March 9th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
The long and twisting restoration of steam engine No. 1309 at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad may finally be nearing a successful conclusion with Executive Director John Garner telling WCBC’ s “Dave Norman Show” that the final piece necessary to complete repairs on the engine has been secured during a recent trip to Altoona. The $2.7 million restoration has been beset by funding issues, parts theft by an employee, personnel changes, missed deadlines, and a damning performance audit that presented a less than flattering picture of the overall operation. At this point Garner says about $190,000 is needed to complete the train repairs; and another $100,000 for infrastructure improvements necessary to meet EPA guidelines. He said that donations have literally been coming worldwide…
.jpg)
March 09, 2020 at 11:30 am, Kevin said:
It’s always one more piece,or just a few million dollars more . . .
March 09, 2020 at 5:52 pm, mac said:
Have they figured out how to use the turntable at Frostburg? It has always been one of the highlights of the whole operation.
March 09, 2020 at 7:33 pm, Jay said:
The $2.7 million restoration has been beset by funding issues, parts theft by an employee, personnel changes, missed deadlines, and a damning performance audit that presented a less than flattering picture of the overall operation.
I think they’ve pretty much covered everything that could possibly go wrong. It’s surprising that they are only $290K short at this point.
March 10, 2020 at 3:13 pm, Mark said:
” a less than flattering picture of the overall operation.” yet no mention of anything being done to change this?? I guess it’s- ‘carry on, nothing to see here, and by the way, throw us a ton more money to squander, steal, mis-manage, etc.! Typical for this area.