Joe Szabo of the Federal Railroad Administration sent this address to the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers for its 41st Annual Meeting held in Durand, Michigan on September 13, 2014.
Category Archives: Meetings
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ALL ABOARD! MARP’s 41st annual meeting is Sept. 13, 2014
Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
41st Annual Meeting
Saturday, September 13, 2014
10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Durand Union Station
200 Railroad Street, Durand MI 48429
(former Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor RR Depot)
Keynote Speaker
Thomas C. Carper
Member, Amtrak Board of Directors
Other invited speakers will discuss Detroit’s M-1 Rail Project, prospects for expansion of Michigan passenger train service, and regulatory issues affecting rail.
Registration forms will be mailed to members in August.
The public is welcome to attend.
Lunch will be served to preregistered attendees.
Questions? Email marprail@yahoo.com or leave a message at 269-388-3777
Click on the registration form below for a printable version to mail to MARP.
July 19, 2014 MARP meeting in Traverse City includes a special announcement
MARP MEMBER MEETING
Sat., July 19, 2014
10:a.m. – 1 p.m.
Traverse Area District Library
610 Woodmere Avenue
Traverse City MI 49686
This joint meeting with the Michigan Land Use Institute will feature a roll-out of “Getting Back on Track: Uncovering the Potential for Trains in Traverse City”, a report analyzing the potential for restarting rail travel along an 11-mile stretch of track between Traverse City and Acme/Williamsburg. The report was authored by James Bruckbauer, MLUI transportation specialist, with the generous support of The National Association of Realtors and other local sponsors.
MARP will hold a brief business meeting starting promptly at 10:00 a.m. James will give a formal presentation of his report “Getting Back on Track” at 11:00 a.m. Following the presentation, we will have the opportunity for further discussion over lunch (no host) at The Filling Station Microbrewery which occupies the former Pere Marquette Depot, 642 Railroad Place, just a few steps north of the Library.
We hope you have made plans to bring the family/friends and make a weekend of it. If you have not already reserved your lodging, you may have to look for something in the Cadillac area or another location along the way.
Our friends at MLUI have sent these suggestions:
• The Park Place is the historic downtown hotel
• Sleep Inn and Suites in Acme is very supportive of the rail project
• Boarders Inn and Suites
• Econo Lodge is modestly priced, but entirely acceptable
If you are into camping, you might enjoy spending an evening at the Dulcimer Funfest on the Osceola County Fairgrounds in Evart MI on July 17-20. The annual festival is sponsored by the Original Dulcimer Players Club, aka O.D.P.C., which bills itself as the largest and oldest hammered dulcimer club in the world. Visit the Osceola County Fairgrounds website for information about camping on site.
For the railroad historians among us, a “must see” stop as you pass through the Cadillac area, is the After 26 Depot Cafe & Gifts. Housed in the former Ann Arbor Railroad Depot at 127 West Cass Street in Cadillac, the After 26 Project recently celebrated its first anniversary in the refurbished depot. Dedicated to employing adults with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments, the project has enjoyed huge success in its first year of operation. Live piano music is featured on Friday evenings and for Sunday brunch. Stop by on Friday or Saturday for dinner on your way to or from Traverse City. The cafe is also open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Visit the Facebook page for a sampling of the enthusiastic response this project is getting.
MARP meets June 14, 2014 in Lansing
ANNOUNCING
MARP Member Meeting
Saturday, June 14, 2014, 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Former GTW Depot, now the REO Town Depot
Board of Water & Light
1205 S. Washington Ave
Lansing MI 48910
Saturday, June 14, 2014, 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Former GTW Depot, now the REO Town Depot
Board of Water & Light
1205 S. Washington Ave
Lansing MI 48910
MARP will be among the first community groups to enjoy the recently completed restoration of the historic Grand Trunk Western Railway Station in Lansing. Built in 1902, this classic Spier & Rohn-designed building hasn’t seen service as a passenger station since 1971 and was 4 years into its life as a restaurant when Gerald Ford dropped by for lunch during a whistle stop campaign tour in 1976.
The building has been painstakingly restored in conjunction with the development of the new Lansing Board of Water & Light cogeneration plant with which it shares the 5.3 acre site in the area known as Reo Town. The depot is listed on the State Register of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.
The BWL spent more than $2.8 million restoring the depot to serve as the home for board meetings and employee training. From its terra cotta roof to the dark wood ceiling, period light fixtures, windows, walls and wainscoting, the restoration has been described as “stunning”.
Two design firms, Ann Arbor’s Quinn Evans and Cornerstone of Grand Rapids, shared the design work on the restoration. Two Lansing-based companies, Granger Construction and Christman Co., did the exterior and interior work, respectively.
The eye-catching terra cotta roof involved a bit of serendipity. The tiles were 110 years old and needed to be replaced. The original manufacturer — Ludowici Roof Tile Co. of New Lexington, Ohio, a 120-year-old company with roots in Renaissance Rome and still in business — had the original plans for the depot and produced 14,600 new tiles to the original specifications.
Following the meeting, please plan to socialize over lunch at Clara’s Lansing Station, another of Lansing’s historic railway stations, at 637 East Michigan.
Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
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The $182 million-fired REO Town cogeneration plant was completed in mid-2013, producing affordable electricity and steam while significantly reducing the emissions associated with burning coal. BWL’s general manager Peter Lark has said, “We believe we have the cleanest, most efficient electricity-and-steam-producing unit in the country”.
REO Town, just south of Downtown Lansing, is at the core of Lansing’s automotive history and is one of Lansing’s revitalized gems. The commercial corridor and three neighborhoods of Moore’s Park, Fabulous Acres and River Point make up Reo Town. These distinct neighbors surround the former R. E. Olds Motor plant which was the backbone of Capital region labor in the early 1900’s.
BWL check to see if Eckert and Viper’s three eggs have hatched
You’re invited to the MML to discuss transportation funding – ACTION NEEDED
Note: As it currently stands, trains, transit, and non-motorized travel nodes will receive no increased funding from the $450 million transportation funding package that passed out of the House last week. The bills now go to the Senate, so the time for ACTION is now. If you can’t get to Lansing, please phone in to the number in the message below. There may be a “Go To Meeting” set up online. Contact either of the two people at the bottom of the page. Feel free to forward to others interested in trains, transit, and non-motorized transportation modes
To: Parties interested in MDOT Comprehensive Transportation Funding
Re: Meeting to help advocate for CFT inclusion in current transportation funding package
Michigan Public Transit
Association and the Michigan Environmental Council will host a meeting and conference call/Go To Meeting event for all interested parties at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15th at the offices of the Michigan Municipal League.The purpose of this meeting is to coordinate advocacy efforts to assure all new transportation money go through the current funding formula. This will ensure that recipients of CTF funds, including public transit, will benefit from the changes being considered in the Legislature.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s office has expressed its support for this concept; now we need to work to make it happen, using our lobbying, grass roots and communications assets. If you cannot attend, you can access the meeting by a conference call at 1-888-812-9637, passcode 548-270-63-22#.
We will be determining whether we need to use the Go To Meeting tools between now and Thursday, so keep an eye open for additional emails on that topic.
The proposed agenda is straightforward. Our goal is to hold this meeting to under 1 hour.
- Welcome, discussion of current situation: Clark Harder, MPTA, others.
- Desired outcome: Dennis Schornack, Gov. Rick Snyder’s Senior Strategy Advisor
- Assets available discussion: David Waymire, Martin Waymire
- Assignments: All
If you feel an organization should be included in this email, please feel free to invite them to Thursday’s meeting.
For more information, please contact David Waymire or Jessica Tramontana of Martin Waymire at 517-485-6600.