From x779 at webtv.net Fri Dec 12 11:07:51 2008 From: x779 at webtv.net (Louis Rugani) Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:07:51 GMT Subject: [milwaukee-electric] The first KERy. Message-ID: -----Original Message----- From: mrcooby Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 4:04 PM To: KenoshaStreetcars at yahoogroups.com Subject: ~ The first KERy. What did downtown businessmen oppose in 1900 because they thought it would destroy their trade? Sometimes those who stand in the way of progress are their own worst enemies. Take, for instance, the downtown businessmen of 1900. When a franchise for street car transportation was granted to the Chicago firm of Haines and Clausen, the old boys went ballistic. Why, those noisy things would disturb the horses, and customers would avoid the area like the plague! The fight to get Kenosha's first street railway system was a long one. In 1900, horse and buggy was still the most common form of transportation. The first 300 feet of track was put down that summer on Seventh Avenue, but that was all the progress on the project until the following spring. By the end of the year, track had been installed in earnest along Seventh Avenue between 38th and 52nd Streets ??? most of which were ripped out in the last few months ??? picking up again from 55th to 59th streets. The line ended a block north on Eighth Avenue. A second connected route began on 56th Street between Seventh and 24th avenues, running on 24th Avenue from 56th to 63rd streets and east again on 63rd to 18th Avenue. Later, the electric wire that provided the power to run the streetcars was installed and the two routes were connected. The routes effectively set the framework of mass transit from the working-class neighborhoods of the north side to the center of commerce downtown and to the west-end industrial sites. Only the affluent southeast side of town was unserved. This was not an oversight, but by design. N.R. Allen, president of Allen Tannery, lived in the 5900 block of Eighth Avenue, and didn't want a streetcar going past his property. He filed an injunction on the company to stop it. That was just the beginning of the troubles for the Kenosha Electric Railway. First, the franchise was declared null and void in court because it was an out-of-state firm. Then the city attorney declared the ordinance allowing the establishment of the line had been passed fraudulently. Aldermen Albert Smith, Peter Pirsch and John Gaster were investigated for improprieties in the matter. Gustave Clausen, partner in the franchise, was accused of bribing Gaster with $300 for his support of the measure. The latter case went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court before charges against Gaster were dropped. All the legal entanglements ended when the franchise was sold to Kenosha resident Bion J. Arnold for $17,000. In 1902 the remaining track and system work was completed by a crew of 40 men and seven supervisors. The first two streetcars arrived in January 1903 and were promptly painted yellow and black. General Manager Willis Russell pulled one of the cars over the entire loop with a team of horses to make sure it would follow the track. It was a rush to the finish line as the Feb. 4 deadline for completing the railway approached. A fire in the powerhouse of the Kenosha Gas & Electric Company destroyed the electric railway generator. Bion had another generator shipped in, and 50 men worked setting up the machines at the power house on Jan. 31. At noon on Feb. 1, 1903, the first streetcar went into public operation with Russell as the motorman and John Fadgin as the conductor. The sounds of a clanging streetcar bell and the hissing electric current brought hundreds out of their homes on the track route to cheer the first car as it made its way from the barn to the Main Street (Sixth Avenue) center junction. Russell let everyone who wanted a ride jump on before arriving downtown, where everyone had to disembark to make way for the first paying customer, Mayor Charles H. Pfenning. Total receipts for the day were $27. The very next morning the two new streetcars started out on the loop, but that night only one returned to the barn. During the first day, it was discovered that the extended trolley arm was too short to stay in contact with the electric feed wire above the Chicago & Northwestern crossing on Elizabeth (63rd) Street, which was at ground level. (The elevation wouldn't be built for another 30 some years.) Just before 4 p.m. Russell was approaching the crossing from the west. He sped up to shorten the powerless crossing, but the streetcar jumped its tracks and came to rest on the train's tracks. The passengers were quickly evacuated, and someone was sent down the track towards Strong (65th) Street to flag down the 4:03 p.m. mail train. The train was right on time and moving too fast for the engineer to avoid hitting the streetcar. People on the street dove for cover as the train hit the wooden streetcar and smashed it to kindling. Passengers on the train were thrown from their seats, but fortunately no one was seriously injured in the accident. The streetcar was a total loss at $2,500, and the cow catcher on the engine was slightly damaged. But streetcars were to become an important part of Kenosha's daily life. The shattered car soon was replaced and the fleet grew. The primary system of 4.3 miles of track carried 378,000 passengers in its first 10 months of operation, an overwhelming vote of support from a town of about 13,000 people. The system operated for 29 years before it was replaced by the "trackless trolley" system. From ktjosephson at embarqmail.com Fri Dec 19 10:25:50 2008 From: ktjosephson at embarqmail.com (Ken and Tracie) Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:25:50 -0800 Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Rail Transit has Lost an Advocate and the Fan Community has Lost a True Friend Message-ID: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/12/18/conservative-leader-paul-weyrich-dies-first-to-lead-heritage/#comment-11431 From x779 at webtv.net Mon Dec 22 18:15:57 2008 From: x779 at webtv.net (mrcooby) Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:15:57 -0000 Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Who is Tom Rubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? Message-ID: ANTI-RAIL "REASON INSTITUTE" FUNDED BY OIL & AUTO COMPANIES. A new anti-KRM Line report from a California-based group calling itself the Reason Institute has garnered much publicity over the past several days in area newspapers. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the Reason Institute a "libertarian think tank (that) claims the projected economic benefits of a proposed Milwaukee-to-Kenosha commuter rail line have been inflated and questions its ridership estimates." But the author of that study is Los Angeles-based Tom Rubin, who had taken a far more positive view of the $200 million project back last June, when pro-transit business leaders were pushing the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority to hire him as the authority's consultant. Rubin almost was hired, too, except for one anti-Rubin veto vote from Len Brandrup, director of Kenosha Area Transit and the Kenosha RTA representative member, enough to stop Rubin's hopes of employment here. That Reason Foundation release said the transit authority should instead consider express buses as an alternative to the KRM Commuter Link, which would connect downtown Milwaukee and the southern suburbs to Racine and Kenosha with 14 round trips each weekday. Rubin says his latest study was meant to illustrate the advantages of bus options. Rubin said on Monday, December 15th. "I am not saying that KRM is going to fail. I am saying there are other options that should be studied before you make that commitment." A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study projects property values would rise 10%, or $2.1 billion, along the rail route. Rubin disputed that in his release, but Ken Yunker, deputy director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, said the UWM figures were based on development along other commuter rail lines, including Chicago-area Metra routes that carry fewer riders than KRM's projected 1.7 million a year. Rubin argues with KRM ridership forecasts, saying that either the ridership is overestimated or the service wouldn't be enough to handle all the riders. Yunker says the projections had been extensively reviewed and approved by federal transit officials. Rubin argues that KRM planners haven't considered express buses on I- 94 and urged consideration of that option, which he said would better serve riders farther from the Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha downtowns. But back in June - when Rubin had already been paid $30,000 by the Milwaukee 7 regional development alliance and was seeking a $50,000 contract from the regional transit authority - Rubin said the KRM would work better than any bus alternative because it would serve Kenosha, Racine and other lakefront communities that are miles from I- 94. The new study concedes that distance would be a disadvantage for I-94 buses. Six months ago, some business leaders supported hiring Rubin, saying that Rubin's anti-rail views would give the transit authority more credibility among Republicans who then controlled the Assembly. But then Len Brandrup's 'No' vote stopped Rubin from getting hired by stopping the RTA's seven-member board from mustering the required six- vote supermajority to hire him. (That story received coverage on WLIP News.) Rubin's December 15th release is more consistent with his previous work and other Reason Foundation releases, which typically oppose light rail and commuter trains and push buses instead. A look into the Reason Foundation's 1999 annual report brought the annotations that its main corporate donors that year included the American Petroleum Institute, ARCO Foundation, BP Amoco, Chevron Corporation, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Daimler Chrysler Corp., ENRON, Exxon Mobil, FMC Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, National Air Transportation Association, Shell Oil, Sun America, United Airlines, and Western States Petroleum. Pete Beitzel, a vice president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, suggested Rubin's opinions depended on who was paying him. Rubin denies that, saying this latest release was based on careful study and that the earlier work was a study of Milwaukee County Transit System finances that touched on the KRM, and this study focused on the KRM. "The think tank guys got real mad at him when he said it (the KRM line) was a good idea," Beitzel said. "Apparently, they hired him to change his mind." --- End forwarded message --- From yance at oldmilwaukee.net Tue Dec 23 10:11:04 2008 From: yance at oldmilwaukee.net (Y Marti) Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:11:04 -0500 Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Who is Tom Rubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20081223101104.14684z3ugxqz45gk@horde.oldmilwaukee.net> It's hard to come up with an accurate economic analysis in these times when prices fluctuate so greatly. Six months ago when the study was done, prices were at an all time high, especially for fuel costs. If he couldn't come up with figures that would show lower costs for a mass-transit system vs a longer distance bus route, then his math must be extremely poor. BTW, the study can be found here: http://www.reason.org/ps372.pdf Looking at the Executive Summary of the report, it is apparent his math is suspect when he thinks that 4,817 is 65% of 7,392 passengers in 2035. Then he goes on to say: If we assume that each year 2035 rider makes a round-trip, that would mean that there are 3,696 daily round-trip riders. So, if we divide the $2.1 billion ?10%? increase in property values by those 3,696 commuter rail travelers, we find that each and every one of them will cause an increase in property values of about $568,000 in that one-mile corridor. This is obviously far-fetched, particularly when one considers that many of the 3,696 will neither live nor work within this one-mile corridor, these being the primary types of real estate where commuter rail access and the presence of commuter rail riders could be expected to have an impact. Well what happened to the 7,392 riders? Heh, and the property value increase is not based solely on passenger residences but on businesses which support them and their needs. And he calls his organization the "Reason Institute"??? There is so much wrong with his report it should be laughed out of existence. Hopefully the Journal Sentinel will use reason when analyzing the report... > ANTI-RAIL "REASON INSTITUTE" FUNDED BY OIL & AUTO COMPANIES. > > A new anti-KRM Line report from a California-based group calling > itself the Reason Institute has garnered much publicity over the past > several days in area newspapers. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel > called the Reason Institute a "libertarian think tank (that) claims > the projected economic benefits of a proposed Milwaukee-to-Kenosha > commuter rail line have been inflated and questions its ridership > estimates." > But the author of that study is Los Angeles-based Tom Rubin, who had > taken a far more positive view of the $200 million project back last > June, when pro-transit business leaders were pushing the Southeastern > Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority to hire him as the authority's > consultant. Rubin almost was hired, too, except for one anti-Rubin > veto vote from Len Brandrup, director of Kenosha Area Transit and the > Kenosha RTA representative member, enough to stop Rubin's hopes of > employment here. > > That Reason Foundation release said the transit authority should > instead consider express buses as an alternative to the KRM Commuter > Link, which would connect downtown Milwaukee and the southern suburbs > to Racine and Kenosha with 14 round trips each weekday. Rubin says > his latest study was meant to illustrate the advantages of bus > options. Rubin said on Monday, December 15th. "I am not saying that > KRM is going to fail. I am saying there are other options that should > be studied before you make that commitment." > > A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study projects property values > would rise 10%, or $2.1 billion, along the rail route. Rubin disputed > that in his release, but Ken Yunker, deputy director of the > Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, said the UWM > figures were based on development along other commuter rail lines, > including Chicago-area Metra routes that carry fewer riders than > KRM's projected 1.7 million a year. > > Rubin argues with KRM ridership forecasts, saying that either the > ridership is overestimated or the service wouldn't be enough to handle > all the riders. Yunker says the projections had been extensively > reviewed and approved by federal transit officials. > > Rubin argues that KRM planners haven't considered express buses on I- > 94 and urged consideration of that option, which he said would better > serve riders farther from the Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha downtowns. > > But back in June - when Rubin had already been paid $30,000 by the > Milwaukee 7 regional development alliance and was seeking a $50,000 > contract from the regional transit authority - Rubin said the KRM > would work better than any bus alternative because it would serve > Kenosha, Racine and other lakefront communities that are miles from I- > 94. The new study concedes that distance would be a disadvantage for > I-94 buses. > > Six months ago, some business leaders supported hiring Rubin, saying > that Rubin's anti-rail views would give the transit authority more > credibility among Republicans who then controlled the Assembly. But > then Len Brandrup's 'No' vote stopped Rubin from getting hired by > stopping the RTA's seven-member board from mustering the required six- > vote supermajority to hire him. (That story received coverage on WLIP > News.) > > Rubin's December 15th release is more consistent with his previous > work and other Reason Foundation releases, which typically oppose > light rail and commuter trains and push buses instead. > A look into the Reason Foundation's 1999 annual report brought the > annotations that its main corporate donors that year included the > American Petroleum Institute, ARCO Foundation, BP Amoco, Chevron > Corporation, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Daimler Chrysler > Corp., ENRON, Exxon Mobil, FMC Corporation, Ford Motor Company, > General Motors, National Air Transportation Association, Shell Oil, > Sun America, United Airlines, and Western States Petroleum. > Pete Beitzel, a vice president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee > Association of Commerce, suggested Rubin's opinions depended on who > was paying him. > > Rubin denies that, saying this latest release was based on careful > study and that the earlier work was a study of Milwaukee County > Transit System finances that touched on the KRM, and this study > focused on the KRM. "The think tank guys got real mad at him when he > said it (the KRM line) was a good idea," Beitzel said. "Apparently, > they hired him to change his mind." > > --- End forwarded message --- > > > > > From don0731 at gte.net Tue Dec 23 21:30:44 2008 From: don0731 at gte.net (Don Ross) Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:30:44 -0600 Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Who is Tom Rubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? References: <20081223101104.14684z3ugxqz45gk@horde.oldmilwaukee.net> Message-ID: <715D30E2079A42A892B3ABDE0B9FF863@user60efff47dd> The thing I get a kick is the fact that no one can look 25 years ahead. About 15 years ago we had the same kind of knuckle heads at Dallas. They have disappeared. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, wants to get more rail. And Fort Worth is getting ready to do the same thing. Rubin was sent out with tar and feathers. He hasn't come back. Don (the young one) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Y Marti" To: Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 9:11 AM Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Who is Tom Rubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? > > It's hard to come up with an accurate economic analysis in these times > when prices fluctuate so greatly. Six months ago when the study was done, > prices were at an all time high, especially for fuel costs. If he couldn't > come up with figures that would show lower costs for a mass-transit system > vs a longer distance bus route, then his math must be extremely poor. > > From fredmcain at bringbackroute66.com Sat Dec 27 12:18:48 2008 From: fredmcain at bringbackroute66.com (Fred M. Cain) Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:18:48 -0700 Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Success of Rail; was Who is Tom Rubin.... Message-ID: <20081227101848.7c0301f153f0f2d2ae97831d57d32d68.36bef03e33.wbe@email.secureserver.net> Don, I think that what you are describing there in Dallas is= pretty much the same way it's gone everywhere that rail transit has been i= ntroduced in recent years. Skepticism seems to fade away once the fir= st part of the basic system is up and running. Now, Phoenix looks to = be next up on the list. I was raised for a good part of my childhood = in Phoenix (although I no longer live there) and I can tell you that I woul= d've never dreamed by even my wildest imagination that this would one day c= ome true. Sadly, there have been a few rare disappointments - Buf= falo comes to mind. But even there their greatest failure in the Buff= alo area is that they never finished the basic system. An immensely e= xpensive downtown subway was completed with the intent that suburban "feede= r" lines would be built into it. But those feeder lines were never bu= ilt. However, when we take a hard look at the rest of the co= untry, there is a lot to be encouraged about. It might even be a safe= bet to say that there are some very excitingdays ahead! Regards, Fred M. Cain, U.S. Route 66 Recommissioning Initiative http://www.bringbackroute66.com/home= .html[1]=20 -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [milwaukee-electric]= Re: Who is Tom Rubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? Fr= om: "Don Ross" Date: Tue, December 23, 2008 7:30= pm To: The thing I= get a kick is the fact that no one can look 25 years ahead. About 15 y= ears ago we had the same kind of knuckle heads at Dallas. They have dis= appeared. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, wants to get more rail. And Fo= rt Worth is getting ready to do the same thing. Rubin was sent out with= tar and feathers. He hasn't come back. Don (the young one) -= ---- Original Message ----- From: "Y Marti" Sent: Tuesday, = December 23, 2008 9:11 AM Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Who is Tom R= ubin, and what exactly is the 'Reason Institute'? > &g= t; It's hard to come up with an accurate economic analysis in these times>when prices fluctuate so greatly. Six months ago when the study was= done, >prices were at an all time high, especially for fuel costs.= If he couldn't >come up with figures that would show lower costs f= or a mass-transit system >vs a longer distance bus route, then his = math must be extremely poor. > > --- Links --- 1 3D"http://www.bringbackroute66.com/home.html"