According to the latest Rumorpace… the Gettysburg Scenic is up for graps to an “Accredited Operator” whatever that means…(I am unaware of an organization accrediting tourist pikes). Anybody heard of an actual tourist RR accredation?
LC
Probably one who is licensed and qualified to operate railroad equiptment.
If memory serves that railroad suffered a steam boiler failure due to a number of human reasons, one of which is actually having to guess the water level in the boiler because of a faulty gauge that is not kept up to par.
H.I. -
That boiler explosion was a prior operator of the Gettysburg RR (Sloan Cornell as I recall). I believe the current operator is part of Pioneer Railcorp. As far as being “licensed” there really is no such thing. One can be CERTIFIED to be a locomotive engineer and any train crew member must be QUAILIFIED on the physical characteristics of the lines he or she operates over, but to my knowledge there is no professional organization that licenses or accredits tourist railroads as a company besides state DOTs which must allow operation, but that is not generally considered an accreditation process…
LC
As Limitedclear pointed out there are no “accrediting agencies” although there certainly are membership organizations such as the American Short Line Railroad Association and TRAIN (for tourist railroads). Although these organizations have some operating standards and give member railroads a little higher status in the public view, this too is not really considered to be an accreditation process as these associations have no enforcement authority other than discontinuing memberships.
On an interesting side note about the Gettysburg RR boiler explosion, that did occur during the ownership of Sloan Cornell, who was very cheap in his maintenance of rolling stock and right-of-way, but he did learn his lesson, as the engineer of that fateful steam train was his own son! Pioneer Railcorp did take over operations of the Gettysburg Scenic Railroad a few years ago.
Cornell continued to operate his other railroad, the Knox & Kane Railroad in northwestern Pennsylvania, until the railroad was shut down in July 2003 because of the destruction of the landmark Kinzua Bridge by heavy winds.
Am I dreaming or did the Getty recently receive a state grant for some track rehab?
I hope they rehab the track, a recent visit to Oak Ridge section of the field showed worn track on thin roadbead. Not much good for 15 mph
You must mean the Knox & Kane which is in northwestern Pa.
Yes, the Knox and Kane is in Northwestern PA. Also, they did not shut down after the bridge blew over. However, they are not sure what they are going to do this year because their ridership was really down last year because of the bridge. They also do haul some freight.
Well jrw249, I’ll be darned! My understanding was that the Knox & Kane was shut down following the Kinzua Bridge collapse because of low ridership, but in fact I stand corrected - http://www.KKRailroad.com/schedule.htm .
I wonder if they will be running for the 2005 season and beyond… but that is a topic for a different discussion thread I suppose.
AJMiller… sorry about the typos… yes, I meant the Knox & Kane Railroad in northwestern Pennsylvania… I have edited the original post to reflect this. [:)]
The Western Maryland Rwy Historical Society ran a trip up that line a few years ago during their annual convention (way, way too many photo run-bys!). Its an interesting ride though hard to imagine the traffic it used to carry.
This is no rumor. I saw an ad in the recent Railfan & Railroad for a new operator to take over the Gettysburg Railroad’s tourist operation. The boiler on the Gettysburg steam locomotive did not explode. I understand its crown sheet gave way which allowed steam to get into the cab, and badly scald the engineer.
Well, that actually was a boiler explosion. The difference was in the construction of the locomotive (as I recall that particular steam locomotive was CP or CN) so that when the boiler explosion occured, it was onloy a matter of the crown sheet giving away, which is far less serious than most US-built steam locomotives, where pieces of steam locomotive, train crew and passengers would be spread for more than a half-mile over the countryside. I guess it is all a matter of how you define the word “explosion,” but for all practical purposes, that is what occured.
One meaning of “accredited” is financial - does the prospective operator have sufficient capital to operate and maintain the system. Only your CPA knows for sure!
dd
It wasn’t an explosion, it was an “energy release”.
How often does this line run freights on the northern end of the line? Some covered hoppers in the Gardners area seen to be in regular use.
On the nearby sidings, there are a bunch of fomer CN boxcars (relettered ALAB) that appear to be solidly rusted.