Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad adds historic California Zephyr cars to its fleet
Crain’s Cleveland Business | By Sue Walton, August 15, 2018
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad just bolstered its fleet in a big way.
The CVSR has signed an agreement to purchase four historic California Zephyr cars — two vista dome dining cars, one sleeper car and one baggage car — Joe Mazur, president and CEO of the nonprofit railroad, said in an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
The CVSR will pay $1.5 million for the historic cars, which were all built in the 1940s and sold as a set by private owners, he said.
“We’re really ecstatic to bring a fleet like this into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park,” he said.
The cars, which Mazur said are in great condition and will immediately be put into service on the CVSR, will arrive in the valley on Sept. 20 after making the trek from Seattle, with a stop in Chicago. From the Windy City, the cars will be pulled by the historic Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765, which is arriving for the Steam in the Valley event.
Mazur will go along for the ride, which departs from Seattle on Sept. 10, as will other special guests, donors and possibly CVSR volunteers, for a fee. There might be room to entertain other riders as well, he said.
And while the CVSR is in the midst of a capital campaign, the railroad decided to make this purchase before the campaign was complete, taking out a $700,000 loan, Mazur said.
The deal for the set of cars was one the railroad felt it couldn’t pass up, and timing was of the essence because of changes Amtrak is making to the way private cars can be picked up and dropped off, Mazur said…
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