BREAKING: The New River Train Might Run This Year!

But if this one runs, others will want to run....

"All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others."  ANIMAL FARM

Hermetically sealed Amtrak train. Aside from the scenery, what's the big attraction? No cinders in the teeth. No wind blowing through where my hair used to be. Nothing. PASS.

No steam, l guess.  Lucky l got there under steam.  Still an interesting area, although Thurmond was more so before NPS.  But Hinton west into the gorge is history and scenery.  And there is Cass.  Glad this Senator is making an effort.

If Amtrak does continue the New River Train that is a good thing for West Virginia tourism (the scenery and fall colors are always spectacular) and it signifies a softening of the current Amtrak excursion policy and could lead to more excursions in the future. Then, the door is always open that someday the train might be steam powered again. This could be a good thing for everyone.

Nick Chillianis posted:

Hermetically sealed Amtrak train. Aside from the scenery, what's the big attraction? No cinders in the teeth. No wind blowing through where my hair used to be. Nothing. PASS.

Many of us join you in lamenting the loss of the sound, smell, and air of open dutch doors, but it's subjective repeat of our fathers' generation finding the fun gone from railroading when dieselization  occurred.  We have lived long enough to experience change on the railroad.

Personally, I have never ridden the New River Train, either steam or diesel, because it's a long way from where I live. However, if I can get away this year, I'll ride:

1. to support the train operation and to experience West Virginia, and
2. to ride the former Chesapeake & Ohio, which I never did ride before Amtrak, except for a Pere Marquette train from Lansing to Detroit, which is not the traditional C&O.
3. Perhaps I can morph it into a longer trip and take some Appalachian railroad photos.

The deciding factor for me is going to be the time.  We have two week-long trips and a trip to England and Scotland booked during this October, so it will have to run at just the right time or I will have to pass this one up.

The time when we could say, "Maybe next year," with any certainty is gone.

Number 90 posted:

Nick Chillianis posted:

Hermetically sealed Amtrak train. Aside from the scenery, what's the big attraction? No cinders in the teeth. No wind blowing through where my hair used to be. Nothing. PASS.

Many of us join you in lamenting the loss of the sound, smell, and air of open dutch doors, but it's subjective repeat of our fathers' generation finding the fun gone from railroading when dieselization  occurred.  We have lived long enough to experience change on the railroad.

Personally, I have never ridden the New River Train, either steam or diesel, because it's a long way from where I live. However, if I can get away this year, I'll ride:

1. to support the train operation and to experience West Virginia, and
2. to ride the former Chesapeake & Ohio, which I never did ride before Amtrak, except for a Pere Marquette train from Lansing to Detroit, which is not the traditional C&O.
3. Perhaps I can morph it into a longer trip and take some Appalachian railroad photos.

The deciding factor for me is going to be the time.  We have two week-long trips and a trip to England and Scotland booked during this October, so it will have to run at just the right time or I will have to pass this one up.

The time when we could say, "Maybe next year," with any certainty is gone.

Yep. Too many changes in all the wrong direction for me. I seriously doubt I would become a railfan if I were coming up today. Glad I got to experience the things I did.  I only wish consumer video had become available prior to the early 1980s. Quite a bit of the things I loved most exist only in my mind's eye.

A better tweet from the Senator would be:

I have working nonstop with Amtrak to improve the entire system.

Question:  When Amtrak was providing special trains, did the party "renting" the train pay the full allocated cost of the trainset?

Dominic Mazoch posted:

...When Amtrak was providing special trains, did the party "renting" the train pay the full allocated cost of the trainset?

Yes...and more. Amtrak made a profit on the operation of these special trains, and they were not cheap.

Rich Melvin posted:

Dominic Mazoch posted:

...When Amtrak was providing special trains, did the party "renting" the train pay the full allocated cost of the trainset?

Yes...and more. Amtrak made a profit on the operation of these special trains, and they were not cheap.

Government policy:  If it works, get rid of it.

I think we should be grateful for anything Amtrak is willing to do for us, regardless of how we may feel about the current management.

I'm with you, TNCENTRR.  It's the result, not the drama involved in obtaining it, that counts.

I have to say that living in nearby Maryland, I never heard of the New River Train.  I did find an on-line video of the train from last year.  Quite an impressive string of passenger cars! 

We are going to Snowshoe WV this weekend for a mini-vacation, and are hoping to ride the Cass Scenic Railroad on Tuesday!

Jim

jd-train posted:

I have to say that living in nearby Maryland, I never heard of the New River Train.  I did find an on-line video of the train from last year.  Quite an impressive string of passenger cars! 

We are going to Snowshoe WV this weekend for a mini-vacation, and are hoping to ride the Cass Scenic Railroad on Tuesday!

Jim

Nice find! That lower quality camera almost makes it feel like a video of one of the old New River Trains...

Have fun in Cass!