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Scenic Railroad moves Cumberland operations

June 24th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has moved out of the Railway Station in Cumberland- relocating operations to Ridgeley. The tourist train has been shut down this season due to the restrictions in place as a result of the Coronavirus- and that has led to an estimated $650,000 loss in revenue according to General Manager John Garner. The Canal Place Preservation Development Authority- which rents space to the railroad- was notified that the scenic railroad would be vacating effective June 30th. A letter to the authority stated that the move is permanent- but Garner suggests that when, or if, there is a return to normal conditions- that decision could be revisited

5 Responses to “Scenic Railroad moves Cumberland operations”

  1. June 24, 2020 at 3:39 pm, Ken said:

    They already drained all the good will out of the pockets of the city, county, and state why should they keep operations in Cumberland and not move to West Virginia for the lower taxes. There goes all the tax revenue we tax payers were being sold as the justification for giving Garner more money to play with his 1309 train. Hopefully people will wake up to ill-run tourist railroad.

    Could WCBC confirm if they left Canal Place in good standing? I’ve been told they vacated the property with a large unpaid rent bill.

    Reply

    • June 24, 2020 at 3:52 pm, Ken said:

      I bet Garner will purchase some time with Dave Thursday and he’ll do this little puff piece and not ask Garner the hard questions us paying citizens want to know. What happen to the audit the citizens and commissioners have been asking for? Where was the county tourism director in mediating this exit from Allegany County?

      Reply

  2. June 24, 2020 at 4:41 pm, mac said:

    Garner hinted that they may be back…. who cares, let them pack up and go wherever. I’m guessing that Garner wants Cumberland to come crawling and give him some sweetheart deal to drive his train out of Cumberland.
    I’ve been pissed off by the way he operates for a long time. To me, this is nothing more than a shakedown to get money, more money.

    Reply

  3. June 25, 2020 at 7:03 am, Albert Raley said:

    I knew the WMSR was in trouble years ago. I wrote the County Commissioners. I wrote the WMSR Board of Directors. I informed the public. Shame on the people in charge for spending our money the way they have on a dying entity. It could be considered criminal.

    Reply

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