Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309's First Ever Public Excursions

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

what a 2-6-6-2 how powerful is this locomotive.

[@tonycoldtrain]

I watch the video with pleasure, thank you

[@KurtisHooey]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@jhuffy100]

I miss 734 she was amazing

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

mee to they'll steam the locomotive somehow.

[@courtneyhirsh2271]

They ran the rods off 734.

[@evanf1293]

Despite the long wait to see this mallet run I'm hopeful things are gonna be looking great for the future at WMSR.

[@bobbybecker6435]

Very well done video!

[@KurtisHooey]

Thank you!!

[@keeperofsteamstudios6654]

Phenomenal video Kurtis!! Looking forward to the future of 1309!

[@KurtisHooey]

Thanks ashton!

[@SimonTog]

A great video Kurtis, and Merry Christmas :)

[@KurtisHooey]

Merry Christmas!

[@TheAtlantaRailfan]

This excursion has been 7 years in the making and the WMSR did a great job restoring her

[@mrfingerlakes8735]

Love old steam engines and it’s a great video

[@KurtisHooey]

Thank you!

[@railroadingrambler218]

Exceptional!

[@KurtisHooey]

Thank you!

[@zenithcoinsandhobbies]

Wow, phenomenal work. This is a very good video. Hope to see more like it in the future!

[@KurtisHooey]

You definetly will! :) thank you

[@realethanangell]

Where was the K5HL Horn coming from in the start of the video?

[@KurtisHooey]

There is a CSX mainline down in the valley, which can be seen later in the video.

[@Fidgetdidget]

unpopular opinion: but I whish they either restored a WM pacific or kept it in the C&O scheme

[@KurtisHooey]

If you buy them one I'm sure they would use it :)

[@Fidgetdidget]

@@KurtisHooey say no more. let me just pull a Ross Roland. I'm going to try to restore a locomotive when i'm an adult one way or another

[@CaptainCrutch]

@@Fidgetdidget I hope when you talk about pulling a Ross Rowland you mean restoring a steamer to mainline operation. Unfortunately where I’m from pulling a Ross Rowland means taking a leak by the rails in full view of the public…

[@Fidgetdidget]

@@CaptainCrutch i mean restoring a steam locomotive

[@wrrail]

How can i get in photo charters like these

[@KurtisHooey]

This wasn't a photo charter. We hiked to each of the locations and waited for the train to pass. This video took 3 days of filming, between 5-6 different runs, then edit the video together to give the illusion of a single run.

[@CaptainCrutch]

Unfortunately all the public photo charters announced are completely sold out.

[@davidhughes4448]

Okay, I'll bite: what's with the two modern units on the rear? Are they providing heat/power of some sort to the passenger car consist? I'm a diesel lover, but they sure do spoil the mood. Hope WMSR can do away with their presence asap.

[@KurtisHooey]

Keep in mind this engine is a fresh restoration. New engines cannot work at their full power while they break in, or risk with pre-mature wear. The locomotive is still in its testing phase, this is a first run after all.. On top of this, the curve at the top of the hill is too sharp for the locomotive to be able to reach the turn table. There are plans to widen the curve in the future, but for now the diesels will have to lead the train going back down to cumberland.

[@davidhughes4448]

@@KurtisHooey Okay, thank you for this explanation, Kurtis.

[@CaptainCrutch]

1309 was doing all the work over the weekend, the diesels are there mostly for braking, because it does take both to hold back that long train and 1309 on the tough grades.

[@davidhughes4448]

@@CaptainCrutch Thanks, Captain Crutch. If this is the case, however, how will 1309 ever manage this train and run on its own from Cumberland to Frostburg and back? Certainly this locomotive would have held its own on both tractive effort and braking capability back in its heyday. Will it ever be able to do so by itself in modern times on the WMSR? I sure hope so. No one wants to ride a steam excursion train with diesels lending a requisite helping hand.

[@CaptainCrutch]

@@davidhughes4448 it could, but they do it primarily to save the brakes on the whole train. The diesels use their traction motors to slow the train down instead of their actual brakes.