Geez - please if you're going to use the quote, "... the public be damned.", then please use the whole sentence as spoken by Mr. Hill. Then, as now, 'journalists' with an agenda lurked throughout the land. p.s. A little background as to the situation to led to James J. Hill's outburst would also be helpful.
True. I think there is a law out there that the developer or the real estate agent has to reveal what is in the surrounding area but all too often, the buyer doesn't listen or it gets glossed over.
In some states the buyer is responsable for ASKING the agent such questions, then the agent must provide the info. When we bought here in Ohio I asked such things as: anyone die or killed in the house, crime stats for the area, response times of emergency services, is it on a arrival or departure flight path, was it built on trible lands, any planned city "improvements", ect ect.
A more proper phrasing is: They don't care where you put it so long as it is not in THEIR backyard...which might include all the land form ehre to the mountains twenty miles away!!!
Actually, this phrase is attributed to William Henry Vanderbilt, not James Hill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Vanderbilt
Well, I am corrected and was wrong. Somewhere, once upon a time I read that said quote was attributed to James J. Hill in reference to a town/city in Minnesota that was specifically by-passed by the Great Northern. I do not remember the whole story, but was told that the actual outburst by Mr. Hill was, "If the public wants the railroad then let the public use the railroad, otherwise - the public be damned." If there are any specific historians of/for James J. Hill, please advise any info that you may have as concerns this matter. According to the internet, my information was totally wrong. However, I did know that the quote was attributed to an infamous robber baron and according to others present - taken totally out of conext. My point was that NIMBY's, as per "progressives" throughtout the ages are more concerned with their "feelings" than the actual impact of the policies enforced to ratify their "feelings." My apologies for the wrong information.
Jim Hill is accredited with this famous quote about passenger trains... "... are like male[synonym for mammary glands], neither useful nor ornamental". CT
Due dilligence aside, we aren't talking about Ex-urban communities of a mid-sized city. We're talking about huge suburbs of the 3rd largest city in the country. There is a point where compromizes need to be made, both as far as the buyer and as far as the cities. My point being that railroad noise is only a small part of the thing and in a place like Chicago, you have to make compromises if you work in the area. And Charlie makes a good point, CN isn't exactly without blame here.
i ask AGAIN, where is the hardship... a recent letter to the chicago tribune.. CN coverage lacks relevant information December 26, 2008 I've been reading your coverage of the CN purchase of the EJ&E over the last few months and continually am astounded by the lack of relevant information you provide. While you pepper the articles with information about the "tripling and quadrupling" of the number of trains crossing the affected communities you offer no true perspective of the overall picture: in particular, that the increase of traffic on the outer suburban ring would bring the train count to a total of about 25. What you have continued to ignore is that the inner suburban ring has lived with train counts that reach 70-80 per day. These areas are at least as, or in most cases more, dense in population than the communities trying to fight the purchase. The net benefit of relieving train traffic is a qualified no-brainer while the trumped-up cries of delays and relatively nominal added congestion is overstated. --Anthony Garippo La Grange Park i'm sorry yoho, but you simply cannot deny the fact that the relief comes to areas OF GREATER POPULATION DENSITY. one train per hour is NOT a hardship. Ed
I agree- The railroad is to blame for those suburbs growing up around their tracks. After all, they should have known people would build next to them. EJ&E should have bought a better crystal ball, long ago. Baloney. Boxcab E50
The success of the J is part of the success of CHicago, yes. But that's not my point. The J and their crystal ball isn't the problem. CN and their plans based on the suburbs NOW was. Of course, it doesn't matter, because the railroad has resolved the issues for the most part and is putting the effort in.
The NO&M (New Orleans & Mobile) Railroad was completed in 1867, later absorbed by the L&N, now part of CSX. The track running throughout Harrison County, Mississippi is 1500-2500 feet away from the Gulf of Mexico shoreline. In the past 140 years four cities have grown along the Coast to become the second largest metropolitan area in Mississippi, with the tracks running right through the center of it. For the past 25-50 years there have been several efforts to have CSX move the tracks to rural areas north of the Coast, the latest being during the Hurricane Katrina Recovery effort. CSX and the MS DOT went so far as to fund an initial study and public discussion, showing potential routes, estimated costs, and a willingness to do it if the public was willing to fund it. But, as expected, the public choked when they were told that ~$1 Billion would be required to relocate ~100 miles of track ~30 miles north. Of course neither CSX nor MDOT saw any reason to spend that kind money merely to move the tracks away from "My Backyard." My point is that when NIMBY populations are shown the facts and asked to "Pay Up, Or Shut Up", most back down quickly. Those that don't back down are willing to engage in intelligent civilized discussions resulting in reasonable compromises and solutions. "Civilized Discussions" are NOT conducted by screaming to the media, hiring lawyers, and threatening to sue. This only serves to antagonize all parties, cost lots of money, and force judges to develop solutions which are not agreeable to anybody, so everybody loses in the end. This is what I expect will happen in the case of CN and the "J" route, if I understand what I read.
This is what HAS happened. The only people still "up in arms" as it were are Foamers and Barrington, but Barrington has nothing better to do with their time.
