Rail Cars Arrive May 7th 2024
The New Beginning Is Here!

   Our naysayers have said over and over, there ain't going to be any rail rides, trains, rail cars, Nope, nothing is going to happen. There's a reason those fudy duds are so verbose. Over the decades we have seen a bunch of snake oil salesmen come and go. Promises have came and went with the emphasis on "went." On some instances, those carpetbaggers (Filcon for instance) skedaddled with thicker wallets leaving County Clay with nothing but bad memories.
   Well...
   Tuesday morning the first of 24 rail cars arrived over at the old Dundon Campground now operated by Rail Explorers USA. All new and brightly painted, the second shipment, completing the order, will be unloaded from the metal shipping containers on Wed May 8th. Rail Explorers currently operates 6 other rides across America and plan to make this their seventh fun place to be. Details and booking info can be found here.

The electric assisted pedal rides are expected to travel from Dundon to the Sand Fork Bridge just before Cresmont. Two and four seater models will be in use beginning sometime around the beginning of June 2024. Office, trinket and munchy shops. will be housed in the Lodge building near the tracks.

Over a two decades ago, Roger Nutter came up with the notion of offering a tourist ride on the old BC&G RR tracks which traverse Buffalo Creek from Dundon to Widen. With his death the torch was passed to the Central Appalachia Empowerment ZONE (CAEZ) which struggled before finally dropping the ball after building a Lodge and campground near the abandoned tracks. The CAEZ went in the hole each year they tried to operate the place. They were a dismal failure.
Enter the Business Development Authority (BDA) which took on the rebuilding of the decaying tracks after the 2016 Great Wash Out. Funded almost entirely from Federal FEMA $$$, the rails are now back in working order and ready to accept tourists. Those BC&G rails are now owned by the West Virginia Rail Authority. The lodge building and campground are owned by the CAEZ and leased to the rail Explorers for the next five years

Alex Catchpoole and Mary Jo Lu are the owner/operators of Rail Explorers USA

   Before 9am on Wed May 8th, the second load of rail cars arrived over at the Dundon Campground now operated by the Rail Explorers company. For those still in doubt and feel someone is getting their palms greased.....
   There are now 24 brand new power assisted rail rider vehicles on site. If each cost upwards of $10,000, that's a bunch of change. Couple that with a 1/2 million dollar five year lease for the location, we think this time around, something good is going to happen in County Clay.
Here's something else to overload your brain. Rail Explorers is an out of state entity, the tracks and new side track came via the West Virginia Rail Authority, and, the property lease is signed and legit. What were getting to is, our stick in the mud blue bloods can't get their hands on any part of our future.
   Hiring of up to 25 seasonal workers and another handful of year around employees, we've got something clickers.

   The old Lodge building (above) is being remodeled to include a trinket sales operation. A snack shop is coming too.
   Look for the doors to open sometime in mid June.
   Welcome Alex and Mary!