by bwparker1
From Central PA Yahoo Group:
Message: 11
Date: Wed May 31, 2006 3:18 pm (PDT)
From: "Paolo Roffo"
Subject: New tourist line in PA
>From Trainorders:
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news ... 0247&rfi=6
Looks like a new tourist line out in Freddy Land.
Paolo
Mark Rowan, railroad president, said ticket sales topped 200 by the end of the four-hour run that consisted of a 20-minute trip from Dunbar to Connellsville near the bike trail and back with a view of historical coke ovens.
Rowan, an attorney with offices in Uniontown and Connellsville, Al Bluman of North Huntingdon, secretary/treasurer along with Joe Baran, vice president and Chester Ward, superintendent of locomotive engines, both of Connellsville, are the quartet responsible for making the train a reality.
Rowan added the railroad is in the process of having an 85-foot Rail Diesel Car (RDC) leased from the B&O Railroad Museum delivered sometime this week that would accommodate up to 89 people.
Rowan said the car is actually a passenger coach that has its own engine and would be attached to the caboose with the railroad using the current diesel engine for back up purposes.
Linda and Terry Mattis, along with their daughter Sarah, 10, of Uniontown, said they enjoyed the train ride, especially after cooking out with family members over the holiday weekend.
"This is great," said Linda Mattis. "We need something for the kids to do and be excited about."
The train attracted people from Fayette and surrounding counties as well as those from out-of-state that returned home to visit for the holiday.
John Williams, mayor of Dunbar, said the railroad was sure to bolster the tourism in the borough. "We hope that this is the first of many excursions. ...It promises to be a major addition to Fayette County and Dunbar is proud to be a part of it," Williams said.
Williams added the railroad would also compliment a project undertaken by the Dunbar Area Historical Society that plans to build a replica of a coke oven downtown in the near future.
Rowan said the caboose and engine is the first passenger train to use the section of track of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad featured in its inaugural run since 1953 other than the early 1980s when it was used by a Chessie special and some employee engines.
Following Monday's trip, Rowan said the railroad would tentatively operate from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. leaving Uniontown with stops at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Shady Grove Park picking up passengers there at 1 and 4 p.m.
Message: 11
Date: Wed May 31, 2006 3:18 pm (PDT)
From: "Paolo Roffo"
Subject: New tourist line in PA
>From Trainorders:
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news ... 0247&rfi=6
Looks like a new tourist line out in Freddy Land.
Paolo
Mark Rowan, railroad president, said ticket sales topped 200 by the end of the four-hour run that consisted of a 20-minute trip from Dunbar to Connellsville near the bike trail and back with a view of historical coke ovens.
Rowan, an attorney with offices in Uniontown and Connellsville, Al Bluman of North Huntingdon, secretary/treasurer along with Joe Baran, vice president and Chester Ward, superintendent of locomotive engines, both of Connellsville, are the quartet responsible for making the train a reality.
Rowan added the railroad is in the process of having an 85-foot Rail Diesel Car (RDC) leased from the B&O Railroad Museum delivered sometime this week that would accommodate up to 89 people.
Rowan said the car is actually a passenger coach that has its own engine and would be attached to the caboose with the railroad using the current diesel engine for back up purposes.
Linda and Terry Mattis, along with their daughter Sarah, 10, of Uniontown, said they enjoyed the train ride, especially after cooking out with family members over the holiday weekend.
"This is great," said Linda Mattis. "We need something for the kids to do and be excited about."
The train attracted people from Fayette and surrounding counties as well as those from out-of-state that returned home to visit for the holiday.
John Williams, mayor of Dunbar, said the railroad was sure to bolster the tourism in the borough. "We hope that this is the first of many excursions. ...It promises to be a major addition to Fayette County and Dunbar is proud to be a part of it," Williams said.
Williams added the railroad would also compliment a project undertaken by the Dunbar Area Historical Society that plans to build a replica of a coke oven downtown in the near future.
Rowan said the caboose and engine is the first passenger train to use the section of track of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad featured in its inaugural run since 1953 other than the early 1980s when it was used by a Chessie special and some employee engines.
Following Monday's trip, Rowan said the railroad would tentatively operate from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. leaving Uniontown with stops at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Shady Grove Park picking up passengers there at 1 and 4 p.m.
