Bay Coast Railroad

History

Construction of a rail line from Pocomoke City to Cape Charles was completed on October 25, 1884, and operated as the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad (NYP&N). Its founder, Alexander Johnston Cassatt (1906-1939), designed a barge large enough to carry 18 railcars. His barges provided the new railroad with its connection across the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk by April 1885. The railroad's co-founder, coal magnate William Lawrence Scott, financed construction of the new town of Cape Charles in 1884 at the point where the railroad's northern section met the Chesapeake Bay. From its inception, the NYP&R operated profitably and contributed to an economic boom on the Delmarva peninsula that continued until the Great Depression.

After World War II, railroad passenger use declined in favor of the automobile. Passenger service on the NYP&N ended on January 12, 1958.

In an effort to preserve freight rail service on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Northampton and Accomack counties formed the Accomack-Northampton Transportation District Commission. The commission purchased the rail line in 1976 and selected Virginia and Maryland Railroad Company as its operator. Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. replaced Virginia and Maryland as the operator in 1981. In 2005, Cassatt Management, LLC was selected as operator and the railroad acquired its current name.

Current operations

BCR has three distinct operating areas. The 64.1-mile (103.2 km) northern portion of its rail system connects with Norfolk Southern in Pocomoke City (north) and the system's car float in Cape Charles, Virginia. A car float, crossing 26 miles (42 km) of the Chesapeake Bay from Cape Charles to Norfolk, comprises the middle portion. The southern end of the system is a terminal track around Little Creek, Virginia, connecting with Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation, and the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad.

Chesapeake Bay car float

BCR uses two tug boat-guided railroad car floats of 25 and 15 car capacity to link the 26-mile (42 km) water route across the Chesapeake Bay between Cape Charles and Norfolk — using the north and south terminals of the now defunct Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry. This car float operation has been in continuous service since April 1885, and is one of only two remaining in the United States, the other being New York New Jersey Rail, LLC. In late March 2014 VP for operations Larry LeMond stated the railroad has not run the barge for more than a year and a half and has no intention to resume the service. He also stated that all of the railroad's traffic comes into Pocomoke City to the north and the company operates every other day.

Bay Creek Railway

In 2007, Bay Creek Railway began operating a self-propelled dining car along BCR track, making one to two hour round trips from Cape Charles. This passenger excursion service uses a restored interurban railcar, built in 1913 by St. Louis Car Company. It originally served the former Texas Electric Railway in Dallas, Texas as car number 316. When Texas Electric ceased operating in 1948, its fleet of interurban railcars was sold for salvage. Car number 316 was used as a cabin at a ranch in Fort Worth, Texas until its recent restoration for the Bay Creek Railway. By December 21, 2011 the car was listed for sale on the Ozark Mountain Railcar equipment broker website. The initial asking price was $260,000, later reduced to $205,000. The dining car has been sold. It was loaded onto a flat bed trailer and left Cape Charles on March 11, 2014.

Engine roster

Note: Both MRS1 locomotives, out of service for many years, were scrapped on site in 2011.

Note: Both GP10 2000 and 2001 are out of service. 2000 had a set of trucks swapped with GP38 2014 in August 2013 and appears to be missing a compressor. 2001 is missing a set of trucks.