Re: Shay in the Gorge? *LINK*

Yes, a shay would be perfect! Actually, a Linville River Shay still exists, and there is a good possibility that it ran through the gorge a few times down to the shops for repairs in Johnson City. I will try and include a link to the website. It is currently "powered" by a infernal combustion engine, and the current owners are rumored to be thinking about regauging it to standard gauge (blasphemy!!). If we had the $$$ I'd love to get it back to the gorge. One of the ex-Georgetown Loop Shays would work well, too! Shays always look best on curvy track and steep grades (ours range between 2%-3%).
I don't know what the White Pass is doing with their railbus, but we couldn't afford it even if it were available (this is a 95% volunteer operation!).
As far as restoration of the track, we have about 1.3 miles of track restored for train operation, another 1/2 mile for public speeder operation, and another 1/2 mile open for track crews only up to the first bridge.
Do you have any photos of your trip on the railroad? We have VERY few photos of either Doe River Gorge Playland, or Hillbilly World. We don't even have photos of the D&C #10. When we started restoration, very little was left behind.
Phil