The Trains Interview: Western Maryland Scenic’s Wesley Heinz, Part II

Second of two parts

CUMBERLAND, Md. — The conclusion of a Trains News Wire interview with with Wesley Heinz, executive director of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Part I is available here.

Q: Second to 1309, track infrastructure has been a recurring topic of discussion. How is the railroad addressing track needs to avoid another situation of deferred maintenance?

A: In the mid-1980s, the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad] from Switch No. 9 up to Frostburg was brand new. They re-laid the track from stem to stern in the mid-1980s. Now we’re in 2021, and except where there absolutely had to be track repairs, the track is the same it was the day it was installed.

There are sections of the mainline from Cumberland to Switch No. 9 that have been wholly replaced, but then other sections where you’re still running on ties that have been there since the Western Maryland.

The [right-of-way] needed a strategic plan. We need to do about 5,000 ties per year, which is not that many – it’s not even 2 miles. We are on pace to replace about 5,000 ties per year over the next decade and it’ll be fine.

This past summer, we’ve installed around 1,000 crossties. [Allegany County] owns the track and they’ve graciously stepped up to the plate and have re-invested in the railroad.

Mr. Howard Pincus at the Naugatuck Railroad [is] a good friend of mine. I will always quote him: “Your track is the foundation of your business.” And the last inspection we had, which was about a month ago, the report was returned to me as having no defects.

A lot of people have made this big production saying [1309] is too heavy, that the railroad cannot handle it. The 1309 was built to run on 80-pound and 85-pound junk track going to a coal mine. Our track is 131-pound, six-bolted, heavy-duty rail. Even in the sloppiest of crosstie spots, she will do just fine.

Q: There are a lot of new faces at Cumberland and the railroad’s Ridgeley shops. What are you doing to embrace change and introduce a new and younger generation to railroad preservation?

A: The first time I ever came across Nathaniel Watts was last year a month before I came [to Cumberland]. We were up in Scranton working on the [Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4012] abatement, and he too, had been involved with the 1309 like I had been. I was there in 2017, he was there in 2019, and then we found ourselves working for Gary Bensman in February 2020. Nathaniel is one of my dearest friends … He really is the linchpin of mechanical, especially with 1309. It will be an amazing accomplishment and a huge feather in his cap professionally.

No. 1309 would not be complete without Nathaniel. Period. And I don’t say that lightly because I am not a big believer in people being irreplaceable, but there are certain times in life where replacement would be very difficult. And had Nathaniel not become involved through Gary initially, and now as an employee of this railroad, [the restoration] just would not have happened.

Robert Conner — again, it’s the same thing. [His personality] could not be more opposite of myself or Nathaniel, but it works. [Robert] is like a brother to me. He is really good with operations. He’s managing a lot of the process — managing the railroad, track repairs, consultations and communication with the different entities doing the track work.

Nicholas Parker is exceptionally effective and is the linchpin of the train crew, as far as the onboard experience is concerned – he does it all. [Editor’s note: Since this interview, Parker has returned to his full-time job at an airline; he will continue supporting WMSR on periodic visits to Cumberland].

[One of our two newest employees is] a young man from Pittsburgh, who at 14 years of age was in Ridgeley helping disassemble the 1309. And as soon as I took over the helm, I hired him. I knew what he wanted to do and wanted to become. His name is Cameron Stefan. He is training to be an engineer and is a conductor and brakeman. He’s really good in the shop.

We hired another young man from North Carolina who had been volunteering with the New Hope Valley with Robert, and had been here volunteering. He showed this incredible aptitude for attention to detail and is becoming an excellent machinist. He’s fabricated a number of parts for the stoker.

The entire crew of the Western Maryland Scenic, except for our highly valued onboard services staff, is brand new. When you look at the leadership team, it boils down to Nathaniel, Robert, and Nicholas.

You see [social media] and you see these young people that assimilate and become more mature. That’s what I’m all about, is bringing up the next wave of people. Lord willing, I’m going to be able to do this until my 70s, but the actuality is that as I have to train people that can do the administrative side now. We have to train people — like Nathaniel is doing with these young men: “Hey, this is what I know to do, this is how it’s done, and these are the people that can help make it happen.” And that’s really what we do here. It was crucial to have the new energy come in.

Q: Lastly, it would be a disservice not to talk about 1309. Can you summarize what has happened in the past month and key items remaining before the 2-6-6-2 begins regular service?

A: [1309] has been rebuilt to go the distance. Not only is it going to be a great locomotive on the railroad here, but if and when — if it was ever allowed out, I assure you it has been rebuilt to as-new condition. All of the running gear is as-new, it has more lubrication now than ever thought before. It has a heat sensor system for all of the rotating axles.

I will say after having done a half dozen locomotive [restorations] over the last few years, it is one of the most detailed and one of the finest restorations I have ever been a part of. It is an incredible machine. It is a big locomotive … it will be the largest operating compound Mallet operating in the United States.

While there are other places that have been able to accomplish full-on overhauls in shorter periods of time, the uniqueness of [1309’s] needs just kept us from being able to get all of the parts. Everything is here in Ridgeley and we’re very excited.

Our plan for now is to operate in the weekends throughout the winter, not with [1309], but we will operate every weekend, which is new, and not something that has been done in the past. When [1309] emerges in the spring, the intention is to run it probably three days a week.

In the past, [Western Maryland 734, a Baldwin 2-8-0] would take a couple [passenger cars] up the hill. And they would run [734] on just about any given day. Okay, that’s great, but is that good business sense? Even with the cheapest of coal, the steam locomotive is more expensive to run. And if you’re carrying 10 passengers to Frostburg on a Thursday, my first question isn’t “why is the steam engine on?” My first question is: “Where is your marketing team and what are you doing?”

I’ve got a photograph of the Frostburg Flyer ready to go up the hill with two coaches on a Wednesday and there’s nobody in the picture except the engineer and fireman. And I’m sitting here saying, “Okay, so you’re going to drop a grand in coal, water, and lube and go up the hill with 10 people?” Which means, with ticket prices what they were, you lost several hundred dollars. And most of the time here, you had a paid fireman, engineer, and conductor. You have two people in the ticket office and somebody in the gift shop. All of the sudden, not only are you losing a little bit of money, but you’re losing three grand a day.

And that is something, that I can I tell you, now, we are polar opposite … We know our busiest days are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sundays, so when do we get the most bang for our buck with 1309? Obviously, we will do photo charters and specials, but the essence is what is good for the bottom line.

Confidence [in the 1309 restoration] is high here in Ridgeley.

Editor’s note: As this was written, the Western Maryland Scenic crew is making preparations for 1309’s final regulatory inspections, with all work expected to wrap up within several days of publication.