CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad excursions have been cancelled through Sept. 11 because of track damage caused by recent heavy rains, the Cumberland Times-News reports.
Damage was confined to about 250 feet of track near the railroad’s shop and yard in Ridgeley, W.Va., on the West Virginia side of the North Branch Potomac River. The damage prevents trains from crossing the rover to the station in Cumberland where passengers board for excursions, according to railroad CEO Wes Heinz. No equipment was damaged.
Heinz said crews are “quite enthusiastically working on the repairs,” while the chairman of the railroad’s board, Mike McKay, told the paper that crews have been dispatched “that will utilize some of our existing employees and then some that specialize in track maintenance.”
The railroad will lose excursion traffic coinciding with this weekend’s Heritage Days Festival in Cumberland, but expects to be back in operation for its next scheduled trips on Sept. 15, Heinz said.
