ASHLAND — The Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train will open for the 2020 season Monday with restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff members were busy Wednesday preparing the tourist attraction at 19th and Oak streets, which typically opens on April 1.
Joe Kehoe, fire boss, said mine tours will be operating and the gift shop and restaurant will be open. Rides on the lokie, however, will not start for several weeks because a new garage for the engines has been erected and the concrete has not cured enough to allow them to be moved in. Also, the Henry Clay lokie, built in the 1920s, is in the process of being inspected by the state Department of Environmental Resources, as is the 1,800-foot-deep horizontal mine shaft into the mountainside.
“It will be pressure tested to make sure it is safe,” Kehoe said of the Henry Clay boiler. He also said DEP inspectors were inside the mine to make sure things such as lighting and air quality are safe.
Changes in place
Although the mine will open Monday it will do so at reduced capacity, Kehoe said.
He said entrance will be limited to 25 people at a time instead of the usual 35 to 40, and there will be only one trip inside the mine at a time.
In the past, one group would be dropped off inside the mine and the mine cars would go back to the entrance to pick up another group, and a rotation would begin from there.
“That stopped,” Kehoe said. “We’re down to one trip at a time and hope people will understand and plan accordingly.”
Chastity Moran, business manager, said Pioneer Tunnel lost about one third of its income due to the COVID-19 shutdown with being closed for three months.
“April and May were loaded for us,” she said about reservations that could not be kept. “Right now were hoping the nice weather will bring people back.”
She said some changes have been made to comply with state mandates. The restaurant and gift shop will be limited to 50% capacity, high traffic areas will be sanitized on a regular basis, social distancing will be observed and hand sanitizers will be made available.
“We will be following all the mandates ordered by the state,” she said.
One thing in favor of Pioneer Tunnel is the availability of the adjacent Higher Ups Park. Moran said families can enjoy the outdoors there while observing social distancing and staying close to the mine attraction.
Hoping for a good year
She said school tours, including those from colleges, normally pickup in September and October, and she hopes that trend will continue this year if schools are allowed to re-open.
Moran said Pioneer Tunnel will be open daily at 10 a.m. with mine tours running throughout the day at approximately 30 minute intervals.
Steam train rides will resume as soon as the Henry Clay and its new garage are ready.
“We’re hoping for a good year and that we can make up for some of the revenue we lost while being closed,” she said.
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