GETTING BACK ON TRACK

Since 1971 Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration has been restoring the Sumpter Valley Railroad. We have achieved a lot in that time but our forward progress is now at a halt. This past summer the unprecedented wildfires and forest fires in the west caused us to be closed or have extremely low ticket sales on some of our most popular weekends. Ticket sales are our primary source of revenue to operate our historic steam train.

Every year provides us with little more than operating costs for our totally volunteer railroad. This year will be harder than ever to operate and will take several years get back on a more stable financial footing. During that time all our restorations will be have to be put on hold and the deterioration of the rail cars and other items will continue for the for seeable future, in addition some one time opportunities to acquire other original railroad equipment may also be lost and one or two items may no longer be salvageable.

 

We are asking for the money to hire a professional grant writer. A grant writer would not only bring us the money needed to continue our preservation efforts but would allow our volunteers to continue to focus on operating the train as a tourist railroad which is a boost to the local rural economy and how we fund operation of the train every summer. 
 
Our volunteers work extreemly hard to keep our Railroad running for new generations to enjoy. In addition we teach people to operate the train so the skills needed are not lost to history.

 Thank you very much for considering supporting Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration.