I know that the C&O 614 was chosen to run the Greenbrier express, but I also know that Ross Rowland wants three steamers total for the Greenbrier Express. I know as well C39-8s are going to be used until a certain date.
But why don't we cut to the chase. What two steam engines would you suggest for the Greenbrier Express? I would like to see NKP 765 and Reading 2100 get used for the express sometime in the future.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.
-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.
The Greenbrier Express looks a lot like the American European Express after it started running its own trains on virtually the same route. While three steam locomotives sounds like a great idea, I tend to think that Ross Rowland is whistling in the dark if he thinks that steam locomotion will attract more passengers for a luxury operation than the AEE did.
As long as CSX owns the line the Greenbrier Express is supposed to run on you can forget steam entirely. CSX has a policy of NO antique railroad equipment on their lines, at least at this time. In the future, who knows? But now, no way.
Eh...NS said the same thing. And then the summer of 2012 came along...
Odie Eh...NS said the same thing. And then the summer of 2012 came along...
True enough, to a point. NS would allow movement of antique rail equipment in the past as long as THEY controlled the movement. Bear in mind this includes "dead-in-tow" steam engines, old cabooses or other rail cars and so on. CSX won't even allow those even if they were to handle the movements. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see steam on CSX, wouldn't we all, they allowed it in the past and may do so again someday, but for now I'm not holding my breath. Hey, it's their road, they make the rules.
Yep, CSX hates steam. (Well it seems that way). Their way of thinking is that they don't want something to go wrong and cause their insurance rates to go up, and/or shut their line(s) down. Hopefully if the NS steam program goes well, CSX will think twice about running steam.
-Justin
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Mr. Lee and Santa Fe must have different thoughts on " antique" trains as well as " Mac" and his Daylight # 4449 ~~~~ watcha think?? Money talks.
Cannonball
Y6bs evergreen in my mind
1. Fred Frailey's excellent article on Buckingham Branch a few months ago in TRAINS indicate there are siding capacity problems to be addessed before Buckingham Branch can permit any passenger operation other than the existing three times a week each way Cardinal that they now handle. I suspect we will see Greenbriar Express to start simply as additional equpment on the current Cardinal operation. Not a separate train and not hauled by steam. Not for a while, anyway.
2. If the siding capacity issue were addressed (send huge check, please) Bukingham Branch has enough independence that they would probably be willing to host the steam operation, How this could be arranged is a good question. Possibly their diesel would be towed between Gordensvilel or Charlottesville and Staunton, with the dieses powering the train on C&O and on NS.
I'm going based on what I have heard, which is the steam engines being used on the passenger train.
I am well aware of CSX not allowing steam movements of any kind on their lines (with the sole exception of 3985 pulling the Santa Clause Special as 676), but the original post was really meant to see what people thought.
Whoops! I see how fast we all got distracted. Certainly, 765 would be a good choice, a Reading T-1 would be a good choice too, but I'm not aware of any operational at this time. The 1225 would be great as well once it's out of its rebuild. And how about the Milwaukee Road 261? One thing's for certain, a Northern or Berkshire type would be needed for the proposed consist. There's a C&O streamlined Hudson preserved in the B&O Museum in Baltimore, that would probably work but who knows how much it would cost to get it running again?
Firelock76 Whoops! I see how fast we all got distracted. Certainly, 765 would be a good choice, a Reading T-1 would be a good choice too, but I'm not aware of any operational at this time. The 1225 would be great as well once it's out of its rebuild. And how about the Milwaukee Road 261? One thing's for certain, a Northern or Berkshire type would be needed for the proposed consist. There's a C&O streamlined Hudson preserved in the B&O Museum in Baltimore, that would probably work but who knows how much it would cost to get it running again?
But the only problem is that it would have a tractive effort of only 49000 lbs. I think that Ross Rowland wanted an engine with 60000 or greater. Still, though, it would be really cool to see the hudson at the head.
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