“Additional wheel work will take place to ensure the engine’s long term operability. It makes much more sense from both a financial and a mechanical perspective to perform this work now than it does to reassemble the engine, run it, and then take it out of service again for repairs,” Garner says. “We want to get it done right the first time. We are committed to returning the engine to service. We are optimistic for operations starting this winter.”
The preservation railroad’s first obligation is to build a fully Federal Railroad Administration-compliant steam locomotive. Western Maryland Scenic and Diversified Rail Services will do this so future operational opportunities will be met with confidence, Garner says. Western Maryland desires a locomotive fully capable of unrestricted mechanical operations and completing the additional running gear repairs will ensure that concept.
“We will be seeing smoke and paint by the end of fall,” says steam locomotive restoration contractor Gary Bensman, who is completing the engine at the railroad’s shop in Ridgeley, W.Va. “We want to make sure the engine is in good shape for its long-term sustainability.”
He says the engine should be completed in early winter.
“While we would like to see the locomotive in operation this fall, it’s more important for the restoration to proceed with the long-term in mind.” Wrinn says. “All of us steam fans, myself included, can wait a few more months to see this magnificent articulated in steam once again, a sight none of us ever expected to see in our lifetimes.”
The alternate dates will provide participants with a fantastic show of steam power in winter, hopefully with snow on the ground, Wrinn says. “We’d love to see No. 1309 rounding famous Helmstetter’s Curve with a nice snow on the ground.”
The new dates will be announced two months in advance of the events. Ticket holders for the photo freights will be contacted in the next week to reschedule their spots or request a refund.
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is a quasi-public not-for-profit heritage railroad corporation based in Cumberland. For answers to additional questions, please contact WMSR at (301) 759-4400.
THe wait will be worth in 2018
Like everyone else, i’m also glad WMSR decided to take this on, even if they now find themselves in a little over their heads. Everyone including the railroad and their customers should probably have known that this process would have some kinks in it. I think that Mr. Schultz is right to question the railroad’s rush to set dates that they themselves should have known might not be achievable. I remember reading newswire stories about this in the beginning and thinking how unbelievable it seemed. A “can-do” attitude only goes so far, the fact that most restorations of this scale can take a decade or more should have been considered.
In the end I don’t think any of this will matter. 1309 will be amazing and we’ll all buy tickets regardless of what the date is, but hopefully some good lessons will have been learned along the way.
Do it right the first time should have been the original plan . Obviously someone else should have been in charge of the undertaking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Gerald McFarlane I am not at all blaming John Garner or WMSR as a whole for unforseen issues that arise in the restoration. Yes, it all first stemmed from the State of Maryland withholding grant money for the amount of time they did. If you REALLY need to know: Yes, I have been following the restoration closely just like all the rest of you and am well aware that rebuilding a locomotive of this caliber is no easy task, and it needs to be done right the first time. However, there comes a point when stringing people along for MORE than 6 months in advance of an initial planned debut is bad for business. There are MANY OTHERS, NOT JUST ME, who will now have to re-negotiate their time off from work, travel plans, and finances to be in Cumberland for excursions. Yes, life is not fair, yet if an organization like WMSR really wants to pull the revenue back in and begin earning decent publicity again, then they ABSOLUTELY need to give people the courtesy of being STRAIGHTFOWARD instead of making promises they cannot fulfill. If there cannot be an exact date because of delays we ALL know will damn well happen no matter what, then DO NOT prematurely announce anything! It’s not rocket science.
So, all that being said, maybe next time you will think twice before you twist other people’s frustrations, jump to silly conclusions about them, and try to make them look ignorant. Quit trying to make me look like some dumb, selfish foamer with an entitlement mentality, because, little do you realize, I am SUPER grateful 1309 is coming back to life in the first place, no matter how long it takes!
I hope they reschedule it to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
@Mr Schulz…someone needs to take a chill pill and add in a dose of reality. Hopefully you’ve been following this restoration from the beginning, because if you have then you’d know that these changes in date are not all the fault of WMSR, some of it lies with the state of Maryland and how they fund things…work was halted for a couple of months while the legislature worked on streamlining the vendor payment process, which held up Bensman’s work, this delayed the completion of the engine till a future date. Then as with almost all steam engine restorations it was discovered that additional work would be required in order to do a complete and thorough job. Finally, you can’t wait until break-in runs are occurring to set these up, you need to allow people time to buy tickets, arrange time off work and set travel plans…giving 6 months advance notice should be sufficient, but not 2 months which is what you’d get if you waited.
A steam locomotive being restored in that reasonable amount of time is to be commended, so do it right the first time is a very good idea.
I commend WM for biting the bullet and doing what is right for the engine even if that means delaying the announced runs. That is the only way to do it.
I have been part of 2 steam restorations of engines that were brought back on line after years of dormancy and the sold out charters ended up being their “break-in runs”. While both worked out, they were nail-biting experiences and definitely not the way you want to do it.
We all will look forward to seeing #1309 out and about when she is ready.
Martin..
VERY DISAPPOINTED in the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s management for continually setting dates on this stuff WAY before the locomotive is close to finished! Now all the people who paid for the photo charters and also made extended travel plans will have to re-evaluate whether they can go in 2018 or not. When will these people learn their lesson? Makes me distrust them more and more each day… They seriously need to WAIT until the locomotive is JUST BEGINNING break-in runs, THEN announce specific dates for debuts and charters. I am so sick of all the stringing along!