Bay Coast Railway?

Nassawadox and a few other crossings along that stretch, Painter I believe. Pretty much where 13 is right next to the RR...

Last I had heard from a trainmaster for the Delmarva Central RR is that the railroad south of Hallwood, VA is going to be pulled up. Northampton and Accomack counties are done with it.

Hope that doesn't prove to be a short-sighted decision....

If the title of this article is any indication, we may not know about the actual removal of the tracks until someone spots them being pulled up. It'll probably come without any warning.

Sell-off of Railroad Assets Shrouded in Secrecy
http://www.easternshorepost.com/2018/12 ... n-secrecy/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wasn't aware the Nandua had been sold. Anybody have further on this transaction? Two things for sure - they got a lot less in the sale than they put in to it during the refit and it's days as a rail barge are over.

riffian wrote:Wasn't aware the Nandua had been sold. Anybody have further on this transaction? Two things for sure - they got a lot less in the sale than they put in to it during the refit and it's days as a rail barge are over.

Was the Nandua the one that sank from one end at Little Creek. Remember one sitting down at one end, closest to the CG station. This was about the time they were cutting up the old passenger cars that used to sit down there.

The Nandua was sold to heavy equipment dealer Iron Planet, which has in turn sold it. See:

https://www.ironplanet.com/for-sale/Bar ... ia/1708342" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is some information on the barge that sank. This article identifies it as the Captain Edward Richardson.

https://www.facebook.com/ForgottenRailE ... 6525?__xts__" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[0]=68.ARB4vak4hroupC-q8I-wVHJedQrZ1v5zN3cdIwtdbDaw48WCz5hAtKbXSuP-MaPGQiF7bup3YaKiulTBmf3T07GAcqXh62AzG74HIVtDgzpNy_2MfAxIFoJKzsQXVtD536EK-JKpdFmDTBC081tUExFPQbGsuCNV7cq2ov4iuBKnRN2Nm_B3a5zELDNaUs1pClCt_xSZ0ziH27ebJirzRPostnnB81N1bo4lWvlyityNvX1NHy0dL0NiWYUX_0U0rAZCsuAwC56LrXhxXp9idLY8JhqFbYXuWSqmADPYeRgsU-NZl5eyIWyDzvjQPhuRyPnjgqk2EmRyd4gByBX6mWzW69mzBmPjyF0ukIsbhj7-KtLZuisxN4qlMlo0wH_GH1KQM1qdklZFVlTty_WAqSAgUQo4xQCjj5dCRnGpu1Xd7Sk8kNf1ak8aUDEQXbgWgflaZfbqx1tA0LzYeY-EH2irfdwGYZCHtzuapbIenjdY1CP5AL58TLtb54OZMb3a82FsWHGdSb-0Lo-5G4Va&__tn__=C-R

At this URL

https://www.co.accomack.va.us/governmen ... on/minutes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

you'll find the meeting minutes of the Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission. Click on the link for February 5 and go to page 6 for further information on the disposal of the Nandua.

As discussed in a previous post, Nandua and Captain Edward Richardson are (is?) the same vessel. The Richardson was built in 1948 at New York Dock in Camden for the Pennsylvania Railroad. When built, it was a double ended (rudders at both ends) steerable rail barge with a deck house which spanned the car deck midship. This deckhouse was lost in a storm at some point and a new one built and fitted. No word if the bargeman was in the deck house when it went overboard. The second deckhouse was removed along with the rudders in a 1980's rebuild. Not sure if that is when it was rechristened Nandua, although that name was never widely used. That deckhouse is the one which became the Cape Charles yard office, with a sign identifying it as such. In my opinion that deckhouse is more worth saving for the museum than all that rolling stock junk put together, with the possible exception of the former Southern coach.

Thanks for the clarification on the barge. I've only been to Cape Charles a few times and I don't think I ever really noticed the barge on site. I just remember the yard being empty, absolutely nothing going on, and wondering how the railroad could hang on under such circumstances.

As for the future of the line, one of my rail friends tells me there's some local hope of creating a transload facility of some sort to put freight back on the rails. Whether or not that pans out, we'll have to wait and see.

More controversy:
http://www.easternshorepost.com/2019/01 ... -in-audit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting to note that the rail yard at Cape Charles has been "cleaned up". I presume this means the rail equipment and the junk crane and not any other remedial work.

Further info: the Wikipedia entry for Bay Coast states that the 2001, (he GP10 with only one truck) was scrapped on site on January 18, 2019. The remaining five cars and the 2000 were moved by tractor to the Cape Charles Museum site just east of town.

The following photo essay depicts the move and also confirms that the rails have been lifted in the Cape Charles Yard. Backgrounds in several photos clearly depict stacks of ties and rails and a complete lack of trackage in the yards.
https://www.delmarvanow.com/picture-gal ... 734621002/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Further - sorry for the disjointed, multiple postings on the same subject.....
Interesting aerial views of Cape Charles and movement of the 2000. It really is the end-
https://capecharlesmuseum.org/railroad-acquisition" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did those old passenger cars ever actually carry passengers on the ESHR or BCR? Or did they arrive, get painted, and then just sit in the yard?

I hope the museum is able to at least make the rolling presentable and not just let it rust away.

RailVet wrote:Did those old passenger cars ever actually carry passengers on the ESHR or BCR? Or did they arrive, get painted, and then just sit in the yard?

I hope the museum is able to at least make the rolling presentable and not just let it rust away.

The short answer is I don't know, but I am pretty sure that none of this equipment was ever actually used on the Bay Creek operation to carry passengers. Developer Richard "Dickie" Foster signed a 30 year lease in 2006 with the two counties to operate the railroad. He had big plans both for his Bay Creek development and golf course, and for tourist operations on the Eastern Shore Railroad, which he rechristened the Bay Creek Railroad. In 2008 he spent a great deal of money to purchase, rebuild and motorize a former Texas Electric interurban car which was used in an unsuccessful dinner train operation out of Cape Charles. This was the only excursion passenger operation offered, to my knowledge. This was really a cool little car, a true railfan's delight, but alas, the dinner operation only lasted two summers and never got off the ground in 2011. The gaudy Bay Creek "train" was brought to Cape Charles as a public advertising gimmick. It was gaily painted and left as a billboard in downtown Cape Charles as part of the Bay Creek development plans. heritage on the equipment is generally unknown to me, but the one passenger car at the east end of the "train" is a former sleeper, totally gutted on the interior and totally useless as a historical piece. The freight cars' provenance is also unknown to me, but I can't believe they have much historical value decorated as they are. The one coach "Southern Comfort" is clearly of Southern Railway heritage, a post-war streamstyle rebuild and is in much better shape. The other passenger car is a former business or parlor car, for which I have no speculation.

The Cape Charles Museum has a Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac baggage car and a Nickle Plate caboose, which they keep in decent shape. Perhaps they can restore one or two of these pieces.

Finally the whole Bay Creek project, railroad and all went under, with very little outside interest in Cape Charles as a tourist or retirement destination. Most of the condos went unsold, the golf course closed and the railroad reverted to county control and operation when Foster was unable to make his lease payments. The little motor car/diner/interurban car was sold, but its current location is unknown to me.

The little interurban car ended up in Trego, WI, where I hope it does better than it did with the Bay Creek Railway in Cape Charles. See:

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto. ... 11#remarks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;