Delaware’s Wilmington & Western Railroad was gearing up to reopen in late October after spending much of the year doing locomotive and track maintenance. 

On February 27, the railroad announced it was taking a “proactive step” by shutting down operations to focus on equipment repairs. Sources close to the railroad told Railfan & Railroad at the time that a major concern was the reliability of its locomotives. Last year, some holiday excursions had to be canceled due to a shortage of available motive power. Both of the railroad’s steam locomotives, 0-6-0 58 and 4-4-0 98, are currently out of service. Uncertainty about the railroad’s future increased further in April when three employees were laid off. Railroad volunteers have alleged that the railroad is being poorly managed by the current board of directors, and they have been voicing those concerns on a Facebook page called “Concerned Volunteers of the WWRR.” 

In an interview with local media, board member and volunteer Mark North said that one locomotive needed wheel work and the rail line needed about 2,500 new ties. Now that that work is complete, the railroad can reopen for the fall and winter seasons. Tickets are now on sale at wwrr.com. 

The W&W was established in 1966 to operate excursions on 10 miles of former Baltimore & Ohio trackage between Greenbank and Hockessin, Del. 

—Justin Franz