At Tuesday’s meeting of the Worcester County Commissioners, Randy Gustafson of Stone Consulting went over the potential cost and economic impact of a tourist train in the Berlin area. He stressed that to make money, such an enterprise would have to focus on special event trains, such as a Polar Express ride, in addition to excursion trips.
“I think everybody went into this thinking it would be a reconstruction of the Ocean City Western [railroad},” Gustafson said. “This has part of that in it but bottom line it’s a completely different business.”
Officials have been discussing the possibility of bringing an excursion train, to operate on the Maryland Delaware Railroad Co. line, to the area since last year. In his initial reports, Gustafson outlined a train operation that would provide tourist trips throughout the year as well as several themed rides during the winter on a roughly eight-mile stretch of track. Capital costs associated with that plan, depending on location and length, range from $1.2 million to $3 million.
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8 comments:
I would love to take my little grandson on this, he would love it. A big plus for the area.
I remember riding the train from Salisbury to Ocean City in the early 30's. Sounds like an overly ambitious plan to me, but if gov't is footing the bill go for it. Ob' has already bankrupted the country, so why not add a few more million to the debt before the system collapses...
Don't bring it to the bury all the thugs will ride it to Berlin and commit crimes.
I think they misplaced a zero.
It would have to operate as a tourist attraction or special events attraction. Some areas are operating trains in this way, such as New Hampshire, one in Delaware, etc. Good idea.
interesting concept
Have a mystery dinner theater evening on the train, that would be a fun idea. Berlin is so far ahead of Salisbury it isn't even funny. Berlin can think up ways for their city to improve and grow and actually thrive. Salisbury just sits around on the councils run their mouths full throttle and have to have fifteen meetings to accomplish the smallest of things. Salisbury can only think to add bars to downtown. These council members have no real vision for anything good and that is why Salisbury is dead.
Sounds like a government boondoggle to me! But hey, I'll have fun for one night so why not invest in it because its "free."
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