SVRR Engineer for a Day

If you have ever wanted to operate a steam locomotive, this is your opportunity! The SVRR Engineer for a Day program allows you to actually operate a steam locomotive under the supervision of qualified SVRy personnel. Participants will learn how to operate a locomotive in the McEwen yards, make up a freight train and take it out onto the main line.



CLICK ON LINK FOR DETAILS



http://www.svry.com/

I am assuming your talking about the SVRy. (Sumpter Valley Railway)....

I currently work for the SVRR (Shenandoah Valley Railroad) and was unaware of any such offering.....
Although, I'd love to find out it was true!!
OH! How I wish.....

The narrow-gauge Sumpter Valley Railway ( SVRy, Its historically correct name) is owned and operated by the non-profit Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Incorporated (SVRR Inc.). It gets a bit confusing sometimes, and therein lies a small tale:

The narrow-gauge Sumpter Valley Railway abandoned its mainline operations in 1947. Cursory histories mark this as the end of the line. The SVRy remained a corporate and operating entity however, with about 1.5 miles of dual-gauge terminal track serving the Oregon Lumber Co. mill in South Baker. Standard-gauge cars were switched in and out of the mill with narrow-gauge power, notably Davenport #101 which later gained notoriety as the D&RGW’s Durango switcher. SVRy acted as originating road for outbound lumber loads. The last revenue move occurred in 1961. Shortly thereafter the mill was shut down and the assets sold off. Rights to the SVRy name somehow ended up in the hands of a rather shady local, a charter-bus operator who purportedly hoped to cash in on the similarity of “Railway” to “Trailways” for advertising purposes and may have hoped to revive the railroad's dormant passenger and express franchise - this was during the regulated era

In 1971 a group was formed to restore and operate a portion of the historic SVRy. Upon incorporating, they ran hard up against the legal fact that they could not name themselves or their railroad as it should be. Casting about for alternatives they hit on the SVRR idea and incorporated as such. This decision would occasionally haunt them in the early years, as they were sometimes confused in the public eye with the bus operator, who had gained a rather lurid reputation locally.

The bus operator finally died or went broke, at any rate sometime around 1980-81 the SVRy name again came up for grabs. This time it was caught and tied down by the SVRR folks, who were finally able to letter their equipment properly. The corporate charter was never changed however. The non-profit corporation remains SVRR Inc., and is referred to as such in legal documents. Sometimes tools and equipment used around the railroad are stenciled “property of SVRR Inc.” which serves to add to the confusion surrounding the name.

Jeff Acock
Adrian OR

Benjamin - It is me that caused the confusion, for which I apologize. We have used SVRR and SVRy so often, interchangeably that it never occured to me SVRR would the reporting marks for another shortline. Our web site announcement of the Engineer for a Day program has been corrected to reflect SVRy.

I hope you someday have an Engineer for a Day program also!

Dan Denham
President, SVRy

Actually I am kinda glad you did, other wise I wouldn't have known all that history! Funny how much there is in a name!

Currently the Shenandoah Valley RR is an all freight operation, but if things work out.....
I'd love to have a locomotive worth doing an engineer for an hour program on!!!!


Ben

To further add to confusion, the old SVRy while officially Sumpter Valley Railway, marked some items such as switch locks and marker lights "SVRR". Not long ago part through donation and part through outright purchase we at SVRR(SVRy) obtained 2 original caboose marker lamps. They are both boldly marked with a soldered on label "SVRR". A railroadiana collector freind of mine says he has seen SVRy locks and lanterns marked both ways. Now for some further confusion, our FRA reporting mark is SUVX.

Now I feel really funny!
I just looked up reporting marks and found this really interesting site. (I hope it's accurate, I couldn't find any thing directly from AAR or umbler)

http://www.trainscan.com/data/mark/mark_m.html

Turns out SVRR is actually Shamokin Valley Railroad Company

SV is the Shenandoah Valley Railroad

Really a weird feeling when you realised you didn't know who you worked for!