BY ROBERT L. BAKER
Times-Shamrock Writer

A pair of round-trip train excursions from Steamtown to Binghamton, N.Y., timed to cross the famed Nicholson Bridge during its 100th anniversary celebration next month have been nixed.

“It’s a huge disappointment,” Steamtown National Historic Park Superintendent Deborah Conway told a stunned gathering of the Nicholson Heritage Association Wednesday.

While planning goes on for the town’s three-day event Sept. 11-13, organizers expected it would be punctuated with a passenger train crossing the big bridge on Saturday and Sunday.

Norm Barrett, a volunteer from Steamtown who worked feverishly this summer on behalf of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Excursion Committee to make the anniversary rides happen, said Tuesday afternoon that approximately 1,500 seats would have to be refunded, with the cheapest starting at $99.

He noted that the committee was 200 seats shy of selling out, but in the last month, “insurmountable insurance obstacles were placed in front of us by Canadian Pacific Railway.”

CP is the operator of the trackage that the excursions would be using, and Barrett said that CP wanted full indemnity from Steamtown as well as liability coverage that was double what was expected.

Barrett said he went to upper management at CP in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, offering to make them a partner in the local enterprise, but they weren’t interested.

CP spokesman Jeremy Berry said Tuesday afternoon that liability coverages expected were not inconsistent with other passenger service the company provides elsewhere.

He added, “While we are willing to run these types of trips, we simply must safeguard our operation as we do this.”

Barrett noted that when the excursion was planned back in the spring, the federal Surface Transportation Board had given its blessing for Norfolk Southern to purchase the 285-mile Canadian Pacific rail line from Sunbury to Schenectady, N.Y., which included the famed Nicholson Bridge.

However, according to Norfolk Southern spokesman David Pidgeon on Tuesday, “Sept. 18 is the planned transaction closure date.”

Barrett added, “If the sale had happened when we expected it, everything would have been okay.”

As it stands, the excursion committee expects to be issuing refunds over the next 7-10 days.

“It’s the first time we ever had a cancellation,” Barrett said, “and I hope it’s the last.”

Former bank director and NHA treasurer Rick Lochen of Nicholson called the cancellation, “unbelievable.” “We’ve worked so hard to make for a great time.”

He noted that would still happen for the anniversary, which includes a photo exhibit Friday, parade Saturday and street fair Sunday.