Tuesday, May 21, 2013
the Grafton and Upton Railroad made it possible for the 4-year-old to ride in a locomotive.
Submitted by the Grafton and Upton Railroad Brady Smith, of Webster, loves trains: freight trains in particular. The 4-year-old (his birthday was Monday, May 20) saw a YouTube video of a locomotive rumbling down the tracks one day and was fascinated, according to his father, Tim Smith. Smith said he and his wife, Brady’s mom, April Smith, often take Brady to the CSX Transportation yard in Worcester to watch the freight trains roll in, out and around the yard. Brady, who is fighting a battle with a virulent form of cancer called neuroblastoma, couldn’t be happier during those times. April Smith was talking to a friend one day when the subject Brady’s love of trains came up. It just so happened that the friend knew Kevin Gallagher, an …
Monday, May 20, 2013
A federal judge's ruling on Friday sent the case to Worcester Superior Court.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 2 p.m. with the town's full statement attached as a PDF. A federal judge's ruling on Friday means that the town and the Grafton and Upton Railroad must continue their lawsuit in a state court. The town and the railroad have been looking for a resolution to this case since December 2012, when Grafton issued a cease and desist order in relation to the company's development of a propane storage facility on Westborough Road. The railroad has argued it is exempt from local land use regulations. Town Administrator Timothy McInerney has said the town believes the proposed facility is not congruent to rail operations, and therefore, would not be exempt. A press release from the town of Grafton outlines …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The Grafton and Upton Railroad will be installing railroad crossings in Milford starting next week.
Work to restore long-inactive railroad tracks has begun in Milford, and contractors for the Grafton and Upton Railroad next week will begin to install railroad crossings across several roads. The schedule follows: Vernon Street crossing, May 8; Depot Street, May 15; South Main Street, May 22 and Green Street in Hopedale, May 30. The crossing installation on Route 140 has not been scheduled, said Doug Pizzi, a spokesman for the railroad. That crossing, south of Milford Regional Medical Center, will be the most difficult because the road is heaily traveled. Roads will be closed for one day of construction for each crossing, said Pizzi. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, a crossing may take two days, but in these cases, the road would …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Soil runoff in December triggered several violations for the railroad company.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection inspections at Pratt Pond and Big Brummet Brook are over and the DEP is satisfied with the improvements that have been made to prevent soil erosion. Edmund J. Coletta Jr., director of the Office of Public Affairs at the MassDEP, told the Grafton Daily Voice that his agency is satisfied with the upgrades that were needed when Pratt's Pond was muddied up by soil runoff. According to the Daily Voice the violations were recorded on Dec. 13 and 14 when the DEP noticed filling and grading issues in the area. "Delli Priscoli [the railroad owner] said his policy is to work in good faith with state regulators despite claiming his railroad is pre-empted from local laws ," the Daily Voice …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Despite a cease and desist order, Grafton and Upton Railroad continued its construction work.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
A 100-foot propane tank will not be delivered to 42 Westborough Rd. this afternoon because a temporary restraining order was granted against the Grafton and Upton Railroad by the State Superior Court in Worcester, according to the Grafton Daily Voice. The order was given on behalf of the town of Grafton. Yesterday the town administrator's office said a cease and desist order was given to the company because the proper permits were not pulled for construction work being done. Despite the order, the company continued its work, according to the Daily Voice. A hearing is set for 2 p.m. today.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Town officials say the proper permits were not pulled.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Submitted by the Town Administrator's Office: The town of Grafton has issued a cease and desist order to the Grafton and Upton Railroad (GURR) for violating local bylaws and failing to obtain proper approvals and permits for the construction of a propane storage facility at 42 Westboro Rd. The town has analyzed this situation and found that the GURR claim of preemption for this work has not been proven. The GURR has begun construction of a propane storage facility that is proposed to include four 80,000 gallon propane tanks at 42 Westboro Rd. in Grafton. This property is within an area zoned residential and within a water supply protection overlay district. Last night the Board of Selectmen heard from the GURR about its intentions to begin…
Thursday, August 23, 2012
A rail line serving the Hopedale rail yard that runs through Grafton will become active for the first time in a decade.
The tracks are overgrown with weeds and the rail crossings have been removed. But a rail line that runs through Grafton, crosses through Milford and connects to the Hopedale rail yard will be reactivated this year. The Marlborough-based Grafton and Upton Railroad has signed a contract wth a bulk goods shipper, which will send 600 boxcars a year initially through Grafton to the Hopedale yard, about one train a day to start, according to a company press release. The 16-mile rail line passes through Milford and crosses roads at Route 140 (Cape Road), Vernon Street, Depot Street and South Main Street (behind PiNZ). Each of those crossings will get a new installation, to replace the crossings that were removed by town officials more than a …
Jim Gallagher
3:29 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
So proud of my son and the G&U Railroad. more ›