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Largest city in each state not service by a rail line.

Started by dvferyance, February 01, 2017, 02:56:15 PM

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Rothman

Quote from: cl94 on February 01, 2017, 11:29:55 PM
As far as any rail service, likely Gloversville (population 15,315) if we're talking cities/villages. There may be a larger town with no active rail.

Hm.  I've checked a few larger places but haven't found anything yet, but there's got to be something bigger than that without any rail service. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.


cl94

Quote from: Rothman on February 02, 2017, 10:03:55 AM
Quote from: cl94 on February 01, 2017, 11:29:55 PM
As far as any rail service, likely Gloversville (population 15,315) if we're talking cities/villages. There may be a larger town with no active rail.

Hm.  I've checked a few larger places but haven't found anything yet, but there's got to be something bigger than that without any rail service. :D

For cities, Gloversville is indeed the largest.

If we're talking suburban villages, Kiryas Joel has a larger population, but that's such a strange case that I don't know if it can really be counted. Kenmore is slightly larger than Gloversville.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

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Buck87

Quote from: andrewkbrown on February 01, 2017, 07:44:14 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on February 01, 2017, 03:52:48 PM
Ohio's largest city, Columbus, lacks passenger rail, and it just might top the list nationally in this category

Though if you're talking any type of rail (as in freight) than that would be an interesting thing to try and look up

Until someone can find a larger city in Ohio, I say Xenia, with a population of 25,000 would be Ohio's largest city without any railroad lines. It's former 2-3 rail lines have all since been converted to rail-trails.

If there was a category for stand alone cities, Xenia would take it for Ohio. Though it does get beat by several bedroom community suburbs...

Cleveland Heights 46,000 (which comes within 200m of the freight/RTA corridor by Case Western)
Beavercreek 45,000
Westerville 36,000
Reynoldsburg 35,000
Brunswick 34,000
North Royalton 30,000

froggie

Ran New York's using GIS data.  Largest city without any railroad is indeed Gloversville.  Largest town without any rail is Amherst.

Largest Minnesota city without any rail is Woodbury.

Rothman

Quote from: froggie on February 02, 2017, 10:47:21 AM
Ran New York's using GIS data.  Largest city without any railroad is indeed Gloversville.  Largest town without any rail is Amherst.

Largest Minnesota city without any rail is Woodbury.
Ah, okay.  My bet was somewhere in western NY, so I am glad Amherst came up. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

cl94

Quote from: Rothman on February 02, 2017, 11:42:17 AM
Quote from: froggie on February 02, 2017, 10:47:21 AM
Ran New York's using GIS data.  Largest city without any railroad is indeed Gloversville.  Largest town without any rail is Amherst.

Largest Minnesota city without any rail is Woodbury.
Ah, okay.  My bet was somewhere in western NY, so I am glad Amherst came up. :D

Assuming light rail construction proceeds as planned, Amherst won't be without for much longer. As it stands, tracks end a few hundred feet from the T/L.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

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formulanone

#31
Quote from: AlexandriaVA on February 01, 2017, 04:59:11 PM
Suggested terms of reference:

Passenger rail=a station with regular passenger service.

Freight service=an industrial spur or siding capable of supporting freight operations

Your use of dual equal signs invites this image:



Pembroke Pines, Florida has an estimated population of 150K, and no rail lines nor service. Coral Springs, Florida (127K) naturally has no rail lines, as it was master-planned and incorporated in 1963. They're about 4 miles to the Tri-Rail station from their easternmost borders, so it's not completely cut off from service.

Gainesville, Florida has a population 127,000 and no active rail lines. Ironically, their city logo prominently features a locomotive...



jeffandnicole

#32
In terms of NJ, giving it some thought, it's possible the largest city without a rail line may be one of the shore towns.  Even then, in decades past, they used to have a fair amount of train lines running thru the towns.  Evidence of them includes some of the old railroad bridges one can see along NJ 147 heading towards Wildwood. And on occasion in towns such as Cape May, when the sand gets swept out to sea, old, long buried and forgotten railroad tracks are uncovered.

roadman

Quote from: 1 on February 01, 2017, 03:12:21 PM
Manchester NH, as far as I know, has no passenger rail (I think it still has freight). Amtrak goes nowhere near Manchester, and Manchester does not have its own train system.

Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire.
You are correct.  Manchester NH presently has no passenger rail service.  There have been off and on discussions about restoring commuter rail service from Boston to Concord NH (extension of the current MBTA service to Lowell), but the MBTA won't do it unless the state of New Hampshire funds it, and the state has been unwilling to do so.
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Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

The Nature Boy

Quote from: roadman on February 02, 2017, 02:37:25 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 01, 2017, 03:12:21 PM
Manchester NH, as far as I know, has no passenger rail (I think it still has freight). Amtrak goes nowhere near Manchester, and Manchester does not have its own train system.

Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire.
You are correct.  Manchester NH presently has no passenger rail service.  There have been off and on discussions about restoring commuter rail service from Boston to Concord NH (extension of the current MBTA service to Lowell), but the MBTA won't do it unless the state of New Hampshire funds it, and the state has been unwilling to do so.

And since New Hampshire has no income tax and thus can't tax the incomes of people working in Massachusetts but living in New Hampshire, there's probably a lack of incentive to fund such an endeavor. If anything, funding an MBTA line to Concord would just increase sprawl and drive up property values. The Seacoast of NH (along the Downeaster Amtrak route) is pretty expensive as it is and York County, ME isn't too far behind.

I'm a supporter of the MBTA line to Concord but I can see why NH wouldn't be.

cl94

NH has been talking about passenger rail forever. Of course, the idiots in the legislature won't even let federal funds be used on the project, so...
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epzik8

Quote from: lepidopteran on February 01, 2017, 08:57:15 PM
In Maryland, the state capital, Annapolis, is the winner with a population of about 38,000.  No trackage whatsoever; much of the Baltimore & Annapolis RR that did serve the city at one time is now a bike trail.

However, you could formerly include Frederick, the second largest city in the state with over 60,000.  There's an abandoned line that runs right in the middle of a downtown street.  But a section to the south was reconstructed maybe 15 years ago for commuter service and at least one freight customer.  (Rare to see a disused railroad rebuilt nowadays.)
Poor Annapolis is in a bad spot for transportation.
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txstateends

Every major metro in TX has at least some rail presence.  It's been quite a look around the map to find the biggest city around without any rail.  One of the more successful to have not ever had rail would be Canton, east of Dallas.  But their popu-count is 3568 at last look.  Without knowing better about the Austin, San Antonio, or Houston suburbs, I'm gonna do the shot in the dark and (for now) go with Mineral Wells, west of Fort Worth.  Last count has them at 16,773; IINM, there used to be some kind of RR out that way. I thought Seagoville might be close, but not quite (15,519; there used to be an SP/ex-T&NO line there along US 175 till the mid-1980s when it was abandoned).
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Conn. Roads

The route through Nashua, Manchester, and Concord was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad route to White River Jct., VT. The freight dried up past Concord. The state bought the line, but allowed B&M to rip out the rail. This used to be a major Boston-Montreal route.

The Nature Boy

Quote from: Conn. Roads on February 03, 2017, 08:08:57 AM
The route through Nashua, Manchester, and Concord was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad route to White River Jct., VT. The freight dried up past Concord. The state bought the line, but allowed B&M to rip out the rail. This used to be a major Boston-Montreal route.

In retrospect, a very terrible idea. New Hampshire and Maine having limited rail is really unfortunate. I guess it's fortunate that Greyhound (formerly Vermont Transit) offers bus service from the WRJ area to Manchester and points south. There's no actual way to get to Concord from the Upper Valley though without just driving. It's easier to get from Claremont, NH to Montpelier and Burlington, VT than to get to Concord and Manchester.

briantroutman

Even with its numerous miles of abandoned track, Pennsylvania still remains fairly well covered–at least as far as freight rail is concerned. Judging by the PennDOT Railroad Map, the most populous standalone city with no rail service of any kind would appear to be Clarion (pop. 4,936). There may be a more populous municipality in the Philadelphia or Pittsburgh metro areas that lacks any trackage within its borders, although I don't think that fits the spirit of the question.

Since most of us aren't in the business of shipping coal or pig iron by the ton, I think the more relevant question would be: What are the largest cities that lack passenger rail? In Pennsylvania, none of the Lehigh Valley cities, neither Scranton nor Wilkes-Barre, nor Reading, nor Williamsport have any passenger rail service.

Quote from: lepidopteran on February 01, 2017, 08:57:15 PM
(Rare to see a disused railroad rebuilt nowadays.)

Yes, it is rare, although I saw it happen south of Williamsport about ten years ago. A rail line along the west bank of the West Branch of the Susquehanna had fallen into disuse decades ago and was severely damaged in a 1996 flood. The tracks were rebuilt around the mid 2000s to provide service to a new industrial park north of Allenwood–so its promoters could advertise "rail service available" . Unfortunately, the only "industry"  the park has attracted in more than a decade has been a small ophthalmology office.

Takumi

Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

jdb1234

Quote from: freebrickproductions on February 01, 2017, 04:08:28 PM
As far as passenger rail goes. 3 of the four largest cities in Alabama (Mobile, Montgomery, and Huntsville) aren't served by any kind of passenger rail. Not sure what the largest city here in Alabama is without an active rail line of any kind though. as just about every town of a decent size tends to have one. Maybe Centreville, AL though?

Vestavia Hills is not served by a rail line, if I remember correctly.  Several communities in Baldwin county are not served by railroads either.

tchafe1978

Quote from: mgk920 on February 01, 2017, 09:44:03 PM
Here in Wisconsin, the largest muni without a common-carrier rail passenger station is indeed Madison.  Among the top ten munis in population in the state, only Kenosha, La Crosse and Milwaukee have active stations.

As for freight service (discounting suburbs), that's a tough one.  Antigo has no active railroads and may be the largest without, although Sturgeon Bay and Clintonville are also within that size range.  Two Rivers has a dormant rail line that extends into the city, but IIRC, it hasn't yet been used in the 21st century.

Mike

I'm not sure if there are any others larger, but Platteville with a population of 11,224 has no railroads. The last rail line was taken out of Platteville in about 1974.

jwolfer

Quote from: formulanone on February 02, 2017, 12:43:53 PM
Quote from: AlexandriaVA on February 01, 2017, 04:59:11 PM
Suggested terms of reference:

Passenger rail=a station with regular passenger service.

Freight service=an industrial spur or siding capable of supporting freight operations

Your use of dual equal signs invites this image:



Pembroke Pines, Florida has an estimated population of 150K, and no rail lines nor service. Coral Springs, Florida (127K) naturally has no rail lines, as it was master-planned and incorporated in 1963. They're about 4 miles to the Tri-Rail station from their easternmost borders, so it's not completely cut off from service.

Gainesville, Florida has a population 127,000 and no active rail lines. Ironically, their city logo prominently features a locomotive...


Gainesville exists because of the railroad. Newnanville was the county seat of Alachua County.. Then the railroad came thorough in the 1840s or 1850s  so a new town was built at the railroad tracks.. County seat moved. Newnanville was abandoned and now is part if Gainesville

LGMS428


sparker

St. George, UT (currently about 82K and heading rapidly toward 100K) has no rail line; the UP LA-SLC line bypasses it about 40 miles to the northwest; that's probably the largest Utah city lacking any rail service at all.

dvferyance

Quote from: tchafe1978 on February 03, 2017, 11:08:29 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on February 01, 2017, 09:44:03 PM
Here in Wisconsin, the largest muni without a common-carrier rail passenger station is indeed Madison.  Among the top ten munis in population in the state, only Kenosha, La Crosse and Milwaukee have active stations.

As for freight service (discounting suburbs), that's a tough one.  Antigo has no active railroads and may be the largest without, although Sturgeon Bay and Clintonville are also within that size range.  Two Rivers has a dormant rail line that extends into the city, but IIRC, it hasn't yet been used in the 21st century.

Mike

I'm not sure if there are any others larger, but Platteville with a population of 11,224 has no railroads. The last rail line was taken out of Platteville in about 1974.
Though if you count suburbs Franklin 35,451 Greenfield 36,720 and Muskego 24,135 top that.

tchafe1978

Quote from: dvferyance on February 04, 2017, 11:38:07 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on February 03, 2017, 11:08:29 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on February 01, 2017, 09:44:03 PM
Here in Wisconsin, the largest muni without a common-carrier rail passenger station is indeed Madison.  Among the top ten munis in population in the state, only Kenosha, La Crosse and Milwaukee have active stations.

As for freight service (discounting suburbs), that's a tough one.  Antigo has no active railroads and may be the largest without, although Sturgeon Bay and Clintonville are also within that size range.  Two Rivers has a dormant rail line that extends into the city, but IIRC, it hasn't yet been used in the 21st century.

Mike

I'm not sure if there are any others larger, but Platteville with a population of 11,224 has no railroads. The last rail line was taken out of Platteville in about 1974.
Though if you count suburbs Franklin 35,451 Greenfield 36,720 and Muskego 24,135 top that.

I was thinking along the lines of standalone cities/villages.

Rothman

Quote from: sparker on February 04, 2017, 03:32:15 PM
St. George, UT (currently about 82K and heading rapidly toward 100K) has no rail line; the UP LA-SLC line bypasses it about 40 miles to the northwest; that's probably the largest Utah city lacking any rail service at all.

Wonder what happened there, since Saint George was an early settlement, for settlements in Utah.  Perhaps the rail line bypassed it because of topography/terrain?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Stephane Dumas

In Quebec, with the abandon and removal of some tracks. Victoriaville, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Mont-Laurier hadn't got a service by rail line since the late 1980s.



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