I they manage to build the loop, I'm guessing they will offer a variety of trip lengths that serve different portions of it. There's some exciting potential here.
Aaron Isaacs, editor
RMQ/Trainline

hard to blame them for the forest service shutting down the railroad to repair the river... I suspect the Spruce trips will return once repairs are completed.





GSMR is not exactly in the same ballpark of remoteness. You've got major population centers within 2.5-3hrs away in all directions (Asheville, Charlotte, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Atlanta), four-lane roads almost all the way from all directions, and lots of ammenities for the travelling tourist (motels, fast food restaurants, gas stations, etc). Then, add in the other tourist stuff in the area around Cherokee/Maggie Valley and the casino, which draws a bunch of people also.

To get into West Virginia, you are dealing with 35mph windy two-lane roads with ammenities far and few between. The closest current railroad comparison on the east coast would be East Broad Top, but even that isn't as far out in the boondocks as Cass/Durbin/Elkins is. You're closer to dealing with Marienville, PA on the former Knox & Kane, or Chama on the Cumbres & Toltec. It might not be as remote as Ely on the Nevada Northern, but it's not far off either. In other words, the only way you end up in Cass or Durbin is if you are trying to get there...and Elkins isn't much better.

To an extent, this is a plus if marketed correctly. If you're going to drive all that distance to get there, you want more than an hour-long train ride.





I'd say the Lancaster outlets have more of a draw these days than the Amish stuff. Strasburg has a very enviable position of a short break for Dad and the kids to get away from the shop-till-you-drop thing. There is still some amount of an Amish draw, but it's not nearly as strong as it was twenty years ago. I'd suspect tourism had a big increase after the film Witness was released, but that was a long time ago and the Amish haven't made news for being a "cool thing" recently.






Yep. The key is to tailor what you offer to what the visitors need/expect to make it worthwhile for them to come out and ride the train. If you are in an area with a lot of things to do for the vacationing family, a short train ride makes sense. There's a lot to see and do and most people don't want to waste the full day on the railroad.

Take the opposite situation of being in the middle of nowhere, you'd likely get more people wanting a longer trip to justify the gas/time it takes to get there.

On the realistic side of the fence though, they already have an 8hr excursion that is perfectly viable, and rebuilding 40 miles of railroad isn't going to draw more people on its own. You'll get good scenery on the "new" lines, but the best scenery is already in operation in the Cheat Bridge to Elkins route through High Falls. More track provides more flexibility in train routing, but I doubt you'll see a significant increase in ridership.
Kevin

In reference to Strasburg, that's why I said "of years past"...they made their mark in ridership and popularity by marketing/piggybacking on the Amish draw. Had they not had that then, they would have been lucky to survive a year or two. Today, yes, there are more factors in their ridership, but it all had to start from scratch.

No blame to anyone or in anything for shutting down the 128 mile trip, just saying that they HAD offered it until this year, and it was popular as are their 88 mile trips.

I think the biggest thing is the "package deal" and amenities offered. Honestly and obviously, this is not a trip marketed to families with Kids, but Seniors and people with disposable income are the primary target...and there is much potential. The long term benefit of rebuilding any railroad line has been hashed about time and again.

There is potential here.

Actually the Spruce turn was MOST popluar trip on the WVC. When the trout project came up it was schedualed to run every weekend. Losing for the 3-4 year project put a kink in it's style.
Before this the most popular trip was the "3 Trains in a Day". It could only be possible if you had a tour group with a bus willing to put you on the New Tygart Flyer in Elkins and busing you from the Salamander at Cheat Bridge down to Durbin.

It has always gone against the way I looked at tourist railroading.

But that is the market that shows up.

So packages are the future?

As to a 4 lane, Rt. 33 runs 4 lanes from Weston (on I -79) right to Elkins. Current predictions are to have it 4 laned all they way to the Virginia boarder by 2020.

I'm just going to bump this up...does anyone have any definitive news on this topic?

All I can say for sure right now is the wheels are turning, and we are hoping for some news by summer this year.

Stay tuned, it's sure to be exciting.





Ben True

DGVR

We were in Durbin last October. The crew / operators said that West Virginia would start working on the wash out between Cass and Durbin in January. As far as laying new track over old road beds that was news to them. I imagine the 90 mile loop is wishful thinking.

TrainCrew

The DGVR is still pursuing the both the rebuilding of the Greenbrier sub between Cass and Durbin and the rebuilding of the West Fork Line to Elk Junction. In it's current form, this task will take about 3 years and inlcudes upgraded shops, depots, trains, and services. A total make over for us at the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley.

As you can expect, such a task as this requires ALOT of planning, ALOT of meetings, and ALOT of applications. All of which are going on daily. I wouldn't look for any dirt to move this year, but we hope to have some firm and exciting news before the season starts.



Ben True

DGVR

The big question is what happens with the climax at Durbin if all this happens. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that engine is only under state boiler inspectors and not FRA at the moment. Right now, the D&GV is totally insulated with no crossings, which will obviously change if the track is extended towards Cass.
Kevin

Let me see if I understand this: we're talking about millions of dollars in railroad development, rebuilding roadbeds and tracks, passenger and maintenance related capital improvements, and marketing a day long survival trip based product for the market, and a minor technical detail about one little locomotive is "the BIG question?" This is a tree.....look around and you will see the forest. In the context of a forest, one tree is of little importance.

I'm more interested in the rationale that produced the concept to begin with.....it's very ambitious, and in combination with other local tourism resources could be a winner, but as a stand alone with Cass not far away it isn't intuitively obvious at first glance. How was it determined that if we build it, they will come (in enough volume to make it worthwhile)?

dave

-As to #3, it has surpased 'Little LeRoi' as our mascot, don't worry about it, it will be well cared for and loved what ever happens.

-As to where this all came from.... It all stems from an honest drive to restart the economies of several counties. Really the railroad isn't the big deal here. The big deal is the other parts of the tourism industry that are steping up to transform the region. Elkins alone has seen two different theaters open and 4 different hotels in the last few years. The over night crowd as it were...It has really turned into a regional sucess story. Now we hope to bring the success story to Cass and Pochantas County.

Ben True

DGVR

Thanks Ben. As it happens, I got a phone call today from somebody with the railroad about a different subject, and he told me about the economic development which will include the railroad as an integral (if not leading) part of the synergy with the other recent developments as the Elkins area evolves from a deal sawmill economy into a tourism and arts based economy. So, it will be sort of like CATS but with a greater local critical mass of entertainment industry, and in a more accessable location to major urban centers. A 30 million investement in the railroad nets the area 50 million per year based on the estimate I was told about.

I'm very interested in seeing it come to fruition.

dave

if you advertise vacation excursions, over some scenic areas, make it interesting and price it out properly, people do spend for these things just like runs to Disneyland.
Connect it up to some museum jauntings, then you have a ride.

Has anyone heard anything new about this? There's been quite a bit of silence about it, and I just want to see if anything has changed.

Just bumping the thread, since they bought BC&G 2-8-0 4. And "news coming soon" is old. Not to be rude but going on 3 years since this idea was started.