Clarification, the land that the tracks sit on that is. Some of other land his company has purchased or leased. View Comment

Chris L, you hit the nail on the head..... He knows all of that and the best option is for everyone to work together to come up with solutions to concerns. About the homes... it doesn’t matter what the realtors say. The land has always been owned by the railroad and it is shown on the zoning/ tax maps. If you buy a house and don’t look at the zoning/ tax maps that include your property you are not informing yourself for probably the biggest purchase of your life... not very smart. View Comment

I believe maintaining the crossings are a town/ state responsibility depending on the road. I could be wrong. Why would a flag man be any less safe than an unmanned crossing signal or gate? If someone is there to monitor that the traffic is stopped before the train moves I would think that would be better than a train just moving down the tracks assuming that motorists etc. are going to pay attention to the signal or the gate...... People blow though signals and go around gates all the time.... Milford is getting crossings gates and signals at their end as the state is funding some of the cost and the owner of the railroad is working collaboratively with the town to install them. Please help me understand why a person stopping traffic and checking to see if traffic stops is more dangerous than an unmanned crossing? I agree that it is less technologically advanced but who cares as long as it is safe. It frees up capital for other projects and he needs another employee….. also a good outcome. View Comment

Voice of reason, Very good point........ View Comment

I am glad I got a response…. My point is that he knows he will get a fight, it’s a small town liberal New England town that has little industry, I would probably have kept this close to the chest too, however he seems to me to be a doing many things to be a good neighbor (i.e. paying and sending a town fire response person to Pueblo CO for hazmat training (I think I read that somewhere), building a landscape buffer in Upton, overbuilding spill catch basins, etc.) Suggestion...... do your best to work with him! Don’t be adversarial. You will get farther than putting up a fuss. As a business man myself I respond very well to people that are reasonable and see it from all perspectives, as that is the way I look at issues and opinions. As he is successful I am sure that he does the same. You can disagree.... Just stop talking about doomsday scenarios.... CSX has a farther greater impact on the safety of your town than this little railroad that only travels at 10 – 15 MPH tops. As for the person that says he is going to lose his insurance, I feel for him but…. The railroad has been around longer than any of us. Not in this capacity but, you can’t fault someone for seeing a need (freight transportation needs of the greater area) and taking a risk to resolve it by investing his and other investors money to accomplish a goal of reviving a business that was not profitable only a few years ago. One more thing..... Pay attention to what it going on around you! The G&U has been purchasing engines for a while..... I the first ones were back in 09..... Do you think they are to handle Washington Mills business.....? I think not. They now have 6!!! 6 engines are significant investment; companies don’t make those kinds of investments without some sort of other commitment from customers or clients. I think there is a lot more to come with that kind of investment. View Comment

I admit there is a fair amount of speculation in that last statement but.... Your town officials should be looking at all that is going on. Maybe they are I don't know. View Comment

And there are other places to get even more information. You just need to look. Think also about what is happening east of you in Boston with CSX. That is not new news. Freight needs a place to go....... Central mass is a better fit than Boston. Just sayin. View Comment

I have been following this railroad "story" for 4 years. If the citizens had taken any interest in it back then you may have had a chance in changing what is now happening. You and your elected officials had your blinders on..... all of this was writing on the wall, very obvious.... and there is more to come I suspect. Upton had an even bigger missed opportunity with the land surrounding the railroad and the governmental red tape resulted in a development project getting delayed therefore opening the door for the railroad to lease the land. The more land available to the railroad the more it will get developed for railroad transload businesses. If you don't want it in your back yard make it easy for zoning to allow other types of uses that are more residential friendly. I suspect it is too late for that though, the train has left the station on that I think..... View Comment

There is only one fact that matters here. The railroad has been around longer than any of us (1800's). I lived by it most of my life and when it was fully operational. No one that lives by this should be surprised. If you are.... You are not using your brain. The owner of the railroad has the right to do what he is doing and he doesn't even need to engage the town. The fact that he is participating in this meeting is surprising to me. I would build it according to what the law allows and meet every safty percausion and not worry about anything else. The towns people are not his customer so why focus any time or effort on them. He is a better man than me. This is America where free enterprise should be a core value of our nation unfortunately for most people its not. We already have too much government regulation we need to get back to what our forefathers intended our constitution to be. This is not Ameritopia! It is America. View Comment