The GBX is a funded project ( the check has cleared) and no longer a "concept". It will be a 17 car long, ultra first class day train that will make 1 roundtrip/week, 10 months/year from Washington DC to the Greenbrier resort at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. The train will be made up of 7 parlour cars each seating 30 guests, 2 dining room cars, an all kitchen car, an open platform tavern lounge car and other specialty cars. The train will be out of service each year from Jan. 15th.-March 15th. for heavy maintenance/refurbishment. Roundtrip fare will be $ 750.00. No child's fare.

It will operate on the same routing as Amtrak's Cardinal, departing Washington, DC on Tuesdays at 10:00 am arriving at WSS at 5 pm. It will layover at WSS until its Sunday 10:00 am departure back to Washington, arriving there at 5 pm. Capacity will be 210 guests.

Its by-line will be " World's Finest Train", and we will spare no effort to earn that.

Service is scheduled to commence on July 2. The trains cars will be outfitted in Pottstown, Pa. Motive power will be a mix of modern diesels and classic mainline steam. On the steam portions of the journey there will be NO diesels in the consist. No " kissing your sister" here mister!!!

Motive Power- We have purchased 3, C-39-8 locos on the second hand market ( all runners equipped with cab signals) and will be giving them a top to bottom going over and then a first class repainting into GBX livery as designed by noted rr artist Bob Lorenz.
The biz. plan calls for the GBX to be all diesel powered for its first season and for steam to be added ( subject to approvals from Amtrak, CSX and Buckingham Branch RR, approvals that I am guardedly optimistic we will achieve) in the second season.

When steam is added the GBX will be diesel powered WUS-Gordonsville and steam powered Gordonsville-WSS in both directions. There will be NO repeat NO diesels in the consist when steam powered.

C&O 614 will be one of 3 steam engines in the steam stable. We will need 3 engines so that we have one on hot standby and one in cycle maintenance in addition to the one in active service.

We are actively vetting many candidate engines to be 614's 2 stable mates with a goal of finishing that task by November.

As was a sure thing, even this good news has sparked the small sour band of NNN's to work overtime trying their best to find some kernel of bad in a boatload of good! It's an interesting comment on the human condition. Only 2 of them have so far chimed in, with 2 more yet to be heard from. Fret not, they'll show up soon enough!!

Further details will be released over the coming months.