On Saturday, November 19th 2016, railcar owners from the Northeastern United States will be riding on the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad from Mount Pleasant to Greensburg, Penn., stopping at: Cook’s Lumber in Mount Pleasant, the SWP Train Station office in Scottdale, the PA Rt 31 crossing in Tarrs, Supervalu Inc., Youngwood Railroad Museum, and Greengate Rd behind Walmart at the Railroad crossing, and then return. The trip will collect toys and cash donations for the U.S. Marines’ annual Toys for Tots campaign. This will be the first year that SWP has hosted NARCOA. Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad employees have been collecting toys to prepare for this event.
NARCOA is a national organization that restores railcars and charters railroads around the country for excursions. The railcars, also known as “speeders”, were used by the railroads for track inspection and maintenance. Most railroads now use trucks equipped with rail wheels and so the older railcars were sold off to individuals. For more information on NARCOA, visit their website.
The group will be leaving Mount Pleasant at the Savage Intermodal Terminal at 8:00 AM, arriving at Cook’s approx. 8:20 AM, Scottdale approx. 10:15 AM, Tarrs approx. 11:15 AM, Youngwood approx. 12:45 PM, Greensburg approx. 2:00 PM, and then return, stopping at the same locations for about 15 minutes each as time and daylight allow. Times are approximate based on weather conditions.
Please meet us along the tracks with your donations, safely flag us down and we will gladly stop. (Please stay off of and away from the tracks.) A new, wrapped toy for either a boy or girl will make an underprivileged child very happy this holiday season. All toys and donations collected on this trip will be used in Westmoreland County. In 2015, the group collected 2 pickup loads of toys which were desperately needed to fill requests. They also raised almost $3,000. There are many families in the area that are finding it difficult to provide toys for their children this year. Your help will make many Christmas brighter this year with your thoughtful donations. For questions, please email Event Coordinator John Gonder.
If you are unable to meet the railcar riders along the tracks, please drop off a toy (or several) at any Toys for Tots drop-box. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
John Gonder of Ruffs Dale, PA has his motorcar and TOY BOX trailer decorated for the annual Toys for Tots ride in Central Pennsylvania in December, 2015.
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About Carload Express
Carload Express Inc. operates three shortline railroads: The Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP) serving western Pennsylvania, and the Ohio Terminal Railway (OHIO) serving the Ohio River Valley bordering Ohio and West Virginia. Our dedicated, locally based management is able to offer timely and flexible service demanded by today’s fast-paced supply chains while offering the inherent economies of scale that rail shipping provides. Our multiple connections to the North American rail system allow our customers to enjoy competitive freight routing options, lowering their overall shipping costs.
Carload Express Inc. plays an important role in the communities we serve by transporting many of the basic goods used in everyday life, such as: the paper we read; the food we eat; the bricks, steel and lumber we use for homebuilding; and the energy that supplies power for those homes. The nearly 80,000 shipments we handle annually equate to roughly 320,000 fewer trucks on local highways each year, lowering congestion and road maintenance costs while significantly reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
