{"id":4485,"date":"2024-01-23T03:38:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T17:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=4485"},"modified":"2024-01-23T03:38:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T17:38:12","slug":"ontario-tourist-railroad-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=4485","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Tourist Railroad to Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Railfan & Railroad Staff<\/span><\/p>\n

Ontario\u2019s York-Durham Heritage Railway announced Sunday it had filed for insolvency just weeks after stating that a dispute with the community it operated out of was going to force it to move. The railroad said that all equipment would be put up for sale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe York-Durham Heritage Railway is sad to announce it is ceasing operations immediately and has filed for insolvency protection after almost 30 years of providing train experiences for our guests,\u201d officials wrote on Facebook. \u201cWe will miss seeing everyone coming on board for a train ride.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In December, the railroad announced it was leaving its long-time home in Uxbridge after the local city council did not renew its lease on the town-owned railroad station and yard.<\/span><\/p>\n

A statement from the YDHR CEO John Graham Perks said in December, \u201cThis is not a decision we made lightly, however, the last few months the Township of Uxbridge Council have shown us they believe with a whole heart we have overstayed our welcome and made it very clear their insurmountable pressure will continue until we leave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Perks later resigned from his position as CEO.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The township quickly issued its statement which read in part, \u201cThe decision to deny a lease extension resulted after multiple attempts to resolve outstanding issues and timelines for compliance were not met.\u201d Among the issues cited were failure to obtain certain local permits and comply with codes, insufficient notice of road closures, and a demand that the railroad remove four long out-of-service coaches. Those coaches were indeed scrapped in late 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The railroad has operated since 1996, on 12 miles of track first laid by the Toronto & Nipissing Railway in the 1800s. Like many tourist railroads, it was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and then suffered damage in a tornado in May 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n

The railroad\u2019s primary motive power is an Alco RS-11 built in 1956 as Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific 3612, retaining that number through subsequent service on Central Vermont and Lamoille Valley railroads as well as YDHR. Two MLW-built RS-3s round out the roster, ex-Ontario Northern 1310 and ex-Roberval & Saguenay 22.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Ontario Tourist Railroad to Close<\/a> appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Railfan & Railroad Staff Ontario\u2019s York-Durham Heritage Railway announced Sunday it had filed for insolvency just weeks after stating that a dispute with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-4485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t