The Route:  Our trip will be along the original West Virginia Coal & Coke line following a part of the Tygart River. This portion of the 28-mile track was built by Henry Gassaway Davis, a coal and timber baron in the 1880s, to transport his products from Elkins to Charleston, West Virginia.  In the late 1800's Davis sold the line to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The B&O interconnected at Elkins with the West Virginia Central Railroad, which later became the Western Maryland. CSX acquired the line when it absorbed the Western Maryland Railway. In the 1990's the line was abandoned and later acquired by the West Virginia State Rail Authority. Re-named The West Virginia Central, it is now leased to the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad and used for passenger excursions and occasional freight service.  

Departure & Route Information: Our trip will begin at the recently restored Western Maryland train station in downtown Elkins at 4:00 PM on Saturday September 15, 2007. There is ample parking near the station. We will assemble for a guided tour of this historic station provided by the West Virginia Railroad Museum. Then we will depart at 4:45 PM from the station, crossing the newly reconstructed bridge across the Tygart River. We will travel across the right leg of the “Y” from the Western Maryland onto the former Baltimore & Ohio line and start our journey down the Tygart. We will make several photo stops along this rarely visited route.

Continuing along the line we will come to Belington, West Virginia. This is the location of the present shop facilities for the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad’s passenger and freight operations. Here we will stop for another photo opportunity and run-by. Then we will continue to make our way down the Tygart, past former coal mining and lumbering towns, occasionally seeing the remnants of the original Coal & Coke Railroad road bed. As the Tygart River starts its descent in elevation and the rapids and small falls become more numerous, we will do more run-bys along this portion of the line.  We will then arrive at Tygart Junction, the interchange with CSX, where the locomotives will run around the train in preparation for our return trip.  Sunset is at 7:30 PM and twilight is around 8:10 PM so there will be plenty of time for photos before we return to Elkins.
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Train Equipment:  The locomotives are vintage diesels in the Western Maryland paint scheme. We are expecting F7-A and B units along with the rare BL-2 in combination. However, understand that the trip is subject to equipment availability. This is a railroad, and changes may have to be made without notice. You will be riding in heavy weight vintage passenger cars with heating and air conditioning available depending on weather conditions. (The train will run rain or shine.)

There are only 150 tickets and you are guaranteed a seat.  There is no assigned seating, some seating will be at tables and some is coach seating. You are free to move about the train. If you would like to sit at a table for eating, or if you would like to move to another seat, you are free to do so. Remember this is shared seating; we are on a photo special that is chartered by Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association for the purpose of providing rare photo opportunities to the rail enthusiast.


Dinner:  Your ticket includes an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet on the train.  Service will start soon after we depart from Elkins and the food will remain available until we return to Elkins.


Night Photo Session:   Approximately 20 minutes after our return to Elkins there will be a night photo session at the Elkins depot.  We will supply over 20,000 watts of quartz lights to light the depot and the vintage locomotives.  Bring your camera, tripod, and a cable release if appropriate.  We will supply the lights and suggestions for exposure settings.  The use of quartz lights will allow great photos by videographers and digital cameras as well as traditional 35mm cameras.  The photo session will last about 60 minutes..


Tickets & Information: Tickets are available now by mail and the cost is $75 (including dinner).     Click here for a printable ticket order form.  If the form doesn't print correctly you can click here for an order form in PDF format.

 For additional information contact the Photo Special ticket agent, Bob Hoke, at 1-866-795-2607 (toll-free), write him at 6304 Kaybro St., Laurel MD 20707, or e-mail him at wm@msrlha.org.


Elkins Lodging Information:  There are several motels in Elkins.  The Super 8 Motel (located about 1/2 mile from the Elkins train station), is offering a special rate of $50.00 per night (plus tax).  For reservations call them at 304-636-6500 and ask for the "September 15 Railfan Rate".

The following is an incomplete list of some of the other major motels in Elkins.  Additional lodging information is available from the Randolph County Convention & Visitors bureau at 1-800-422-3304 or www.randolphcountywv.com).

Econo Lodge	304-636-5311	www.wvweb.com/www/elkins_econolodge/web.html
Elkins Motor Lodge	304-636-1400	wvweb.com/elkinsmotorlodge/
Holiday Inn Express	1-888-465-4329	www.hiexpress.com/elkinswv
Four Seasons Motel	304-636-1990
Days Inn	304-637-4667

Policies:

Please allow two weeks for ticket delivery.

No refunds after September 13, 2007.

Train runs rain or shine.

Schedules and equipment are subject to change due to availability and weather conditions.

The night photo session may be cancelled if there is rain.

In no way should the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad be held responsible for the content of this photo train special.

Safety regulations will be adhered to at all times. This is for your safety, and the safety of the train crew.

Group discounts are available; please call for information.

No portion of ticket price is considered tax-deductible by the Internal Revenue Service.

MSR&LHA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  All proceeds go toward historic rail and related  preservation and interpretation projects.

The Western Maryland Photo Special is sponsored by the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association with the cooperation of the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad.