BERLIN – Municipal officials believe there’s still hope for an excursion railroad in Worcester County.
“It’s not dead yet,” said Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman.
While the county is no longer pursuing bringing a tourist train to the area, officials in both Berlin and Snow Hill continue to look for the right opportunity. Dorman told the Worcester County Commissioners this month there was still interest in the concept. In 2014, a two-phase study funded by the county with contributions from Berlin and Snow Hill reported that such a venture could have a $17 million impact on the local economy.
In an interview this week, Dorman said there was still plenty of enthusiasm for the concept. He said the town was still in contact with Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company officials. He said an operator had also reached out to the local municipalities to express interest in the possibility of an excursion train.
“The operator came to us out of the blue,” Dorman said. “We didn’t solicit them.”
In spite of the query, he believes the first step in bringing an excursion train to the area is encouraging local companies to use the railroad for freight.
“The key to the whole thing is we need to get commercial freight on that rail,” he said.
Dorman said that there are grants to help pay for improvements to the rail line if it was being used by freight trains.
“Right now it’s a $5 million price tag to repair the tracks,” he said.
Williams said that while the railroad was not in bad shape in Berlin it was in poor condition south of town.
“There needs to be major investment,” he said.
Nevertheless, like Dorman, he remains hopeful. He pointed out that in Berlin citizens valued their history and said the railroad had been a big part of that.
“Our heritage is part of what we want to base our future on,” he said. “If the railroad hadn’t been here Berlin would have faded away.”
Williams said he continued to learn about the needs and benefits of an excursion railroad and thought Berlin would be ready to welcome one when the right operator was found.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of if it’s a matter of when,” he said.
Dorman is perhaps even more eager to see the train become reality. He sees it as a way to interest Ocean City’s visitors in Snow Hill. The county seat simply doesn’t have the proximity to the resort that Berlin does.
“It would bring more traffic into town,” he said. “You’d get all the people on vacation in Ocean City to come down. It would be a great asset.”
