Georges Creek Railway

The Georges Creek Railway (reporting mark GCK) is a shortline railroad in Western Maryland that performs contract switching and owns a 14-mile line between Westernport and Carlos. The railroad is headquartered at 119 Pratt St. in Luke in the former Luke Post Office.[1] Gerald Altizer and Pat Stakem are the primary partners in the company.[2]

Georges Creek Railway
Overview
HeadquartersLuke, Maryland
Reporting markGCK
LocaleWestern Maryland
Dates of operationJuly 10, 2006 (July 10, 2006)–Present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length14 miles (23 km)

Operating since December 2007[3] on CSX Transportation and plant trackage,[2] the firm does contract switching services for the Verso (formerly NewPage) Paper Mill in Luke.[4]

An article in the Baltimore Business Journal dated April 30, 2019, announced the closing of the paper mill in Luke by June 30, which will affect the employment of the GCK's Alco T-6.[5]

Dockets numbered 1293X and 1294X and filed with the Surface Transportation Board on February 3, 2020, state, "Eighteen Thirty Group, LLC (“Eighteen Thirty”) and Georges Creek Railway (“GCR”) file this Verified Notice of Exemption pursuant to the class exemption at 49 C.F.R. § 1152.50 for Eighteen Thirty to abandon and GCR to discontinue service over an approximately 7.54-mile rail line between milepost BAI 26.00 in Moscow, MD and milepost BAI 18.46 in Shaft, MD, all in Allegany County, MD (the “Line”). No local rail traffic has moved over the Line during the past two years. Any overhead traffic on the Line can be and has been rerouted."[6]

An article in the Cumberland Times-News dated November 27, 2020 stated, "Allegany County officials approved an agreement last week with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to move forward on plans to construct a hiking and bicycling trail in the Georges Creek area. The project would involve construction of a trail extending 7.5 miles from the Great Allegheny Passage in Frostburg along Georges Creek railroad lines to Barton." The article also stated, "[T]he rail lines through Georges Creek are owned by the Eighteen Thirty Group, which obtained them from CSX Transportation.... [T]he Eighteen Thirty Group has expressed interest in transferring rights to Allegany County with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources stepping forward to remove the tracks and install the trail."[7] This action would replace the track the Georges Creek Railway has filed to abandon with a trail. This portion of the GCK has not seen a train in decades and is heavily covered in tree and brush growth.

Acquisition of the Georges Creek Subdivision
For other uses, see Georges Creek.

The acquisition of track for the Georges Creek Railway began 2005, the year CSX had begun the process of abandoning their Georges Creek Subdivision due to two washouts along the right of way and few customers. In December 2005, the deed for the northern 8.54 miles of track from Morrison, Maryland to Carlos, Maryland was transferred to WMS, LLC which would go bankrupt a year later due to investor difficulties. The following year, the Eighteen Thirty Group, LLC and Georges Creek Railway, LLC, filed to acquire and operate the line as Class III common carriers, having purchased the line out of bankruptcy court.[8]

On May 15, 2015, Eighteen Thirty Group with the Georges Creek Railway, LLC filed a notice of intent to acquire 5.4 miles of rail line from CSX: 4.8 miles of the Georges Creek Subdivision between Barton and Westernport, and 0.6 miles of the Thomas Subdivision.[9] The GCK entered an agreement with Eighteen Thirty Group to operate on these lines.[10] This acquisition brought the entirety of the former Georges Creek Subdivision under the control of GCK.

As of March 2016, several right of way improvement projects have been undertaken, but the washouts have not been repaired, keeping the line north of the village of Moscow inoperable.

Equipment roster

The Georges Creek Railway currently owns 11 diesel engines, two ex-MPA/WM hoppers, and one bay window caboose. The caboose, numbered 67 and in derelict condition, wears the reporting marks VGNX of the Eastern Virginia Railroad Historical Society.[11] Additionally, there is an unmarked box car painted in rusty metal primer. With the exception of GCK 101 at the nearby closed paper mill in Luke, all of the line's equipment in the local area is stored next to a closed truck maintenance shop in Barton, Maryland. The GCK's engine roster is enumerated in the table below.[12][13]

A site visit on July 8, 2020 revealed that four locomotives (No.s 25, 39, 7436 and 7471), formerly stored in Westernport, had been moved to Barton about a year earlier to reduce vandalism and theft. All four are clustered with the other rolling stock on site. Restoration work on No. 39 has ceased, and No. 154 has reportedly been sold, but has not yet left the property. Heavy brush growth all along the line is indicative of the complete lack of rail activity. The location of the stored equipment is south of the town limits of Barton, alongside Route 36 (New Georges Creek Road), by the intersection of Old Reynolds Road SW and Lower Georges Creek Road SW.

GCK 101, the lone locomotive assigned to work as the plant switcher in the closed paper mill in nearby Luke, is still on mill property. Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited, which purchased the recycled-content bleached kraft pulp mill in Fairmont, West Virginia, is reportedly interested in buying the Luke plant as well in 2021.[14] This could lead to No. 101 going back into service.

Number Model Type Propulsion Manufacturer Location Status Heritage
GCK 25 GP9 Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division Barton, Maryland Inactive WM 25
GCK 39 GP9 Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division Barton, Maryland Stored WM 39
GCK 101 T-6 Switcher Diesel-electric American Locomotive Works Luke, Maryland Inactive PRR 8427
GCK 144 S2 Switcher Diesel-electric American Locomotive Works Capreol, Ontario Stored WM 144
GCK 153 S6 Switcher Diesel-electric American Locomotive Works Syracuse, New York Stored SP 1064
GCK 154 S6 Switcher Diesel-electric American Locomotive Works Barton, Maryland Stored SBRR 42
GCK 303 FA2 Cab unit Diesel-electric American Locomotive Works Barton, Maryland Stored WM 303
GCK 7436 SD38P Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division Barton, Maryland Stored WM SD35 7436
GCK 7471 SD40M-2 Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division Barton, Maryland Inactive WM SD40 7471
GCK 7445 SD40 Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division East St Louis, Illinois Stored WM 7445
GCK 7496 SD40 Road switcher Diesel-electric Electro Motive Division Roanoke, Virginia Stored WM 7496

See also

References
  1. "Contact Info". Georges Creek Railway. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  2. Sawyers, Michael A. (August 4, 2006). "Trains in Georges Creek". Cumberland Times-News. Cumberland, MD.
  3. "Georges Creek Railway". Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  4. Terrance, Terry (August 31, 2014). "Georges Creek 101". RR Picture Archives.
  5. Sharrow, Ryan (April 30, 2019). "Western Maryland paper mill to close, impacting 675 workers". Baltimore Business Journal.
  6. "Filings". United States Surface Transportation Board.
  7. https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/county-moving-forward-on-trail-project/article_1dad4e22-2f58-11eb-8c94-7366c470c3a2.html
  8. Director Of Proceedings. "DUNCAN SMITH AND GERALD ALTIZER-CONTINUANCE IN CONTROL-EIGHTEEN THIRTY GROUP, LLC AND GEORGE CREEK RAILWAY, LLC Notice Of Exemption". Surface Transportation Board. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  9. U.S. Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C. (2015-05-15). "Eighteen Thirty Group, LLC–Acquisition Exemption–Lines of CSX Transportation, Inc." Federal Register, 80 FR 28046.
  10. Georges Creek Railway, LLC. (May 1, 2015). "Verified Notice of Exemption of Georges Creek Railway, LLC" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. Notice filed with the Surface Transportation Board. Docket No. FD 35928.
  11. "Pictures of VGNX 67". RR Picture Archives.
  12. Altizer, Gerald. "George's Creek Railway Roster". Yahoo Groups. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  13. Craig, R.; Gunnoe, Chase. "George's Creek Railway Motive Power". The Diesel Shop. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  14. https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/nine-dragons-paper-recycling-mill-west-virginia-resolute/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.