POTOMAC RAIL NEWS POTOMAC CHAPTER, NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY P.O. BOX 235, KENSINGTON, MARYLAND 20895-0235 AUGUST 2021 A DAY IN THE FOREST. On June 7, 2021, Alex and Teresa rode the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, which is located on the western outskirts of Yosemite National Park two miles south of Fish Camp, California. Shay No. 10, a three-truck engine constructed by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio, in 1928, powered their trip. Photo by: Alex Mayes VIRTUAL MEETING: Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at 8PM VIA ZOOM ZOOM PROGRAM: “2020 Railroading on Cape Cod” Doug Scott will present a digital multimedia PowerPoint presentation set to music so Doug will talk only at the beginning and end of the presentation. Railroads covered will be Mass Coastal freight, Bay Colony freight, New Bedford, Cape Cod Central passenger trains and the summer Boston to Hyannis Cape FLYER weekend passenger service. See page 2 for more details. NEXT MEETING DATE: September 21, 2021 DEADLINE FOR SEPTEMBER ISSUE: September 3, 2021. Send news items to Clay Moritz, Editor, Potomac Rail News, at [email protected] INFO ON CHAPTER ACTIVITIES: http://potomacnrhs.org/ ADDRESS MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES TO: Rick Davidson, Membership Agent, 2908 Breezy Terrace, Alexandria, VA 22303-2401 [email protected] POTOMAC RAIL NEWS AUGUST 2021 PAGE 2 OF 12 THE CHAPTER FAMILY If you know of a Chapter Member who is sick, has lost a loved one, or has a new birth in the family, please contact the editor at: [email protected] THIS MONTH’S CHAPTER PROGRAM. The Cape Cod Chapter, NRHS, runs the former New Haven Railroad West Barnstable, MA, train Station as an active station and museum, which is open Saturdays when the Cape Cod Central Canal Excursion Train stops on its way to Bourne. Emphasis will be on scenes around the station. Included are some scenes of maritime traffic in the Cape Cod Canal. Locations covered will include trackside scenes between Hyannis, Buzzards Bay, and Wareham, Massachusetts, and a bit of the Watuppa track in New Bedford. Doug Scott has been a member of the Cape Cod Chapter NRHS, for 35 years and has served as Chapter President. He is currently an NRHS District 1 Director. THIS MONTH’S POTOMAC CHAPTER MEETING will again use Zoom video conferencing software at 8PM on August 17. See below for the information required to connect. If you have any questions contact: Bill Holdsworth (301) 762-9376 (CONTACT BY PHONE ONLY THE NIGHT OF THE MEETING) or [email protected] Topic: Potomac Chapter membership meeting Time: Aug 15, 2021 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88257156739?pwd=RTdrNDNBS0VtT0ltSXF6YzhsMk5UZz09 Meeting ID: 882 5715 6739 Passcode: 850929 One tap mobile +13017158592,,88257156739#,,,,*850929# US (Washington DC) +19292056099,,88257156739#,,,,*850929# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) Meeting ID: 814 7249 8366 Passcode: 503221 One tap mobile +13017158592,,81472498366#,,,,*503221# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,81472498366#,,,,*503221# US (Chicago) FUTURE POTOMAC CHAPTER MEETINGS. The Board of Directors has decided to continue holding our monthly membership meetings via Zoom video conferencing software through November. This change is due to the rise in the number of COVID cases. The Board also postponed our Chapter Banquet, which was scheduled for September 25, until next spring. The Directors also want to explore the feasibility of holding hybrid meetings, with both an in-person and online Zoom component. If the technical issues can be resolved, we will schedule in-person meetings to run concurrently with the Zoom meetings. POTOMAC RAIL NEWS AUGUST 2021 PAGE 3 OF 12 NEW EMAIL ADDRESS. Rick Davidson, Potomac Chapter Membership Agent has a new email address, which is active and located at the bottom of page 1 of this PRN. RAIL NEWS HERE COMES The ICE CREAM SPECIAL! The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has sweetened the deal for families and kids with its new Ice Cream Train ride. Wesley Heinz, interim CEO of the railroad, said the new excursion is one of the recent changes made in an effort to increase ridership. “People in the community are very excited about the future and they’ve been very supportive of the more aggressive and strategic way we are approaching things now,” said Heinz, who was hired on June 10. In addition to the new ride, Heinz said track maintenance between Cumberland and Frostburg is taking place while repair work continues on the No. 1309 steam engine. While maintenance continues, Heinz added a short excursion for families with young children called the Ice Cream Train. “On July 2 and July 16 we ran our first and second Ice Cream Train, which is new to WMSR. Both trips sold out and the July 30 train is almost completely sold out,” Heinz said. “You get the ice cream as you board the train,” he said. “With 70% of the passengers under 10, their attention span is shorter so we make a quick run up to the Narrows and go over the high bridge and then come back into town. In August we will move the Ice Cream Train to Frostburg and we will run out of Frostburg on the night of August and 20.” TRACK IMPROVEMENTS, TIE REPLACEMENT: Heinz said repair work has been progressing this summer on the 16 miles of aging track between the Western Maryland Railway Station and the Frostburg Depot. WMSR officials reported in March that hundreds of ties needed replacement on the line. Heinz has enlisted the help of some of his contacts in New England. “A week before last we had an all-volunteer group of guys come down from Maine from the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad Museum and from the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, which of course is where I am also the Executive Director at,” he said. “They came down and they completely replaced railroad ties and over 400 feet of rail.” Heinz said the volunteers came back the next weekend to continue the work. “It shows we have other railroad entities who believe in the community enough that they come down here and volunteer their time to make sure that we are successful which is a big win.” The track, according to Heinz, has not had any significant repair work in more than 50 years. He said some of the most “crucial” mainline track repair work is being done by Rhinehart Railroad Construction Inc. “They specialize in railroad right-of-way maintenance and construction and they have been making adjustments to the track a little at a time over the last several months. So some of the most offending areas have been alleviated so that has also been a really big win. The railroad crossing at Cash Valley Road is also being replaced by a program that operates through the State of Maryland. That should be completed before the end of the fall. “There is going to have to be some new light fixtures and things for signaling so it is safer. At the approaches, you will be POTOMAC RAIL NEWS AUGUST 2021 PAGE 4 OF 12 able to see, from a great distance, that the railroad crossing is active, which is a big win.” Heinz said the WMSR is not prevented from running to Frostburg and expects those excursions to resume before September. BALDWIN NO. 1309 STEAM ENGINE: Heinz said work continues on the massive Baldwin steam locomotive No. 1309, which WMSR officials said will be a huge draw once operational. He said it has been difficult finding parts due to the high demand and worker shortage. “The engine, the firebrick, is one of the commodities we’ve been waiting for. It has been packaged for shipment. We actually had to get it out of Colorado. A lot of scenic railroads use a refractory company out of Colorado,” he said. “Firebrick is the lining material, which helps with conducting in the fire box and protects the crown sheet,” Heinz said. “It’s a common material in oil and gas fired boilers. What firebrick (that was in No. 1309) was long since broken down so we had to redo all that. That is one of the last major items that has to be shipped in.” Heinz said he his hopeful No. 1309 will be operational in the fall. “It doesn’t seem like we are too far off. We are getting closer every day.” “The steam crew is busy making sure the regular (diesel) train runs but more importantly I’ve given them a more quantifiable time to get out there and get it finished. I think they are really on the right track to getting there. I feel very positive about it.” ‘ENERGY, IMPROVED MORALE.’ Heinz appeared at a meeting of the Cumberland Mayor and City Council at City Hall. “The enthusiasm and the energy we are seeing at the scenic railroad is something that is great to see,” Mayor Ray Morriss said. “With the Ice Cream Train, I think people will see the scenic railroad is truly an asset to them. In addition, we will see the Polar Express coming back as well.” City Councilman Eugene Frazier said he has been pleased with the “energy and improved morale” at the WMSR. Heinz said he helped turn around the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad and hopes to do the same in Cumberland. “What I’m trying to facilitate is taking the things that worked successfully in Maine and implement them here in Cumberland,” he said. “In Maine, they were spiraling downward. The Maine Narrow Gauge parallels where the WMSR is today in many, many ways.” Heinz is not new to Cumberland.