Could there be a return of passenger rail?

It may be little more than a pipe dream, but West Union leaders would like their town to be counted in when it comes to the idea of bringing back passenger rail service. In days of old, you could hop a train in Walhalla and ride it all the way to Anderson…and back. There’s an old Keowee Courier from 1923 that contains an account of the entire Walhalla football team taking the train to play a game in Anderson County. West Union Town Council passed a resolution Tuesday night in support of applying South Carolina gas tax money to restoring passenger rail service. Mayor Linda Oliver says the resolution is called, “All Aboard in The Carolinas.” The resolution is sponsored by the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains. Oliver admits it might be an uphill quest, as South Carolina is hard-pressed now to make repairs to its existing roads and bridges with funds generated by a fuel pump tax which has been frozen since 1987.