Driving south on Route 113 Monday and north today, I saw a lot of tank cars stored on the Maryland & Delaware from Bishop south almost to Berlin. I also observed that the propane dealer between Frankford and Selbyville had several cars placed for unloading. Also, there is a brand new concrete crossing in place on Route 113 south of Newark, Md. on what will someday be the southbound lanes of Route 113. Construction continues on the new northbound lanes in the same area, but no work yet on a crossing.

The tank cars have been stored since last spring. The propane dealer sees regular business There is a hopper car at that site that I think they use for shunting.

Wesley

I have said this before, and I'll say it again.

It is really hard to drum up tourist RR business on the peninsula. Why? Because tourists are going to the beach. Washington DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc. are the big towns to draw from, and there are plenty of folks coming to the beaches of Delaware and Maryland........but they are coming to the BEACH. Anything that draws them away from the beach will have a struggle, and catching them in transit is going to be a struggle too. At QARR, we spent as much as our tiny budget could allow on brochures, TV, radio, beach newspapers, etc. and still struggled to fill up the train. That is why the dinner train at QARR was created, to provide an "after day at the beach" dinner / entertainment.

As much as the railfans would like to see it, proceed with caution.

Maybe Kelly can take this information back to this board of directors, who apparently know nothing about this, and inform them of past history.

We've internalized all of this, which is why you haven't seen an SRC Lines South

Here's an update from August 24, 2017:

http://baysideoc.com/eastern-shore-news ... k-on-track

Excerpt:
[Berlin Mayor Gee] Williams said developing the excursion train project is dependent upon reaching an agreement with Tyson Foods to ship product from its feed mill on Bay Street in Snow Hill to Frankford, Delaware by freight train.

“That’s the prerequisite for the excursion train initiative to even be possible,” he said. “The whole concept is moot without the freight service.”

O’Donnell said the railroad, which has lacked freight partners on the 26.9 mile stretch of track south of the interchange in Frankford since 2012, would need to perform infrastructure repairs before reestablishing the shipping route.

As far as beachgoers only wanting to go to the beach our family regularly visited Edaville when we vacationed on Cape Cod. The kids, and adults, need something else to do besides spending every day at the beach.

Last week took the grandkids to Cape May NJ where we rode the motor car train out of the former PRSL station out to the canal and back and then walked to the beach. Several other non-railfan families did the same thing. of course I was there for rare mileage and the grandkids for the beach!

How this might affect the proposed tourist train is uncertain, but this Delmarva line, used for years for tank car storage, will soon see rail service again.

https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2019/05/30/ ... nce-again/

Excerpt:

May 30, 2019
Freight Trains To Run Through Berlin Once Again
BERLIN, MD – Freight trains are expected to return to the tracks through Berlin next month.

The Maryland & Delaware Railroad will resume freight service along the tracks between Berlin and Snow Hill as soon as a few final repairs are made, Mayor Gee William announced at a town council meeting this week. The service hasn’t operated in seven years.


https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/ ... 369789001/

Excerpt:

May 8, 2019
Berlin, Snow Hill railroad freight lines will be active by end of the month
Residents in Berlin and Snow Hill can expect freight train service return to their towns soon after years of inactivity.

The southern part of a freight line, which runs from Frankford, Delaware, to Snow Hill, stopped service when Tyson Foods, Inc. transferred its business from trains to trucks, according to Cathrin Banks, president of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company.

While service on the northern part of the track has stayed active, trains haven't run anywhere south of Selbyville since 2012, according to Banks.


http://www.wboc.com/story/40585425/frei ... this-month

Excerpt:

June 3, 2019
Freight Trains Will Run Again Through Berlin Starting This Month
BERLIN, Md.- Freight Trains are coming back to Berlin. After seven years of the rails, trains will be returning to the Worcester County town in the next few weeks.

"The resumption of that freight service we think it's a very positive benefit," says Berlin mayor Gee Williams.

Williams announced the return of the freight service during a council meeting last week. This will be possible through a partnership with the Maryland & Delaware Railroad and Tyson Foods. The company will use the rails to transport goods across Worcester County.

"It will travel at 10 miles an hour or less," adds mayor Williams. "It will not run at odd hours."

This just in: The first train to Snow Hill will run on Tuesday, June 18.

Wouldn't it be great if history could repeat itself on this line? Snow Hill Station -- Wilmington, De NRHS excursion from 1985.

See:

https://www.stardem.com/life/railroadin ... eac24.html

Excerpt:

Although MDDE is mainly a freight shipper, the company lends a locomotive and crew to hook up to Hurlock’s two passenger cars for the town’s Fall Fest excursions. A project [MDDE President Cathrin Banks] hopes to launch next year would transport passengers on seasonal or themed trips between Snow Hill and Berlin in Worcester County.

That's not really surprising given her affiliation with the Black River and Western...

Meghan :)