

The Padnos Transportation Center (train and bus depot) is located at 171 Lincoln Avenue Holland, MI 49423 (intersection of Lincoln and E. 8th). Parking is east of the depot, across the railroad tracks.

The Tulip Time Festival recommends tuning your dial to CB/Channel 9 or 530 AM for information about local traffic patterns.

City Map http://stations.amtrak.com/amtrak/DetailedAreaMap.jsp?txtStationID=HOM&ssid=84&cid=1080080550886