By Railfan & Railroad Staff 

ABILENE, Kan. — The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad has entered into a multi-year agreement with Heritage Rail Management, a subsidiary of American Heritage Railways, to expand operations and strengthen ridership on the Kansas tourist railroad. As part of the deal, the railroad consulting firm is also expected to aid the tourist railroad in its restoration of Santa Fe 4-6-2 3415, which recently was taken out of service for a federally-mandated overhaul. 

American Heritage Railways owns a number of tourist railroads, most notably Colorado’s Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Railfan & Railroad previously reported that a team from D&SNG had traveled to Kansas this year to evaluate the locomotive for its eventual rebuild (See “Swan Song for Santa Fe 3415” in the December 2022 issue). 

“We are looking to expand our ridership numbers, introduce new events, and grow our operations. To do this, additional volunteers and donations to upgrade our equipment will be needed to meet our goals. We are excited to work with Heritage Rail Management with the common goals of achieving these improvements,” said Ross Boelling, GM of A&SVRR. 

The tourist railroad and consulting firm are expected to have their first meeting in December to start planning out on the 2023 season. Officials said that Santa Fe 3415 will be out of service for at least a year during the rebuild but that they are confident about the future. 

“We knew after visiting A&SVRR to evaluate locomotive 3415 earlier this year, that the railroad truly has great potential for growth,” said Matthew Cunningham, Operations and Special Projects Manager for HRM.