yours are the best, and this is my favorite. you show everything that's really interesting and awesome about railroads -- how they do what they do, and why. the rail-barge just knocks me out. i'd thought i'd never get to see how they work. your regular switching scenes are the best i've ever seen; you put us into the operations. thanks very much.
There were several factors that led to the railroad's demise. First was the split of Conrail which resulted in NS being the interchange at both ends of the line. NS rerouted cars bound for the Eastern Shore via Wilmington, which cut into overhead revenue. In 2012, the mandatory 5 year Coast Guard inspection of the carfloat revealed defects which were deemed too costly to repair, thus ending float service across the bay. The service was formally ended on paper in 2014. The closure of several high revenue customers in 2018 was the final nail in the coffin, there was just not enough revenue to support the miles of track in need of heavy maintenance. The remaining customers on the north end are serviced by Delmarva Central while customers on the Norfolk end are handled by the Buckingham Branch railway.
Love this footage never thought I would find footage of this little operation
Great enjoyed this thank you
yours are the best, and this is my favorite. you show everything that's really interesting and awesome about railroads -- how they do what they do, and why. the rail-barge just knocks me out. i'd thought i'd never get to see how they work. your regular switching scenes are the best i've ever seen; you put us into the operations. thanks very much.
Excellent coverage! Thanks.
Love the Idler gons, wonder how old they were?
Probably World War 1 era.
Why did the Bay Coast RR ( Eastern Shore) go out of business?
There were several factors that led to the railroad's demise. First was the split of Conrail which resulted in NS being the interchange at both ends of the line. NS rerouted cars bound for the Eastern Shore via Wilmington, which cut into overhead revenue. In 2012, the mandatory 5 year Coast Guard inspection of the carfloat revealed defects which were deemed too costly to repair, thus ending float service across the bay. The service was formally ended on paper in 2014. The closure of several high revenue customers in 2018 was the final nail in the coffin, there was just not enough revenue to support the miles of track in need of heavy maintenance. The remaining customers on the north end are serviced by Delmarva Central while customers on the Norfolk end are handled by the Buckingham Branch railway.