https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... -trackage/

An article published by Trains today establishes that SMS Rail Services has entered a ten year lease of 18 miles of ex-Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trackage between Swedesboro and Salem, NJ. Original intent for the ex-US Army 0-6-0, #9, was just to use it in occasional switching service but then has moved towards also running excursions. Tentative plans are to run excursions from the railroad property at Pilesgrove to Swedesboro and return, about a 14-mile round trip, and the railroad is in the process of acquiring secondhand passenger cars for the service.

I never realized how fortunate I am living just outside Baltimore.

It's possible to do a day trip(ish) from here to:
1. The B&O Museum
2. Strasburg & The RR Museum of PA
3. The Northern Central Railway
4. The Star Barn operation
5. The Wilmington & Western
6. The EBT
7. The Western Maryland Scenic
8. The Colebrookdale
9. The Reading & Northern / LGSR
10. SMS's new operation
11. The Middletown & Hummelstown
12. The Allentown & Auburn
13. 643 at Williams Grove
14. The Everett
15. The Cape May Seashore
16. The Baltimore Streetcar Museum
17. The National Capitol Trolley Museum
18. The Rockhill Trolley Museum
20. Steamtown
21. Electric City trolley museum

Railfans in this area really are spoiled.

Good luck guys!!

The wealth of options in PA is really nice. As someone who lives in central NY, which isn't exactly a hotbed of activity, I like that I can go down to PA on a weekend and hit two or three places and make it worth my time. In 2020, on a Friday I drove down, stopped in Scranton to swing by Steamtown and saw what there was to see, then left there and went to Jim Thorpe and rode a Lehigh Gorge Scenic train, then spent the night in Strasburg and operated Strasburg #90 the next day. Last year, I drove down to Strasburg on Friday evening, then operated N&W #611 on Saturday and visited the RR Museum of PA, then drove up to Altoona that night, went to Horseshoe Curve the next morning, then rode behind Everett Railroad #11 later that day, and then drove home.

Assuming you're sticking solely to "rides," you missed at least eight.

And if you're going to stretch Scranton or Cumberland into a "day trip," I could probably add at least three more.

Not counting static museums.

I'm excited about this new service, more steam (and a new tourist railroad) is exciting for the state of NJ and the area. It's a 10-year lease - I'm hoping that if this is successful, they'd extend the lease further (or let SMS purchase the line entirely).

And to be frank, I'd like riding behind one of their Baldwin diesel even more than behind an 0-6-0...

I'm not sure I'd say more, but definitely about equal. If I went to ride behind #9 and got there and they had one of their S12s hooked up instead, I wouldn't be disappointed.

It depends which of the Baldwins for me. If it was that beautiful Pennsy-painted unit, I wouldn’t be upset at all (I’d probably wish I was on the ground chasing instead)… :D