Quote:
Originally Posted by Trail Goer
There's technically 4 businesses. And yes they are turning a profit on the state owned line and the state gets 10% of those profits.
1 - Plymouth and Lincoln Railroad (Doing business as Hobo Railroad and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad)
2 - The Lincoln shops - supplies maintenance for the Plymouth and Lincoln Railroad plus bids on outside contracts (like the MBTA for example), they refurbish cars and locomotives and is a year round operation. They just did work on a caboose for the MBTA and in fact, that caboose was just shipped out last week.
3. New England Southern Railroad - a common carrier railroad that has freight rights on the entire line from Concord to Lincoln.
4. Café Lafayette Dinner Train - if you know their history, cars have come and gone, and cutting off the railroad would hinder their ability to change and adapt as they see fit.
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While this may be technically correct, I don't think it reflects reality. I live on the railroad and it is only used by the Hobo Railroad. While the Hobo may be profitable, they are using state owned and maintained assets. Other than the yearly mini railroad car parade and the hundreds of people walking along the railroad, Hobo is the only user. I can't imagine the state will ever recover the costs of rebuilding the RR after the flash flood a few years ago that washed out the Weirs and many other places from Laconia to Lincoln.
A freight company may have the rights but as I said, I live on the railroad and it is very poorly maintained. This current railroad would fall apart with freight. I can pull out a hundred spikes with my own hands in the RR in front of my house.
Personally, I'd enjoy the wow trail. I'd ride my bike to the Weirs and to downtown Meredith. However, I don't think it can be built with the rails still in existing.