Bay Coast Railway?

[RailVet]

I must admit to giving the Cape Charles Mirror a hint. I sent the CCM an email to let them know that the line had called it quits and sent a link to this forum as well as a couple of other places, such as the Wikipedia site for the BCR, and the article was written up almost verbatim from what already existed elsewhere. Had I not contacted the CCM, I doubt anyone at the CCM (which may very well be one person operating a website) would have noticed the BCR's demise.

Likewise, I sent emails to the Cape Gazette and DelmarvaNow.com to let them know about the DCLR's end at the end of 2018 and the Delmarva Central Railroad having the winning bid, but there was no response and nothing to indicate they care. The Cape Gazette has had some recent news about road closures in Lewes where crossings are being removed but that's been it.

[riffian]

RailVet - good job on alerting local media. Report on another site praising the reporter of that article for such thorough research!

[Railman1396]

A shortline owner friend of mine contacted the agency that owns the rail line. It was stated that they would rather put the line in an out of service status than even attempt to let someone try to make a go of it.

It is believed by local contacts that the only thing they care about is ripping all the tracks up in Cape Charles, and building more touristy stuff on the waterfront where the float bridge is.

They don't realize the float operation is a rail route too, you have to abandon it before you can rip it up. But I fear the line is doomed due to short sightedness, greed, or apathy.

[RailVet]

Here's the latest in a filing with the STB:

https://www.stb.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7 ... enDocument" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Excerpt:

Pursuant to regulations of the Surface Transportation Board ("STB") at 49 C.F.R. § l 150.42(e), Buckingham Branch Railroad Company ("BB"), a Class III rail carrier, hereby gives notice to employees of Cassatt Management, LLC d/b/a Bay Coast Railroad ("BCR") that, as soon as federal regulatory authorization permits, BB intends to lease and commence operations over lines of railroad (collectively, the "Lines") owned by: (a) Canonie Atlantic Co. ("CAC") on behalf of the Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission; and (b) Norfolk Southern Railway Company ("NSR"). The Lines are currently leased to, and operated by, BCR. Specifically, the CAC-owned portion of Lines (which BCR leases and operates) are as follows:

- Between milepost 95.0 at Little Creek (Virginia Beach), VA, and milepost 97.6 at Camden Heights (Norfolk), VA. The NSR-owned portion of the Lines (which BCR also leases and operates) are as follows:
- Between milepost SN 6.7 at Diamond Springs (Virginia Beach) VA and milepost SN 2.5 at Coleman Place (Norfolk), VA.

A notice of exemption to authorize a change in operator from BCR to BB will be filed with the STB on or shortly after June 13, 2018 in Docket No. FD 36202.

[superman]

http://www.wboc.com/story/38594900/no-m ... tern-shore

ONLEY, Va.- On Virginia's Eastern Shore, many are mourning a loss. But not of a loved one or a friend, but a piece of history no more--trains.

After Bay Coast Railroad ended it's train operation in May, for the first time since the 1800's, there will be no more trains on the Southern Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Places like the town of Onley in Virginia say they will miss the trains the most, as the town is one of many that benefited from the historic railway years ago through its transportation of passengers and goods up the shore.

"They brought the produce, and the strawberries and everything. So it's really sad to hear that they're not going to be able to be used anymore," Cheryl Steiner, a resident in Onley said.

Similarly, Councilman Matt Hart said he's also going to miss the trains, as his grandfather, a strawberry farmer, benefited from the train's presence in the town, allowing his produce to be sold all over the region and to the Northeast...

More at the link.

[riffian]

Report on the New Jersey thread that Bay Coast GP-38 2014 (ex PRSL) passed through Camden enroute to the Cape May Seashore line operation:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5006088" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I believe this unit was reported as inoperable at the end of Bay Coast operation.

[RailVet]

I think this unit was out of service for a short while and a leased NS locomotive was used in its place during that time. The March 2018 issue of the High Green, the newsletter of the Chesapeake Railway Association, reported:

At the January 8, 2018 regular meeting of the Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission at the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce Building, Melfa, VA, Alex Parry, General Manager of the Bay Coast Railroad, reported that the BCR’s No. 2014, an EMD GP38, was out of service due to a faulty generator bearing. Local sources report this had been the only operable locomotive on the BCR’s Eastern Shore side, so NS 3099, an EMD GP40-2, was temporarily leased until No. 2014 resumed service.

I'm not certain but I think the 2014 pulled the last train on the Delmarva side in May. Unfortunately there was no announcement made prior to the last run so, to my knowledge, there were no photographs taken of this event.

[RailVet]

Indeed No. 2014 pulled the last BCR train. Here are some photos by someone present that day:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53601427@ ... 698744617/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Shortline614]

Some big news regarding the future of the BCR. A group called the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad Resurrection, Ltd, wants to operate the line as a tourist railroad, and potentially establish a commuter service. The Eastern Shore Railroad Museum will be getting a stretch of track, most likely between Parksley and Hallwood, in addition to some BCR equipment, including a locomotive and some freight cars. https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/ ... 919762002/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[riffian]

Hopefully I'm not too negative, but this has been tried before with resounding failure. The well-funded Bay Creek operation lasted only a couple of years out of Cape Charles. I would think the two counties and the Sate of Virginia would be very leery of any involvement after the fiasco of investing a million dollars in public funds in the rail barge, only to see a handful of trips and then discontinuance. The Eastern Shore of Virginia is singularly uninspiring in scenery and a long way from major population centers, unlike the successful tourist operation cited in the article. Having said all that the museum at Cape Charles is a small treasure and the Parksley group have an outstanding collection of rolling stock. Good luck!!

Some ancient background:

https://pilotonline.com/business/articl ... a49ec.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RailVet]

The November 30, 2018 issue of the Eastern Shore Post, Cape Charles edition, has an article about the end of rail service and what might be done with the rail property in Cape Charles. It starts on page 30. This link might work:

http://www.easternshorepost.com/content ... -editions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RailVet]

A correction to my earlier comment about No. 2014 pulling the last train, which was headed up by AVR 2005. Although No. 2014 was in the consist, running behind AVR 2005, I've learned that it was and had been out of service and the BCR was leasing AVR 2005 from the Delmarva Central Railroad on an as-needed basis.

[RailVet]

Some BCR cars in Cape Charles are on the move - sort of. See:

http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/e ... m-wed-fri/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[electric heat]

Just drove south on 13 on Monday and noticed that several crossings had new huts replacing the existing relay cabinets...

[RailVet]

Where along Route 13 did you see this?