CSX BACKS TOURIST TRAIN TESTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993                   TAG: 9301070173
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY   
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium
CSX BACKS TOURIST TRAIN TESTS
CSX Corp. has given preliminary approval for a steam-powered tourist train to chug on its tracks through the Blue Ridge mountains on test runs this fall.
"We're very pleased to get this go-ahead," Sally Kammauff, president and owner of the family-owned Virginia Central Railroad, said Tuesday. "We felt all along it would be a tremendous success."
Plans call for the railroad to run a round trip from Charlottesville through Staunton to Clifton Forge and a much shorter round trip from Charlottesville to Gordonsville on the five weekends in October.
The restored train, fueled by coal and pulled by two locomotives, will accommodate more than 500 people, Kammauff said. Ticket prices have yet to be set.
CSX agreed in principle to allow the Charlottesville-based railroad after determining the tourist train would not endanger its business.
"Our first priority is safety and then the timely delivery of our freight," said Robert W. Shinn, a vice president for CSX in Richmond. "We felt they adequately addressed these concerns and that of liability.
"We were also certainly cognizant of the potential economic impact for both cities and we wanted to do what we could," said Shinn. He said CSX will meet with the Virginia Central Railroad within the next month to finalize the decision.
Whether the train will be allowed to continue or expand its runs next year will depend on the October test runs. "Our position is we'll evaluate how everything goes this fall," Shinn said.
"The lure of beautifully restored steam locomotives and passenger cars should make the Virginia Central Railroad a major draw for tourists to our two communities," Charlottesville Mayor Tom Vandever said.
Vandever met Tuesday with Staunton Mayor John Avoli, economic development leaders for both cities and the train's owners to make the announcement.
"We could not be more excited in Staunton about this new project," Avoli said. "Romance will return to the rails that played such an important role in the development of the region."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB