Western Maryland Scenic expands horizons

[wm3798]

In case you spent the day under a rock, it's been announced that the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has entered into a long term lease agreement to operate the George's Creek Railroad between Westernport (near the shuttered paper mill) up to a dot on the map just west of Frostburg.  12.8 miles of rusty, disused track, but apparently with some prospects for future development.



The deal includes the acquisition of WM25 and WM39, two chop nose GP9s that had been resurrected by Gerald Althizer, who had owned the line prior to its demise when the paper mill closed.  (It had been picked up in bankruptcy by a new ownership group).

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/western-maryland-scenic-to-expand-through-lease-of-short-line/

While the tunnel under Frostburg still exists, there are no chances that the two lines will be connected due to development on the west side of town that has obliterated the right of way.  There has been talk of a rail trail, though, running alongside the operating tracks as they do along the current WMSR route from Cumberland, which includes the Great American Passage trail that connects via the C&O Canal to Washington.

Reports say the GCK will be operated independently of the WMSR, but under the same management (I'm not sure how you do that)

It will be fascinating to watch this unfold.  Having driven up and down the George's Creek valley, I'm not sure what the prospects are, but so far the team running the WMSR has used its Midas touch to a lot of good.  We'll see...


1309, though currently out of service to have its pistons replaced, has been a huge publicity boost, and the railroad apparently has resources at its disposal to pursue other revenue streams.  But everything comes at a cost.  I'm a little concerned they might be spreading themselves a little thin...

Lee

[wm3798]

https://wmsr.com/blog-news/wmsr-acquires-georges-creek-division-wm-gp9s?utm_source=Western+Maryland+Scenic+Railroad+Newsletter&utm_campaign=45d224d13d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_01_16_06_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-45d224d13d-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Direct from the horse's mouth...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It's a shame they didn't get the SDs too.

[GaryHinshaw]

This is very cool. I always loved that line's vibe.

[RockGp40]

It's a shame they didn't get the SDs too.

I believe that they aren't too far away, down in Staunton, VA.

[PiperguyUMD]

I’m really curious to see what becomes of this, as it seems like a potentially risky move. Their fundraising campaigns seem to be non stop (as they should be?), but one would think that the cash from those efforts would go into making sure 1309 can be the star attraction it should be, fixing the alignment at the turntable in Frostburg, overhauling 734 etc. How do they have capital to undertake an endeavor such as this? Given the state of that line, it will be years before they see any revenue from it, let alone break even.

Perhaps the thing that makes the most sense is repatriating the GP9s. If I bought tickets to ride behind 1309, and 1309 wasn’t up to the task, I would be equally excited to see two native GP9s on home rails. I dunno if everyone would feel that way, but at least the historic accuracy has some appeal. Then again, they just purchased a pair of GEs… Maybe those will be for freight service on the GCK?

I think what will make or break this project is how they deal with the GCK division being isolated from the rest of their operation. I don’t see a bike trail being sufficient to get enough people from Frostburg to GCK to justify excursion service. I’m a die-hard train nut, and I would have a hard time dragging my rear end from Frostburg to where ever they plan to board trains. If my wife is with me, forget it! We’ll ride the Cumberland train, then take a quick drive to check out the GCK. And unfortunately for the WMSR, not purchase a ticket for that side of the line. I guess there’s no chance of connecting Ridgely to Westernport via Knobmount? I’m less familiar with the old WM right of way on that side of things.

On the flip side, they do have two steam locomotives. 1309 operating Cumberland to Frostburg, and 734 on the GCK, would be a pretty exciting spectacle. Although the GCK seems like the perfect place for a certain Pacific hanging out in Hagerstown! How much of the Thomas sub is intact beyond Westernport? Could they get to Randolph Jennings lake? I could see that being a nice draw! It would be even more of a slam dunk if I could stay on the same train all the way from Cumberland!

[wm3798]

I'm having the same thoughts.  The trackwork up the GCK is adequate as far as Barton, but by no means in good shape. 

I think the wildcard here is the potential for involvement of the State of Maryland and its desire to develop the Western Maryland economy beyond the coal age.  While the WMSR route is ostensibly "owned" by Allegany County, there's a *****-ton of state money involved in it.  They are heavily invested in the restoration of 1309, and in Canal Place, the anchor of the operation at the WM station and canal head.  (The state is also pretty adept at the railroad business, with ownership or part ownership of either the operation or trackage of the Canton, MDDE, and MMID and probably others)

My guess is that there's something afoot over on the GCK that has some potential for rail shipment, whether it's the final throes of the strip mine above Barton, or a logging operation, or some other bulk commodity... or perhaps all three... that has to get to market, and the state will be in with both feet.  They would have been previously, but the prior owner was, to put it mildly, suspicious of state involvement, and rejected any state aid.  If he had been a bit more open minded, he might have had more options when the paper mill inevitably shut down, ironically in part due to state regulations, but mostly because of a collapsing paper market.

I like the notion of a hybrid freight/tourist operation, and the possibility of a more diverse revenue base.  Over the years, the WMSR has successfully been in the business of rehabbing commuter equipment for MARC (more state money, only earned, not given) as well as privately owned varnish.  The shops at Ridgeley keep humming, and employ a fair number of folks in Allegany and Mineral Counties.  I think that may be more of the model that's being pursued than just the scenic railroad.

The addition of the big GEs does suggest that there's some tonnage to be moved.  Perhaps the county and state know something about the Westvaco property being restored to some sort of manufacturing, and CSX already turned up its nose at serving it.  Maybe CSX wants to rid itself of the rest of the Thomas Sub to Mettiki Mine and the Mt. Storm generating plant, and the state(s) needed to find a willing partner to cover those movements until that coal fired plant is scheduled to be decommissioned in a few years.  (What a grand tourist ride that would be!)

Much conjecture, I'm sure, but somebody knows something about something, or it wouldn't have happened.

Lee

[John]

I don’t know how much state money is available. The governor wants to cut transportation to bail out the “structural deficit”.  Instead of fixing the potholes

[wm3798]

I'll say again:  somebody knows something about something, or it wouldn't have happened.

The press states that CSX is supportive (There's something in it for them, and shedding a labor intensive branch line always makes the shareholders happy)
The local state delegate is on the WMSR board, so there's access to the budget, and something to leverage with a Governor who may not be able to find Western Maryland on a map.
Wes Heinz, executive director of the WMSR is not an idiot, and has experience with a hybrid operation, and maneuvering in a public/private funding environment.

Lee

[PiperguyUMD]

I’m all about anything that saves the Thomas sub! Thomas seems to bill itself as a bit of an outdoor adventure destination, could be an awesome southern terminus! Unfortunately that’s nostalgia speaking and not business sense. Using the last gasps of freight traffic to bridge the gap until some kind of passenger operation is up and running sounds like a respectable plan, but boy, they would have to be all in to make sure that the tourist operation could be sustained without freight.

I think the Reading and Northern could be a useful model, that team has seriously hustled to build their customer base. A good marketing team might be able to drum up some regular export coal business around GCK until other customers are cultivated.

Even if all that falls into place, they are still reliant on CSX to connect their two divisions. What happens if sentiments change at CSX? I would think solving that problem would be a top priority.