Train schedules stops in Fairchance, Dunbar
FAIRCHANCE – The Fayette Central Railroad cab and caboose will make their inaugural appearance in Fairchance Saturday as the community celebrates Memorial Day and then move to Dunbar for a Monday event. “We’ve had a lot of interest and enthusiasm from the Fairchance area for us to do train rides,” said Mark Rowan, president of the railroad organization. “We’re hoping to take a lot of passengers on the train throughout the day.”
The tourist train made its first run last year in Dunbar and now operates weekends May through December in various communities.
In Fairchance, meanwhile, rides will begin about noon, but will stop for the 2:30 p.m. parade and memorial services.
The parade will end at the Maple Grove Cemetery Veterans Memorial Section where a service will be held with Wayne Bowers, Albert Gallatin Area Senior High School teacher, as the keynote speaker.
VFW Post 47 Marching Band will present musical selections.
Rowan, meanwhile, said the approximate 20-minute ride will take passengers from the former Pechin Lumber Co. site along West Church Street to the Fairchance Industrial Park and then return.
“It should be a very scenic ride,” said Rowan.
Caboose rides are $5 with engine rides costing $10 per passenger. Only two seats are available in the engine compartment and an adult must accompany children riding in the engine.
Approximately 50 passengers can be accommodated in the caboose.
On Monday, the FCRR train will be in Dunbar as that community pauses to pay tribute to its veterans.
The parade will begin at the former Dunbar Borough School on Connellsville Street at 10 a.m. with a tribute to those who died at sea taking place at the bridge near the Kountry Klub.
The parade will end at the Dunbar Honor Roll where a memorial service will be held with state Rep. Deberah L. Kula, D-North Union, serving as guest speaker.
Others taking part in the ceremony include Nick Bell as master of ceremonies; American Legion Hughes Post 146 Honor Guard, placing of the memorial wreath; Pechin Chapel Pastor Lee Maley, invocation and benediction; Girl Scout Brownie Troop 3125 and Junior Troop 3049, pledge of allegiance; Geibel Catholic Chamber Ensemble, national anthem; Geibel Catholic Middle-High School student Ashley Runyan, Gettysburg Address; and Connellsville Area Elementary Band, musical selection.
Train rides, said Rowan, will begin about 11 a.m., pause for the parade, and then resume at the conclusion of the memorial services.
The 20-minute ride will take passengers to the former O&B Junction before returning to Dunbar. Costs will be $5 for a ride in the caboose and $10 for a seat in the engine cab.
“It is going to be a busy weekend,” said Rowan.
For more information about the FCRR, visit www.Fayettecentralrailroad.com