Pictures
- A view of the 1872 depot
- A view of EMD SW-1 locomotive #8599
- A view of #8599 next to the depot
- A view of the interior of the depot--the ticket counter
- A view of the 1872 cattle-loading barn
I have no association with the Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad, just an interest in tourist shortline railroads. I have built and I maintain this page as a service to other railfans.
UPDATE (March 13, 2008): The Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad is now part of the Zanesville and Western Scenic Railroad. For more information about the ZWSR, visit the official site at http://www.zwsr.org/. (The information in the following paragraphs might not accuraretly represent the ZSWR.)
My wife, children, and I visited the Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad in early August, 1998. The weather was ideal for this visit, with a bright, clear blue sky, and temperatures in the low 80s.
The BCSR is a typical volunteer-run tourist shortline railroad. According to assistant conductor Joe Lavender, the line was originally built in 1871 by the Newark, Somerset, and Straitsville Railway. The depot, which is still used by the BCSR, was built as a freight station in 1872 by the Newark, Somerset, and Straitsville Railway, as was the still-existing cattle-loading barn. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad took over the railroad, and the line became part of the Shawnee Branch of the B&O. The line was retired by the B&O in 1971.
The BCSR has a nicely-maintained EMD SW-1 painted win B&O colors with BCSR lettering. According to engineer Jack Shafer, the ex-PRR SW-1 was built in 1948 and has a 600hp 563 cubic inch prime mover. The comfortable non-airconditioned coaches are painted in Cuyahoga Valley colors. The train we rode on consisted of two cars coaches, but I saw that the railroad also has an open gondola with benches. As is typical of tourist shortline railroads, track speed was about ten miles per hour. The road has a ruling grade of 2%. The locomotive pushed the coaches to the halfway-point, then pulled the train back to the depot. There was no narration during the ride, although conductor Harold Noll and assistant conductor Joe Lavender gladly answered questions and volunteered information about the line.
After the ride, which lasted about an hour, my children were invited into the locomotive by engineer Jack Shafer and assistant engineer Warner Searls, where my daughter was able to sit in the engineer seat and blew the horn.
According to the brochure, the train runs weekends 1pm and 3pm Memorial Day through October 15. In addition, the railroad features a Haunted Halloween Train Ride 7pm the last week of October, Christmas Santa Specials the first two weeks in December, and a Train Robbery train.
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