Doing the Bunny Hop! (Photos)

For the second year in a row, WMSR ran Easter-themed Bunny Hop trains. On April 1 and 2, almost 600 people rode four WMSR special trains to the intermediate stop at Mountain View (“Lap” on the old Western Maryland Railway), where there seemed to be a great many colored eggs scattered about. No one knows how they got there, but there are the usual suspects.

The train consist was the same train we use for most runs to Frostburg—Pantry Car 107, Kitchen Car 855, Table Car 150, Table/Lounge Car 200, Snack Bar/coach 112, Coach 110, and Coach 880. While we didn’t need the First Class cars, it was far easier to keep the train intact and simply sell seats in the coaches. The Snack Bar did a healthy business.

Each day, we operated with two locomotives—one on either end, so that at Mountain View Engineers Mike McMarlin and Jim Howard simply “change ends.” They moved from the engine pulling the train uphill to the engine on the other end of the train that would run the train downhill.

WMSR’s Human Resources Manager Dianna Howard did a splendid job as the Easter Bunny. Brakeman Megan Machin was Cinder Bear, a character who has delighted children for many years on WMSR. It was fun watching children puzzle out what to make of a large white bunny and a friendly bear in railroad overalls and striped hat.

The pictures tell the rest of the story. We had a couple of enjoyable days out on the railroad, and showed a whole lot of folks a very good time.