New Hope Valley Number 17
We went to Petersburg, WV on Sunday afternoon for the rail festival. The festival and train ride was not crowded; however, Sunday was the hottest of the three day festival so perhaps 90+ F temperatures kept some people away.
The short train ride was pretty nice despite the heat wave. The open windows provided a breeze most of the time, though a portion of track along a steep cut reduced cross ventilation. The short three car train left with a shove move as the conductor radioed the engineer from the open hopper car.
Shove Move
After 15-20 minutes backing up, the train stopped by a scenic spot along a river and the New Hope Valley 0-4-0 steam locomotive pulled the train back to the railroad festival. New Hope Valley #17 is a saddletank locomotive that burns oil stored on the locomotive itself. Without a tender, passengers could get an up-close look at the locomotive cab.
Cab View
New Hope Valley #17 was trucked up from North Carolina for the festival. Western Maryland #734 was originally scheduled to appear at the festival. However, in a highly controversial move, CSX refused to allow transport of the locomotive on its tracks. Number 734, aka Mountain Thunder, was sorely missed but we still had a pretty good time at the festival.
In addition to the hourly steam train rides, there were model train displays, a live steam miniature railroad you could ride on, a static display of a mini-611, vendors, and an opportunity to run a locomotive. I got a kick out of the large model of 611, although it just made me want to see the real deal run again even more.
Large 611 Model