Cape Cod Central Railroad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Cape Cod Central Railroad |
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 CCCR Train |
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| Info | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Tourist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Cape Cod | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Buzzards Bay Hyannis |
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| Stations | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | Present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Cape Rail Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Cape Cod Central Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Cape Cod Central Railroad is a heritage railroad located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Originally founded in 1999, it operates a variety of excursion trains from downtown Hyannis to the Cape Cod Canal during spring, summer, and fall. Recently, it has expanded service in a limited capacity to offer rides that travel the reverse of the normal route. It offers daily sightseeing trains, a Family Supper train, Brunch and Lunch trains, and an Elegant Dinner train that was rated one of the top 3 in the nation by the Food Network. Past offerings have also included special Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas trains.
Ongoing politics have prevented restoration of passenger rail service from Cape Cod to the Boston area, causing the the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge to be used less, except for train service to Camp Edwards.
The Cape Cod Central Railroad has three locomotives, and generally uses two on each train in a pull-pull configuration due to a lack of convenient switching locations. ALCo RS-3M #1201, nicknamed "Lulubell," was originally built in May 1951 for the New York Central Railroad as locomotive #8246. It has also served Penn Central, Amtrak, Connecticut Central, and Providence & Worcester railroads. EMD GP-7 #1501, along with its sister engine #1502, was originally built in 1952 for the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay railroad. The 1501 recently emerged in a new paint scheme identical to sister railroad Massachusetts Coastal's paint scheme. The engine is now in service on Cape Cod Central trains. Sister 1502 has not run in several years and a return to service is not likely in the foreseeable future.
The railroad has 8 cars in service, as well as a Budd Liner which is currently being restored. The Barnstable (#101), Sandwich (#102), and Bourne (#103) cars are used for sightseeing tours, and are all former Long Island Railroad 2700 series commuter cars. The kitchen/generator car (#250) is used on dining trains, as all meals served are prepared on board the train. The Cape Codder (#200) lounge car is a vintage piece of equipment originally from the Illinois Central Railroad. Much of the interior is original, including a number of pieces of plate glass. The Sandy Neck (#201), Great Island (#202), and Race Point (#203) dining cars were all built in the early 1940s and have since been completely restored. This Railroad should not be confused with, although is affiliated with the newly formed Mass Coaster - the commuter railroad to soon start operating between Hyannis and Middleborough.
Since 2006, the Cape Cod Central Railroad has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Cape Rail Inc., which also operates the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad. [1]
