Tuscarawas County officials are eyeing a former Baltimore & Ohio rail line for use as excursion trains, including the annual Polar Express trips made from Dennison.
The line in question extends from Dennison to Dover and is owned by CSX but leased to R.J. Corman.
The route begins at the Aleris plant south of Uhrichsville, crosses the former Pennsylvania Panhandle rail line at Uhrichsville, and then goes through Midvale, New Philadelphia and Dover.
A mile-long section of track would need to be built between Uhrichsville and the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum. That would cost an estimated $1 million to $2 million.
New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day is describing the proposed service as an economic development proposal.
“It would generate revenue from those tourism dollars and create another tourism attraction,” he said.
Scott Robinson, president of the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce, said the project would create a great train ride but said “it would take a tremendous effort by a lot of different parties to make it work out.”
Day also said that, “restoring the rail lines from New Philadelphia to Dennison would connect the northern communities of the county with the southern, and give us direct access to the rail corridor that runs between Columbus and Pittsburgh. Plus, with the abundance of natural gas we have in eastern Ohio, technology could be developed (if it hasn’t already) that allows train engines to be powered by natural gas.”
Day recently met with the Ohio Rail Development Commission to discuss the plan. They talked with Tim Brown, project manager for the rail commission.
“Tim was there to gather information,” Day said. “He wasn’t a decision maker. That was sort of disappointing in a way, but he was a good resource for us. What he’s going to help us do is get a meeting with CSX to talk about the rail line through New Philadelphia.”
Brown told the Tuscarawas county contingent that railroads in Ohio are more interested in earning revenue from freight than operating passenger or excursion trains.
“But we hope that if we can get in front of CSX and explain the plan and the benefits of that, we can convince them it’s a good idea,” Day said.
He noted that the railroad is not making a lot of revenue off the line, but if the connection to Dennison was made, CSX could earn money off tourism dollars.
The excursion train, if it comes about, would be operated by the Dennison museum.
“We’re exploring the options to tie Dennison into Schoenbrunn and New Philadelphia and Warther’s Museum in Dover with train rides,” said Wendy Zucal, the director of the museum.
She said the depot already has passenger cars, excursion insurance and volunteers trained in railroad safety.
It operates the Polar Express train ride in December from Dennison to Newcomerstown in cooperation with the Genessee & Wyoming Railroad.
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