Took a ride on the Wilmington & Western yesterday, the last 2-1/2 hr (ten mile long) ride of the season. The trip to Hockessin was fabulous, but in shady spots, when the sun was retreating downward, the ride was a tad chilly ! The open air flatcar was the way to see the scenery (who would have thought that railfans would rather sit outside on haybales, instead of on comfy seats) :hehe: The line at one time went to Landenburg Pa, what industries it serviced remains to be researched. There are several rock cuts, that must have taken years to blast through back in the wayback days. The two NW2's (front and rear) powered the train up the grade at 15 mph, that is 1% in places. The one NW2 was rebuilt a while back, and absolutely purrs so quietly like a kitten, while I like the older NW2 as it is noisier, and I was told it burns a little more oil, but I absolutely love noisy locos. Earplugs, or airport earmuffs, would have been helpful, as the many, many grade crossings provided a never ending horn experience, shaking the entire countryside for miles around !
The crews are all volunteers, and the staff were all very helpful ! I was not going to go, as the internet online ticket sales had ended several days prior, as it showed as "Sold Out". I was hoping to be able to purchase "Stand By" unclaimed tickets by showing up at the station, but I was overjoyed to find that there were plenty of tickets available, and many open seats, as they had added on several more passenger railcars to the original consist.
There are several more weeks of W&W Holiday trains this Autumn, and the Holiday Lights train is fabulous
The Autumn leaves are still just about hanging on to the trees ... Dress warmly, with winter hats and gloves ... I can feel the winter coming on quickly !