After spending a year and a half reviewing studies on a proposed excursion train that could run from Berlin to Snow Hill, six officials from Worcester County flew to North Carolina last week to see one in action.
The excursion operator was the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, based in Bryson City, and the officials were Worcester County Economic Development Director Mary Mears, Berlin Economic Development Director Ivy Wells, Berlin Town Administrator Laura Allen, Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman, Snow Hill Councilmember Mike Pruitt and Snow Hill Economic Development Director Michael Day.
Aside from being stranded at the airport on the way back, Day said the group had a “wonderful, wonderful trip” to the Tar Heel state, Dec. 28-30.
Particularly, Day said, he was stunned by the crowds of people the train drew to such a “tiny little town,” even after the busy Christmas holiday.
“They were saying, ‘Oh this is nothing,’” he said. “We met with a former mayor, chamber of commerce people, the director of tourism for that area, and they all said the train just took [the town] big-time over the top.
“They said in 2008, the stores were boarded up, there was a lot of empty space. Now, 2015, every space was rented and there was a waiting list to get in,” Day continued. “There were people everywhere, and this was a Monday and Tuesday after Christmas. It was just astounding.”
While the Worcester County delegation was in Bryson, the train ran three “Polar Express” trips and one standard excursion line each day. On every one he observed, Day estimated at least 600 passengers.
He and the others rode in both versions, as well as each of the three classes offers – first class, “crown class” and coach.
“There was a big difference in each class,” Day said. “The quality of the entertainment and the quality of what we were doing was obvious. And it wasn’t cheap – it was $62, $52 and $42 for adults, and then kids were about half that.”
Day said he was impressed that the railroad primarily used social media to market the train, suggesting that Worcester County, using a similar model, wouldn’t need a lofty advertising budget.
In Snow Hill, a town still struggling after being hit especially hard during the recession, Day said he believed the train could help revitalize the once vibrant downtown.
Bryson City, with a population of approximately 1,400, is half the size of Snow Hill, and the surrounding county has a rural makeup similar to Worcester.
“You can tell it’s a very depressed area,” Day said. “Riding around, it wasn’t pleasant scenery at times because it’s a very poor, mountain region.”
The biggest problem of bringing a train to the area, he said, would be finding a way to get passengers from stations in Snow Hill or Berlin, using existing track infrastructure, into the downtown shopping districts of each town.
“Our issues will be how do we get the people from the train station to downtown, and it might work – it might not,” he said, adding that a similar operation in Frostburg faced the same problem. “They’ve tried trolleys [and] they’ve tried different types of transit to get people there. It’s just one of those things.
“That’s going to be our problem, but if we can get them into Snow Hill, I think that’s a big win,” Day continued.
Wells said that was not as much of a concern in Berlin, where the station would likely have a hub at “Berlin Falls” – the former Tyson’s Chicken plant on Old Ocean City Road that is to be converted into a recreational facility.
“We would probably put a trolley service in,” she said. “I’m not worried about getting people from the train station to downtown. That part doesn’t bother me as much as the impact on our residents and the amount of traffic that we’ll have here. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and our customer service, and we want to maintain that level of satisfaction.
“We would have to make sure that we had adequate parking, adequate restrooms, that the town wouldn’t lose it’s small-town charm,” Wells added.
During the trip, Wells said she focused on the economic impact of Bryson City, talking to shop owners and residents about how they were affected when the train came.
“I wanted to see the general condition of the town and the impact that all those people had on it on a day-to-day basis,” she said, citing concerns from parking to trash pickup. “It was extremely productive, and it goes to show you that you can’t make any decisions unless you actually see things for yourself.”
Wells said the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has already offered infrastructure grants, if the train were to run from Snow Hill to Berlin, but worried that the length of the trip would warrant an in-between station, potentially in Newark.
“It’s a long ride – the ride that we were on was only six-miles, and we were on the train for over an hour,” she said. “It’s not supposed to be meant for transportation – it’s supposed to be an enjoyable experience.”
While Wells said everyone was leaving all options open on a specific train operator, she added that no one wanted to see a competition emerge between Berlin and Snow Hill.
“I believe that the high tide raises all ships,” she said. “I think what’s good for Worcester County in general is good for all of us.
“I also don’t want to sacrifice the residents and locals for something that could be a huge impact on everyday life here,” she added. “I want it to be the best possible situation for all – for businesses and for residents.”
Allen said the tour, coming just as the town is preparing to take control of Berlin Falls, gives Berlin the chance to start development there “with a blank slate.”
“It gives us the opportunity to really design something that meets the needs of the folks that are riding on the train – not just the folks that are driving in their cars and leaving them in the depot, but people who are walking up to the train from town,” she said. “It really crystalized the need to pay attention to parking needs as well as pedestrian access.”
She said the goal was to link Snow Hill and Berlin with the train, but agreed with Wells that an intermediate stop might help operations.
“That might mean that some excursions run up from Snow Hill to a location and back, and some run from Berlin to a location and back, and some excursions run the full length,” she said.
She said The Great Smokey Mountain Railroad provides a menu of trip options, ranging from theme rides like “Polar Express,” to day trips to nearby towns, and even rides to white water rafting destinations.
“What I could see us doing is, with the train operator, creating a menu of trip options which would vary in length,” she said. “What’s great about this is there’s lots of potential opportunities, but we’re definitely focused on taking a collaborative approach to the train operation, working with the county as well as working with Snow Hill to make sure that the economic benefits are there, not just for the county, but for both of the towns as well.”
Allen said the town is already adapting to a hefty increase in tourism, with sales at local shops up about 30 percent across the board during the last two years, and traffic already coming in from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
“I could see the same thing happening with the trains,” she said. “One of the reasons why I think it was so important to go on the trip was so we could see first hand the potential impacts. The key here is to design the system in such a way that the negative impacts are mitigated and the positive impacts are amplified – that’s really our challenge.”
At the county level, Mears said Worcester has stepped back after helping to fund two studies on the economic impact of an excursion train.
Her office, she said, would instead act as a conduit between Berlin and Snow Hill, and would provide support as needed.
“We have linkages with the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which has shown interest in the project,” she said. “We’re kind of in between Snow Hill and Berlin, so we facilitate discussions along those lines, and also with the railroads.”
Mears also echoed the belief that everyone will benefit.
“We have so many amenities in Worcester County and we’re a destination for lots of folks,” she said. “One of the things that this office has seen is that if we can add to our amenities here or compliment our amenities here, that’s going to give us all a leg up.”
Specifically, Mears said, the excursion could help narrow the large drop-off between the extremely profitable summers, and the less active “shoulder season.”
“There are all kinds of opportunities out there and I think that the folks that are looking into this – the town of Berlin and the town of Snow Hill – everybody is really working well together to do their due diligence and look at the operation as something that’s feasible for both towns together,” she said. “That’s incredibly exciting for me.”
Mears admitted the landscape was different in the rural mountains than in the rural coast, and suggested everyone involved take a few weeks to “process” the trip and apply what they learned to Worcester County.
“We’re all going to come back together, meaning both towns and the railroad and the state, and say, ‘where do we want to go with this?’” she said. “I think we all need some time to review the trip in our minds – what did we like, what didn’t we like, what would work here.
“We just kind of need to let it process in our minds and then come back in a few weeks and see where we want to go,” Mears added.
The excursion operator was the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, based in Bryson City, and the officials were Worcester County Economic Development Director Mary Mears, Berlin Economic Development Director Ivy Wells, Berlin Town Administrator Laura Allen, Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman, Snow Hill Councilmember Mike Pruitt and Snow Hill Economic Development Director Michael Day.
Aside from being stranded at the airport on the way back, Day said the group had a “wonderful, wonderful trip” to the Tar Heel state, Dec. 28-30.
Particularly, Day said, he was stunned by the crowds of people the train drew to such a “tiny little town,” even after the busy Christmas holiday.
“They were saying, ‘Oh this is nothing,’” he said. “We met with a former mayor, chamber of commerce people, the director of tourism for that area, and they all said the train just took [the town] big-time over the top.
“They said in 2008, the stores were boarded up, there was a lot of empty space. Now, 2015, every space was rented and there was a waiting list to get in,” Day continued. “There were people everywhere, and this was a Monday and Tuesday after Christmas. It was just astounding.”
While the Worcester County delegation was in Bryson, the train ran three “Polar Express” trips and one standard excursion line each day. On every one he observed, Day estimated at least 600 passengers.
He and the others rode in both versions, as well as each of the three classes offers – first class, “crown class” and coach.
“There was a big difference in each class,” Day said. “The quality of the entertainment and the quality of what we were doing was obvious. And it wasn’t cheap – it was $62, $52 and $42 for adults, and then kids were about half that.”
Day said he was impressed that the railroad primarily used social media to market the train, suggesting that Worcester County, using a similar model, wouldn’t need a lofty advertising budget.
In Snow Hill, a town still struggling after being hit especially hard during the recession, Day said he believed the train could help revitalize the once vibrant downtown.
Bryson City, with a population of approximately 1,400, is half the size of Snow Hill, and the surrounding county has a rural makeup similar to Worcester.
“You can tell it’s a very depressed area,” Day said. “Riding around, it wasn’t pleasant scenery at times because it’s a very poor, mountain region.”
The biggest problem of bringing a train to the area, he said, would be finding a way to get passengers from stations in Snow Hill or Berlin, using existing track infrastructure, into the downtown shopping districts of each town.
“Our issues will be how do we get the people from the train station to downtown, and it might work – it might not,” he said, adding that a similar operation in Frostburg faced the same problem. “They’ve tried trolleys [and] they’ve tried different types of transit to get people there. It’s just one of those things.
“That’s going to be our problem, but if we can get them into Snow Hill, I think that’s a big win,” Day continued.
Wells said that was not as much of a concern in Berlin, where the station would likely have a hub at “Berlin Falls” – the former Tyson’s Chicken plant on Old Ocean City Road that is to be converted into a recreational facility.
“We would probably put a trolley service in,” she said. “I’m not worried about getting people from the train station to downtown. That part doesn’t bother me as much as the impact on our residents and the amount of traffic that we’ll have here. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and our customer service, and we want to maintain that level of satisfaction.
“We would have to make sure that we had adequate parking, adequate restrooms, that the town wouldn’t lose it’s small-town charm,” Wells added.
During the trip, Wells said she focused on the economic impact of Bryson City, talking to shop owners and residents about how they were affected when the train came.
“I wanted to see the general condition of the town and the impact that all those people had on it on a day-to-day basis,” she said, citing concerns from parking to trash pickup. “It was extremely productive, and it goes to show you that you can’t make any decisions unless you actually see things for yourself.”
Wells said the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has already offered infrastructure grants, if the train were to run from Snow Hill to Berlin, but worried that the length of the trip would warrant an in-between station, potentially in Newark.
“It’s a long ride – the ride that we were on was only six-miles, and we were on the train for over an hour,” she said. “It’s not supposed to be meant for transportation – it’s supposed to be an enjoyable experience.”
While Wells said everyone was leaving all options open on a specific train operator, she added that no one wanted to see a competition emerge between Berlin and Snow Hill.
“I believe that the high tide raises all ships,” she said. “I think what’s good for Worcester County in general is good for all of us.
“I also don’t want to sacrifice the residents and locals for something that could be a huge impact on everyday life here,” she added. “I want it to be the best possible situation for all – for businesses and for residents.”
Allen said the tour, coming just as the town is preparing to take control of Berlin Falls, gives Berlin the chance to start development there “with a blank slate.”
“It gives us the opportunity to really design something that meets the needs of the folks that are riding on the train – not just the folks that are driving in their cars and leaving them in the depot, but people who are walking up to the train from town,” she said. “It really crystalized the need to pay attention to parking needs as well as pedestrian access.”
She said the goal was to link Snow Hill and Berlin with the train, but agreed with Wells that an intermediate stop might help operations.
“That might mean that some excursions run up from Snow Hill to a location and back, and some run from Berlin to a location and back, and some excursions run the full length,” she said.
She said The Great Smokey Mountain Railroad provides a menu of trip options, ranging from theme rides like “Polar Express,” to day trips to nearby towns, and even rides to white water rafting destinations.
“What I could see us doing is, with the train operator, creating a menu of trip options which would vary in length,” she said. “What’s great about this is there’s lots of potential opportunities, but we’re definitely focused on taking a collaborative approach to the train operation, working with the county as well as working with Snow Hill to make sure that the economic benefits are there, not just for the county, but for both of the towns as well.”
Allen said the town is already adapting to a hefty increase in tourism, with sales at local shops up about 30 percent across the board during the last two years, and traffic already coming in from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
“I could see the same thing happening with the trains,” she said. “One of the reasons why I think it was so important to go on the trip was so we could see first hand the potential impacts. The key here is to design the system in such a way that the negative impacts are mitigated and the positive impacts are amplified – that’s really our challenge.”
At the county level, Mears said Worcester has stepped back after helping to fund two studies on the economic impact of an excursion train.
Her office, she said, would instead act as a conduit between Berlin and Snow Hill, and would provide support as needed.
“We have linkages with the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which has shown interest in the project,” she said. “We’re kind of in between Snow Hill and Berlin, so we facilitate discussions along those lines, and also with the railroads.”
Mears also echoed the belief that everyone will benefit.
“We have so many amenities in Worcester County and we’re a destination for lots of folks,” she said. “One of the things that this office has seen is that if we can add to our amenities here or compliment our amenities here, that’s going to give us all a leg up.”
Specifically, Mears said, the excursion could help narrow the large drop-off between the extremely profitable summers, and the less active “shoulder season.”
“There are all kinds of opportunities out there and I think that the folks that are looking into this – the town of Berlin and the town of Snow Hill – everybody is really working well together to do their due diligence and look at the operation as something that’s feasible for both towns together,” she said. “That’s incredibly exciting for me.”
Mears admitted the landscape was different in the rural mountains than in the rural coast, and suggested everyone involved take a few weeks to “process” the trip and apply what they learned to Worcester County.
“We’re all going to come back together, meaning both towns and the railroad and the state, and say, ‘where do we want to go with this?’” she said. “I think we all need some time to review the trip in our minds – what did we like, what didn’t we like, what would work here.
“We just kind of need to let it process in our minds and then come back in a few weeks and see where we want to go,” Mears added.