Due to unsafe bridge conditions on SMART owned trackage, the Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM) has been forced to cancel all excursions scheduled for the Labor Day weekend. A full refund will be given and passengers who bought tickets will be offered a free one-year Individual Membership to the Golden Gate Railroad Museum. Existing Members will receive a free one-year extension at their current membership level.
This is the second time in as many years that SMART has sidelined operations of the GGRM. After the successful steam up and FRA inspection of 2472 in October 2021, GGRM approached SMART management about the prospect of running a test train on the Brazos Subdivision. SMART required the museum to have the bridges inspected (at GGRM expense) and obtain a much higher insurance policy than it had at the time. GGRM hired ARE-Corp (the company that does SMART’S annual bridge inspections). On October 19, 2021, ARE told GGRM, “After analyzing the most recent set of bridges listed below, we have concluded that all the bridges are able to take the load except the following: Bridge 38.96 and Bridge 37.76.”
The bridges mentioned above are Wingo and Railroad Slough. Because these bridges are immediately south of Schellville, GGRM is only able to operate East towards the Brazos Drawbridge. With that in mind, the board requested a test run to the east. SMART denied the request for a test run in late 2021, early 2022 on the grounds that SMART “did not want additional attention during the freight takeover.”
Fast forward to late summer 2022; with the freight acquisition consummated, GGRM was approached by SMART management and told that SMART freight would honor the tariff in place between the NWP and GGRM. Since the tariff included fees for passenger excursions, GGRM immediately set about scheduling trips for Labor Day through the end of the year. After receiving the waybill and move request and learning that tickets were being sold, SMART management asked to meet with members of the GGRM board of directors. They informed GGRM that the Schell Creek Bridge (immediately outside the GGRM Yard) was structurally deficient and could not support loaded passenger trains. GGRM then found an alternate loading area on the other side of the affected bridge. While GGRM was 2writing a detailed Operating Plan for the revised excursion run from the new location, SMART informed the GGRM that the annual bridge inspection is being conducted and it has identified a bridge in the middle of the proposed run which is in worse condition than the Schell Creek Bridge. Due to the condition of the bridges in the area, SMART said they could not allow the excursion train to run.
The Golden Gate Railroad Museum deeply regrets that these excursions cannot operate. Our volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that the train was ready to put on an excellent show for the many people who were coming from near and far to ride and experience this exciting piece of history. As many of you know, Southern Pacific 2472 is nearing the end of its 15-year operating cycle. This was the last opportunity to show her off before the boiler expired. It is hard to say when 2472 will run again.
We will be having a steam up and open house on Sunday September 4 and Monday September 5. It will not be as exciting as an actual excursion, but we hope that you will join us.