Locomotive joyride causes $60,000 damage
An unknown individual broke into a parked locomotive belonging to the Florida Central Railroad and took it for a joyride, causing about $60,000 damage by running through switches. WTLV-TV reports the railroad contacted the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office that between March 24 and March 28, someone entered the cab of the GP18 locomotive parked in Newberry, Fla., on the Florida Northern, one of three central Florida shortlines operated by Regional Rail LLC, likely by breaking a window, and moved the engine, causing about $30,000 damage to two switches. Law enforcement officials are asking the public for tips on the perpetrator.
Tri-Rail may revisit 25-year-old idea for station at West Palm Beach VA facility
South Florida commuter railroad Tri-Rail may revive a proposal to add a station at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, 25 years after those plans were shelved. The Palm Beach Post reports the idea has support from the president of the board overseeing Tri-Rail, who is a Vietnam veteran; the agency’s executive director, who says the idea “has so much potential,” and a county commissioner who represents the area including the hospital and is also on the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board. The hospital is one of Palm Beach County’s largest employers; currently, a shuttle bus provides a 3-mile connection to the northernmost Tri-Rail station. North of that station, at Mangonia Park, the tracks are owned by CSX, so the commuter agency would need to work out an agreement with the railroad to extend service.
California bill would fund research for bluff-collapse warning system
A bill by a San Diego County legislator would fund research to create an early-warning system for bluff collapses along California’s coast. The LA Times reports AB66, introduced by state assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) would provide $2.5 million in funding to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to research when and why bluffs collapse, and if such events can be predicted. The move comes after a recent collapse in Del Mar that threatened the rail line along the coast and will require $10.5 million in emergency repairs [see “Digest: Sonoma-Marin rail transit sued …,” Trains News Wire, March 22, 2021] as well as a 2019 collapse in Encinitas that killed three women.
— Updated at 7:55 a.m. to clarify location of locomotive incident, correct spelling of Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
What person left operating handles in the cab of a locomotive , unless he had his own set of them?
Anchula County???? How about ALACHUA County. Proof reading is apparently a lost art.