Maryland scenic railroad packs thrills for steam fans

CUMBERLAND, Md. -- Deep in the Brush Tunnel, with coal smoke and steam filling the air, there is scant light in the open cab of Engine No. 734. The locomotive's large, round pressure gauge glows dimly, flanked by two bulbs barely illuminating a pair of water meters.

But down near the floor, between the engineer and fireman, a thin ribbon of brightness outlines the firebox doors. When fireman Ray Larson opens them to stoke the engine, shoveling greasy coal into the fiery maw, passenger Joe Dent gets glimpses of the 2,500-degree flames, hot as a crematory.

The breathtaking heat, the soot and smoke -- this is what Dent paid a premium to experience. The other 220 passengers on the Western Maryland Railroad sit in air-conditioned coaches, insulated from the messy cacophony up front.

But for Dent, 54, an American University archaeologist from Berkeley Springs, W.Va., the cab ride was worth every bit of his $75 -- more than three times the regular adult fare of $22.

"I never miss a chance to experience old technology," he said. "It's sort of like life in the past lane."

Steam train buffs are rallying to save this tourist train, pulled by a 1916 Baldwin locomotive on some of its 32-mile, round-trip runs between Cumberland and Frostburg on the old Western Maryland Railway line. A state subsidy that helped sustain it through 16 spring-through-fall seasons ends this year, raising the possibility that the railroad's private, nonprofit operator will have to find another, less costly route -- or shut down altogether.

Either outcome would be a tragedy, says Steve Barry, managing editor of Railfan and Railroad Magazine. Of the 40 steam-powered tourist trains operating in the United States, he said, the Western Maryland Scenic is special.

"Steam locomotives are at their absolute best on a steep mountain railroad, and it is in this environment that a steam locomotive's history is best interpreted," Barry said. "In terms of showing the true nature of steam -- and how a locomotive is 'alive' -- the Western Maryland Scenic is unmatched by any railroad in the country."

A committee studying the train's survival prospects will announce its findings in this month. Draft recommendations released Aug. 5 show glaring differences of opinion about how the train should be run.

The train's managers say it can survive without state subsidies -- which have ranged from $100,000 to $200,000 annually -- provided that positive revenue trends continue. Operations Manager Douglas Beverage said ridership through July was up 24 percent from 2004 at nearly 12,000, and sales were up 36 percent at about $263,000.

The railroad projects that its profits will grow to $259,000 by 2010, assuming an 8 percent annual increase in riders and a 5 percent annual increase in ticket prices.

But the state Department of Transportation says the railroad's five-year estimates for track, bridge, tunnel and equipment maintenance are at least $1.1 million too low. The railroad could save $1 million to $2 million over that period by ending the runs to Frostburg, said Richard Johnson, deputy director of the agency's Office of Freight Logistics.

One factor is fuel. The train burns four tons of coal per trip, mostly on the outbound leg as it chugs up Piney Mountain to the Brush Tunnel.

The 914-foot tunnel raises other issues. The train eventually would have to share it with a hiking-and-biking path being built alongside the tracks with federal, state and local funds as part of a planned Pittsburgh-to-Washington trail system. Leaders of both the railroad and the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland say the safety issues can be resolved with automated gates or flag men, but they haven't settled on a solution.