On the day of March 17th 2024, We visited The Hillcrest and Wahtoke railroad for their annual Railfest. But this was no ordinary Railfest, this was The Railroad's 30th Anniversary where they opened up their new Track expansion called "Wahtoke Divison." The new track conists of a Tunnel, Trestle, and Wahtoke Station. Visiting engines also came for Railfest such as The WSF&LCO #18, The Traction Engine #17 (We didn't film that), The RVRY #7, and The BJWRR #2. Our first ride is behind the GSP&P #13 where I am shown in the Fireman's seat doing "Rent An Engine", a program where you get to operate the locomotive during Railfest. We go down the new track and meet the GSP&P #5 at the Bi-Pass. Then, we stop at Wahtoke Station for people to get off. Then more passengers get on and we ride back to Hillcrest Station. After the Rent An Engine, we chased some trains for a bit. Then, we rode the RVRY #7 down to Wahtoke Station. From there, we did some railfanning, showing off the Lower loop. Then we rode the RVRY #7 back up to Hillcrest Station to do some more railfanning. After that, we rode behind the GSP&P #5 while The 7 was behind us as a mid-train helper. We also got permission to ride behind the mid-train helper during the last trip of the day while The GSP&P #5 was up front pulling the train.
But that's Railfest 2024!