The Allegany County Maryland Sheriff's Office is sponsoring a train pull to benefit the Allegany County chapter of Special Olympics. The train pull will take place at CanalFest at Canal Place in Downtown Cumberland, MD (Exit 43C off Interstate 68) on Saturday, May 19, 2001.

Each year, Special Olympics Maryland and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police hold a plane pull at BWI Airport which draws national attention. However, they have never attempted to pull a train. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s Baldwin 280 steam locomotive far outweighs the Fed Ex 727 used annually in plane pull. The 727 weighs 145,000 pounds. The Baldwin 280 steam locomotive weighs in excess of 500,000 pounds or 250 tons!

Last year’s plane pull drew 50 teams and raised over $90,000 CanalFest and pull coordinators are hoping to have similar results with the train pull, with 20 teams targeted to attend.

The train pull teams will compete in two events: fastest pull and lowest team weight pull. For the fastest pull, teams try to pull the locomotive 12 feet in the fastest time. The lowest team weight pull involves each team being given 3 minutes to pull the locomotive 12 feet. The team is then weighed, and the team with the lowest weight that pulled the train the farthest wins.

Law enforcement teams, as well as teams from around the state are slated to participate. High school and alumni groups are encouraged to participate as well. Prizes will be awarded in the law enforcement, high school, and alumni competitions.

Registration of the 20 person teams will start at 9:30 am on Saturday, May 19. The train pull will begin approximately at 11:30 am and run until about 3 pm. The registration fee is $1,000 per team. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics Maryland, specifically athletes in Allegany County. Each team member will receive a team photo with the locomotive and an event t-shirt.

Teams interested in registering or persons wanting more information about the event can call 1-800-541-7544, ext. 3026.

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