BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — One of Northeast Ohio's most beloved attractions has been put on hold due to Mother Nature.
On Friday, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad announced that it is suspending its train operations and spring activities in the park due to increasing erosion.
"Ongoing geotechnical soil monitoring in recent weeks identified increasing erosion along the 26-mile scenic and educational railway in Cuyahoga Valley National Park," CVSR stated in a news release.
“We are going to do everything we can to allow the train to return to normal operations as soon as possible. We ask for continued patience while we complete construction projects to stabilize the tracks near the river. In the meantime, we appreciate CVSR’s flexibility in adjusting operations," said Cuyahoga Valley National Park (NPS) Superintendent Lisa Petit in the release.
The CVSR says that during routine track maintenance in October, engineers discovered instability at a site four miles south of the Fitzwater Maintenance Yard. It was determined then that the safest option was to suspend train operations beyond that point while further testing and analysis was completed. Since October, CVSR has offered modified programming operating on a limited section of track while additional assessments were underway.
Using a recently-installed advanced stability monitoring system, the NPS had hoped that regular train service could safely resume starting March 3. But CVSR reports that data associated with the monitoring system led to the decision to forgo all use of the tracks until repairs are made.
“The CVSR team is fully committed to keeping the train running. Our staff and volunteers have successfully overcome numerous obstacles over the past few years. I continue to be amazed at their resourcefulness. I am hopeful that we have a solution soon,” added Joe Mazur, CVSR President and CEO.
The CVSR and NPS say they are exploring various options to safely restart train operations by this summer. Suspended CVSR programming includes the Cleveland Dinner & Events Train and the National Park Scenic Excursion.
All ticket purchases will be automatically refunded within five to seven business days to the original form of payment.