Western Maryland Scenic says No. 1309 is being prepared for FRA inspection
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad officials say C&O 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 is “100% operational” and believe the locomotive will be operating this summer, although it awaits a few parts and must address “a few leaks” before receiving its Federal Railroad Administration inspection. The Cumberland Times-News reports that chief mechanic Nathaniel Watts told the railroad’s monthly board meeting, “Before the FRA comes out to inspect it, we want to make sure we are 100% confident it will pass. We want to be running this summer and we think we can.” The meeting was held Monday in a Budd dome car, built in 1955 for the Great Northern Railway, the railroad has leased for its tourist operations.
CN donation to help repair Steam Railroading Institute passenger cars
Canadian National has made a $2,000 donation to the Steam Railroading Institute in Owasso, Mich., to be used to repair three passenger cars in the non-profit’s fleet. The funds will be used to repair brake valves on former CN coaches Nos. 5447 and 5646, so they can be used in excursion service, and window refurbishment and seal replacement on former Pennsylvania Railroad coach No. 147, including repair of two windows damaged in 2019. “This will allow the continuation of repairs to three of our coaches and will be a significant and important job for our volunteers to better learn the inner workings of our passenger car fleet,” Aaron Farmer, the institute’s mechanical manager, said on the institute’s website.
Tweetsie Railroad set to reopen April 2
North Carolina’s Tweetsie Railroad, a heritage railroad and amusement part, will reopen April 2 after a lengthy closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This has been the most challenging year in our history, for many reasons, so we can hardly wait for April 2 to welcome back out Tweetsie Railroad family and celebrate in typical Wild West fashion,” said Cathy Robbins, the Tweetsie’s director of marketing for Tweetsie Railroad. “The park will look a little different this year, but that is to keep both our guests and our staff safe and healthy.” Safety measures include operating the train ride park at 50% capacity pending further guidance from health officials; a requirement to wear face coverings; limits on indoor dining; and requirements to obtain advance tickets for a specific day and train ride time. For more information, visit the Tweesie website.
“Trackwork” means those 50,000 ties reported in a previous story, correct? Doesn’t that only get the railroad up to 15mph?
I hope that happens. I would also love to ride behind PM 1225 out of Owosso (not Owasso, that’s in Oklahoma.) They have some great excursions although a lot of the time they use other locomotives.
I hope the necessary trackwork will be completed by summer and covid restrictions reduced so that the 1309 can actually run to Frostburg with passengers in the coaches.