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Any tourist RRs haul freight for $$$

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Posted by Boyd on Monday, April 30, 2007 1:38 AM
So the 1385 is out of commission?

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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Sunday, April 29, 2007 8:28 PM

 spokyone wrote:
We drive up your way several times a year to canoe. How is the steam rebuild doing?

Mid Continent is still trying to rebuild a couple of steam locomotives for operation. I'm not directly a member of the organization so I don't know for sure, but last time I was told progress is still being made. They are currently working on trying to get the boiler put back together on the Western Coke and Coal #1. I have no idea how long it's supposed to take. The folks there are saying steam should be back "soon," but then again, they have been saying that for years.....

Noah

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Posted by jeffhergert on Saturday, April 28, 2007 11:02 PM

The Boone & Scenic Valley in Iowa switches out a couple of industries in Boone.  Talking to the General Manager last week a bio-diesel plant may locate there also.  IIRC, they had to set up a separate company to preserve their non-profit status. 

The FRA also became more interested in all their operations once they started handling freight.  Some of that may have been because some UP employees didn't want to see the switching go to someone else.  I personally think this helped to retain some UP jobs and traffic.  It's not a large volume of cars and I think the UP would've eventually tried to get rid of this traffic.

Jeff  

    

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Posted by spokyone on Saturday, April 28, 2007 8:20 AM
 Noah Hofrichter wrote:
 n012944 wrote:

I was in North Freedom WI a couple of years ago and there was talk of extending the line to a quarry just past the end of track, to get some freight traffic.  Not sure if it ever happend or not.

 

Bert

 

Never happened and probably never will. The only reason I would think that tracks would ever be put back to that quarry would be just for the tourist trains to run to, as I highly doubt there is enough quarriable (if that's an adjective) rock back there to make it worth it.

Some people in the Orginization at North Freedom thought that Mid Contient should have formed a freight only company as an aside and gone after the operating contract on the former CNW line from Madison to Reedsburg, Wisconsin. There wasn't enough support for it though and so the line ended up being leased to the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad instead.

Noah

We drive up your way several times a year to canoe. How is the steam rebuild doing?
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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Saturday, April 28, 2007 5:55 AM

New Hope & Ivyland R.R., in Bucks Co. in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Also, I believe a number of the short lines in New England - Cape Cod, New Hampshire, western Connecticut, Vermont, etc. - may also fit this criteria, but I'm not familiar enough with their recent operations to say for certain.

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, April 28, 2007 2:50 AM
There is a sand/gravel pit along the Adirondack RR's otherwise exclusively tourist/passenger line, but it is serviced by the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern.  Otherwise the only freight cars on the line have to do with MOW.

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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Friday, April 27, 2007 10:02 PM
 n012944 wrote:

I was in North Freedom WI a couple of years ago and there was talk of extending the line to a quarry just past the end of track, to get some freight traffic.  Not sure if it ever happend or not.

 

Bert

 

Never happened and probably never will. The only reason I would think that tracks would ever be put back to that quarry would be just for the tourist trains to run to, as I highly doubt there is enough quarriable (if that's an adjective) rock back there to make it worth it.

Some people in the Orginization at North Freedom thought that Mid Contient should have formed a freight only company as an aside and gone after the operating contract on the former CNW line from Madison to Reedsburg, Wisconsin. There wasn't enough support for it though and so the line ended up being leased to the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad instead.

Noah

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Friday, April 27, 2007 7:32 PM
 Bob-Fryml wrote:

A few years ago when I rode some equipment at the Fox Valley Railroad Museum in South Elgin, Ill. the conductor announced at the beginning of our ride that the Museum was still in business to haul freight.  Of course, "... to haul freight ..." to where (?), I don't know.

In the Museum's early years, they were the weekend guests of the tiny Aurora, Elgin, and Fox River Electric railroad, a diesel powered freight hauler that ran between a connection with the I.C.G. at Coleman, Ill. and the City of South Elgin.  After the Illinois State Hospital converted its heating plant from southern Illinois coal to natural gas, the A.E.& F.R. lost its last customer, so it gave up the ghost and sold the trackage to the Museum.  After the sale was completed the museum kept the connection to the I.C.G./ C.C.P. at Coleman; but, today I'm not at all sure that this connection is still in place.  Last summer when I had a chance to ride the Museum's equipment again, no mention was made of their being open to handling any carload freight business.  

Most of the interchange track has been taken up from the CN end.

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Posted by Railfan1 on Friday, April 27, 2007 5:53 PM

Georgia Northeastern hauls some freight for extra revenue.

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Posted by Bob-Fryml on Friday, April 27, 2007 5:00 PM

A few years ago when I rode some equipment at the Fox Valley Railroad Museum in South Elgin, Ill. the conductor announced at the beginning of our ride that the Museum was still in business to haul freight.  Of course, "... to haul freight ..." to where (?), I don't know.

In the Museum's early years, they were the weekend guests of the tiny Aurora, Elgin, and Fox River Electric railroad, a diesel powered freight hauler that ran between a connection with the I.C.G. at Coleman, Ill. and the City of South Elgin.  After the Illinois State Hospital converted its heating plant from southern Illinois coal to natural gas, the A.E.& F.R. lost its last customer, so it gave up the ghost and sold the trackage to the Museum.  After the sale was completed the museum kept the connection to the I.C.G./ C.C.P. at Coleman; but, today I'm not at all sure that this connection is still in place.  Last summer when I had a chance to ride the Museum's equipment again, no mention was made of their being open to handling any carload freight business.  

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Posted by dredmann on Friday, April 27, 2007 2:10 PM
The Tennessee Valley Railroad in Chattanooga (home of SOU 4501 among others) has one freight customer, a smelting operation. Presumably they haul the cars a couple of miles to and from NS.
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Posted by Limitedclear on Friday, April 27, 2007 1:42 PM

Typically, it is the other way around. There are many short lines that haul passengers in addition to freight. Perhaps it is an insider thing, but if you measure freight against passenger revenues you will find that in all but the smallest lines freight revenues far outweigh passenger.

LC 

 

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Posted by n012944 on Friday, April 27, 2007 12:57 PM

I was in North Freedom WI a couple of years ago and there was talk of extending the line to a quarry just past the end of track, to get some freight traffic.  Not sure if it ever happend or not.

 

Bert

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Posted by gabe on Friday, April 27, 2007 11:46 AM

There is a tourist railroad out of French Lick Indiana that hauls some freight.

Good question.

Gabe

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Friday, April 27, 2007 11:06 AM
i read on another topic that the WGN actually hauls a small amount of freight. though they're mostly for tourism

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Posted by Erie Lackawanna on Friday, April 27, 2007 11:03 AM
Doesn't the Santa Fe Southern between Santa Fe NM and Lamy NM not only haul freight, but does so on their tourist passenger trains, making it a genuine mixed train daily.
Charles Freericks
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Posted by dldance on Friday, April 27, 2007 10:45 AM

the old SP track between Austin TX and Burnet TX sees an interesting mix of freight and passenger.  The tracks and ROW are owned by Capital Metro which is in the process of starting commuter rail on the Leander - Austin portion of the line.  Austin & Northwest Railroad has the freight hauling contract over the entire line.  Lastly, there is tourist service over much of the line on weekends.  Currently pulled by diesel but with an SP steamer in the last phases of a rebuild.

 dd

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Posted by tcwright973 on Friday, April 27, 2007 8:24 AM

The Oil Creek & Titusville in Pennsylvania does. I believe they interchange with the Western New York & Pennsylvania RR.

Tom

Tom

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 27, 2007 7:24 AM

See ALASKA RAILROAD; the Everything RR. Tourist, passenger and freight. I spent several weeks there last summer and will be returning this year as well. The Alaska basically runs between Anchorage and Fairbanks, with a couple of secondary branches.

 

JWM

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Posted by nbrodar on Friday, April 27, 2007 12:37 AM

Wilmington & Western in Delaware serves a brick dealer.  It always causes a stir when they come up to Landenburg Jct. with their steamer, to pick up thier cars and spot them at the brick dealer.

Nick

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Friday, April 27, 2007 12:08 AM
I believe Strasburg RR still occasionally takes some freight cars back and forth to the interchange on the old Pennsy. And I believe East Troy Electric RR still has one customer receiving freight, a hardware store IIRC.
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:59 PM
I believe the Great Smokey Mountian Railroad hauls some feed to a chicken farm or something like that.
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Posted by garyla on Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:56 PM
Kiski Junction Ry. in Pennsylvania is a freight hauler.
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:54 PM
I believe roaring camp railroad in felton moves lumber around the area around santa cruz.
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Any tourist RRs haul freight for $$$
Posted by Boyd on Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:33 PM
Are there any tourist railroads that also haul freight commercially for revenue?

Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.

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