April Rare Mileage Trip Set on R&N

A rare mileage excursion with rail diesel cars has been set for April 23 on the Reading & Northern.

The trip will traverse several R&N lines including the P&R mainline, and the Mine Hill and Schuylkill branch lines.

Also planned are visits to Good Spring and Minersville, and a stop to see restored Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 No. 113 in Minersville.

Tickets are $119 per person and include lunch. Photo runbys are planned. The excursion will depart from Port Clinton at 9 a.m.

Tickets may be ordered by mailing a check with a stamped self-addressed envelope to Kermit Geary, Jr., 1266 Riverview Drive, Walnutport, PA 18088. Information or questions may be directed to Geary at KGJR@earthlink.net.

The outing is being sponsored by the Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society.

EL Monday: A&BB Excursion on the ex-EL

On Nov. 16, 1984, the Akron & Barberton Belt ran a passenger excursion powered by SW1500 Nos. 1501 and A&BB 1502. It is shown in Wadsworth on what used to be the Erie Lackawanna mainline. Today the successor to the A&BB, the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway operates over the ex-EL as far west as Rittman. These units both have operated for the ABC.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

R&N Plans RDC Mainline Trips in 2021

Pennsylvania-based Reading & Northern Railroad plans to offer a series of mainline excursions with its Budd RDC cars between May and November.

The trips will operate between “Outer Station” along Route 61 north of Reading and Jim Thorpe with intermediate stops in Port Clinton and Tamaqua.

The first trip will be May 8 and the last is scheduled for Nov. 21.

Passengers will have a three-and-a-half hour layover in Jim Thorpe with the opportunity to ride the Lehigh Gorge Scenic during that time.

Trips depart Reading at 9 a.m. and return by 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $39 per person if traveling the entire route or $24 if boarding at an intermediate station.

More information and ticket purchase information is available at www.rbmnrr-passenger.com

The R&N’s RDC fleet includes cars built between 1951 and 1958 for the Boston & Maine, New Haven, and New York Central.

Cincinnati Group Offering Rare Mileage Trips

Cincinnati Scenic Railway has announced a series of rare mileage excursions that will operate in southwest Ohio through its new Ohio Rail Experience operation.

On May 19, the group will offer a trip over the former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton from Springfield to Lima.

Additional trips will run over former Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad trackage now operated by various Genesee & Wyoming properties on May 20 and Sept. 2-3.

Cincinnati Scenic Railway also operates the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad in Lebanon.

“In our part of the country, passenger trains are slipping further into the history books and that’s a shame. It can be difficult to properly interpret this kind of history in a static museum,” said General Manager Will Gawin says. “For that reason, our team honestly believes what we are doing is important for historic preservation. Our goal is to deliver an experience worth remembering to communities that might have forgotten how enjoyable a train ride can be.”

Excursion to be Offered on ex-DT&I on Sept. 10

Excursion train rides over the former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton in western Ohio will be offered on Sept. 10 between Lima and Jackson Center.

The 43-mile roundtrip excursions will leave Lincoln Park in Lima at 10 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and feature two diesel engines and six vintage coaches. Each excursion can accommodates 360 passengers.

Refreshments and souvenirs will be sold onboard. The Lincoln Park train exhibit will be open for free tours.

Ticket are $40 for adults and $25 for children (ages 12 and under). Tickets will go on sale on Aug. 8 at the Allen County Museum. Tickets can be ordered online and picked up on the day of the trip.  No credit card orders will be accepted after Sept. 4.

Tickets are good for the specified departure time and are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The train is not ADA accessible and the passenger cars do not have heat or air conditioning.

Boarding will begin 10 minutes prior to departure. The trips are being operated by the Cincinnati Railway Company.

All proceeds benefit the Allen County Museum, 620 W Market St, Lima OH.

For further information call 419-222-9426 or visit the website at http://allencountymuseum.org/ACM2/Ridin_the_Rails.html

Trains to Sponsor C&O 1309 Charter

Trains magazine and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will offer a photo charter for Chesapeake & Ohio No. 1309 in late September.

The restored locomotive will pull a freight train with 14 to 18 cars on Sept. 26 to 28, stopping at several locations on the 17-mile railroad.

Among the photo locations will be Helmstetter’s Curve. No. 1309, which was built in 1949, will wear its C&O markings and at times have Western Maryland lettering.

The event will also include a night photo shoot, cab access, and an audio-visual program detailing the restoration of the locomotive.

Tickets are $495 apiece and only 80 will be sold.  Tickets may be purchased at 800-TRAIN-50 or at wmsr.com.

Everette RR to Start Excursions in October

The Everette Railroad in Pennsylvania expects to begin operating steam-powered passenger excursions in October.

The initial trips will operate on Oct. 18, 24, and 25 to a pumpkin patch. Santa trains will run on Nov. 27, 28 and 29 and on the first three weekends in December. All trips will leave from Hollisdayburg.

The 23-mile short line located near Altoona, Pennsylvania,  has constructed a station and restored a former Bessemer & Lake Erie combine car.

The motive power is expected to be a 2-6-0 Mogul-type that recently underwent a successful steam test.

However, railroad president Alan Maples in an interview with Trains magazine stopped short of promising that the steam locomotive would pull the first trains.

“You can’t say when it will be ready, so when it’s done it will be on the train,” he said.
Everette railroad workers are also working to overhaul two former Central of New Jersey open window heavyweight coaches for use in excursion service.

Also in the fleet are a pair of former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western electric multiple unit cars that have been converted to coaches.

A red former CNJ caboose will be on the rear of the trains.