So the Georgetown Loop acquired a new diesel from the Sumpter Valley Railroad and I had hoped to get up to the Loop and get some shots of it yesterday. Alas! the GLRR still can’t seem to get a break and the new locomotive, #1203, was inoperable along with all of the steam locomotives (which I hear won’t be running until July). I’m not a huge fan of #21, so I didn’t spend too much time taking pictures on the line, but I did grab a couple before I headed off to other photo ops:
I really wish they had been able to fire up a steamer yesterday. It was one of those cool, rainy/snowy days that are just made for steam locomotives. I can see the steam exhaust circling around the boiler now.
I really hope opening weekend isn’t a harbinger of things to come for the Loop. With a couple of hard years on the books since the CHS ousted the last operators, I don’t know how much more bad news the line can take. IIRC, ridership was around 120,000 a few years ago and last year with all the problems it had dropped to 30,000.
On the bright side, I found a way to add to my Don Ball, Jr. collection. There’s an antique book dealer in Georgetown that I always have to pop in and check out while I’m in town. On this trip I found a signed copy of America’s Colorful Railroads, so I had to add the signed copy to my collection.