There was a thread a few days ago that mentioned that chopper builder Jesse James had visited the Georgia State RR Museum and was impressed with their Davenport. This thread progressed into a discussion of why don't we have a "Monster Garage"/"Monster House"/"American Chopper" type TV show for steam restorations.

If anyone caught "American Chopper" Monday night, the Tutels are building a theme bike for car/bike collector Jay Leno. In the show, Jay takes the Tutels on a tour of his garage and makes a BIG point of showing a couple of his Stanley Steamer automobiles (and I think a White too) and saying how much he LOVES steam and how these cars can really perform.

I was just wondering if any of you guys in California had ever invited Mr. Leno out to see some serious steam in action? Jay strikes me as the kind of guy that would be willing to help raise the cash to restore a Big Boy, build a Pennsy T-1 replica, etc. (insert your favorite fantasy steam project here).

Any thoughts?

Good Steaming,
Hugh Odom



The Ultimate Steam Page
whodom2001@yahoo.com

> There was a thread a few days ago that
> mentioned that chopper builder Jesse James
> had visited the Georgia State RR Museum and
> was impressed with their Davenport. This
> thread progressed into a discussion of why
> don't we have a "Monster
> Garage"/"Monster
> House"/"American Chopper"
> type TV show for steam restorations.

> If anyone caught "American
> Chopper" Monday night, the Tutels are
> building a theme bike for car/bike collector
> Jay Leno. In the show, Jay takes the Tutels
> on a tour of his garage and makes a BIG
> point of showing a couple of his Stanley
> Steamer automobiles (and I think a White
> too) and saying how much he LOVES steam and
> how these cars can really perform.

> I was just wondering if any of you guys in
> California had ever invited Mr. Leno out to
> see some serious steam in action? Jay
> strikes me as the kind of guy that would be
> willing to help raise the cash to restore a
> Big Boy, build a Pennsy T-1 replica, etc.
> (insert your favorite fantasy steam project
> here).

> Any thoughts?

> Good Steaming,
> Hugh Odom

Hugh, my own thoughts are that, first of all if a man like Jay Leno were to become involved in restoration of something along the lines of steam locomotives he would do a fair amount of research before throwing money into the pit. He would find that it isn't a good idea to sink money into an engine that will never have a place to run, like a Big Boy, and he would also find that there is no point in building new from scratch any model of steam locomotive when there are so many various models around that already exist.

Now, given all that let's say one approached a person like Mr. Leno to spend a ton of money on a restoration project.
The way he talks about Amtrak makes me wonder just how much railroad interest he really mighe have. He doesn't appear, on the surface, to have a lot of faith in the use of rail for transportation. Naturally, one would never know for certain without asking, but this is how it appears to me.
So, the next step would be to ask him. Ever wonder how easy it is to approach him and discuss something like this?
Mark D.

> Hugh, my own thoughts are that, first of all
> if a man like Jay Leno were to become
> involved in restoration of something along
> the lines of steam locomotives he would do a
> fair amount of research before throwing
> money into the pit. He would find that it
> isn't a good idea to sink money into an
> engine that will never have a place to run,
> like a Big Boy, and he would also find that
> there is no point in building new from
> scratch any model of steam locomotive when
> there are so many various models around that
> already exist.

> Now, given all that let's say one approached
> a person like Mr. Leno to spend a ton of
> money on a restoration project.
> The way he talks about Amtrak makes me
> wonder just how much railroad interest he
> really mighe have. He doesn't appear, on the
> surface, to have a lot of faith in the use
> of rail for transportation. Naturally, one
> would never know for certain without asking,
> but this is how it appears to me.
> So, the next step would be to ask him. Ever
> wonder how easy it is to approach him and
> discuss something like this?
> Mark D.

Well, I wasn't really serious about those fantasy steam projects; I just threw them out as kind of "upper limit" suggestions. On the other hand, Mr. Leno does own a gas turbine powered motorcycle so "practicality" isn't necessarily high on his list of requirements for vehicles.

I'm sure it's not real easy to get in touch with him, but I imagine if the ATSF 3716 guys or the UP or whoever sent him a written invitation for a cab ride along with a couple of photos, he might get interested. I'm just thinking somebody like Jay could bring a lot of favorable publicity to steam locomotive restoration & operation.

Hugh

The Ultimate Steam Page
whodom2001@yahoo.com

Leaving aside for a moment that rather unimpressive nature of the conversion / rebuilding of a little 4 wheel dinky did impress somebody who should have know better (or do I overestimate media types?) compared to an actual full size locomotive legitimate restoration, or even a replication as LYON or JUPITER and 119, or a restored replication like LAFAYETTE, wouldn't the appeal to somebody like Leno be the chance to take them out on the road and play with them?

Michael Jackson has his 3 foot gage steam train at his fantasy estate. Ward Kimball had a 3 foot gage line, Disney used his to surround his theme park. Some other private individuals own their own loocmotives which tour (EUREKA) or have ample property to build a short railroad of their own.

Few of these people seem interested in opening their private estates to the general public. I can't blame them - wealth and celebrity can present substantial impediments to a private life under the best of circumstances.

Those potential limitations understood, maybe it would be worth the trouble to write the "top ten" reasons why a project should gain celebrity support and get them to any interested parties capable of providing resources or public image.

Little cost and the only potential loss is hearing another "No Thanks."

dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

> There was a thread a few days ago that
> mentioned that chopper builder Jesse James
> had visited the Georgia State RR Museum and
> was impressed with their Davenport. This
> thread progressed into a discussion of why
> don't we have a "Monster
> Garage"/"Monster
> House"/"American Chopper"
> type TV show for steam restorations.
> If anyone caught "American
> Chopper" Monday night, the Tutels are
> building a theme bike for car/bike collector
> Jay Leno. In the show, Jay takes the Tutels
> on a tour of his garage and makes a BIG
> point of showing a couple of his Stanley
> Steamer automobiles (and I think a White
> too) and saying how much he LOVES steam and
> how these cars can really perform.

> I was just wondering if any of you guys in
> California had ever invited Mr. Leno out to
> see some serious steam in action? Jay
> strikes me as the kind of guy that would be
> willing to help raise the cash to restore a
> Big Boy, build a Pennsy T-1 replica, etc.
> (insert your favorite fantasy steam project
> here).

> Any thoughts?

> Good Steaming,
> Hugh Odom

Hugh,

You are presenting an interesting concept here. As for an "American Steam" show, perhaps Kelly and the guys at Strasburg would be open to this? They seem like a very progressive bunch and their work is first class and ongoing. They also have the intense technical ability to keep steam alive. (Perhaps they could ham it up with a few personal insults while removing flues from a boiler?!)

Can someone invite Jay to the Ohio Central this summer? Put him at trackside during a runby with the 6325 and the 765 ---- I think he would be impressed. Perhaps Jay could rub elbows with Jason Johnson or Rich Melvin and get more exposed to the extreme steam.

It interesting to speculate.

Cheers,

Randy

> Hugh,

> You are presenting an interesting concept
> here. As for an "American Steam"
> show, perhaps Kelly and the guys at
> Strasburg would be open to this?

You guys have hit on an idea that isn't too far fetched. For a TV show you would need at least one corporate sponsor with fairly deep pockets and at least a passing connection with railroading. Think Union Pacific, the oil/coal companies, those who make bearings,
rail, signals, etc., Bombadier, maybe even Amtrak in a good year. How about the folks who make Budwieser? They own a railroad or two, sell plenty of beer to railfans, and sponsor racing of almost everything that rolls or floats. There are also a few familiar actors with railroad connections who might host such a show. Even people who are not railfans like steam locomotives, and many men will watch shows about building/rebuilding anything. As for having a place to run the locomotive, for TV purposes any backwoods shortline with decent track will do and several have been movie/commercial sets in the past. I have no particular interest in motorcycles, but I do watch the chopper show sometimes. Are you listening Hollywood?
mw

p_michael_warren@yahoo.com

> You guys have hit on an idea that isn't too
> far fetched.

Anybody laughing at the prospect of Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes doing a "Roadside Attractions" report from TrainFest? I don't think we hardcore fans would come off any better than Steve-Dave or Walt the Fan Boy . . .

JAC

How about the folks
> who make Budwieser? They own a railroad or
> two, sell plenty of beer to railfans, and
> sponsor racing of almost everything that
> rolls or floats.

How about "Budweiser Shay Drags at Cass Intermountain Railway"? They could paint them red and have Junior run a #8 Shay...ahh, maybe we shouldn't combine hobbies, although Cass #1 was bright red in the early 60's...hmmm....

Mike

Yenko117@yahoo.com

Hey, I said a LONG time ago we should buy Saluda and have the steam equivalent of "tractor pulls" 2 or 3 times a year. Unfortunately, "Trains" didn't think much of my article and didn't publish it. :-(

Seriously, look at the corporate and fan $$ dumped into the broad heading of "motor sports". We ought to be able to figure a way to tap into that!

WHO


The Ultimate Steam Page
whodom2001@yahoo.com

I, for one, would love to see a weekly, one hour show on, say, the rebuilding of C&TSRR #487. But I guess without people throwing things, slamming doors, and calling each other names, it would never become popular (AKA American Chopper).


cwatford@alltel.net

Recently, I got a famous person involved in a steam railroad problem. The local live steam (miniature) railroad club, Los Angeles Live Steamers, got into trouble when somebody managed to overturn a train, causing minor injuries. No big deal, until our California state officals got involved and shut them down, determinng that it was an unlicensd amusement park! They required operator training ,certification, daily inspections, etc. on a par with Disneyland! The whole ride-on fraternity was very concerned about this precedent.
Well, a local TV channel features a guy by the name of "Huell Howser" who travels around the state looking for points of interest. He had already done a show on LALS and declared it was one of his favorites. I sent him an e-mail, describing the current problem at LALS.
Shortly afterward, the trouble was resolved. He may not have been directly involved, but he called me to say that he had called the LA city Counselman and expressed his concern over what was happening.
The moral here is that having famous friends who know important people or who can influence public opinion could be very beneficial to any railroad preservation type effort.

Reminds me of the old saw about how do you end up with a small fortune? Start with a big one...

teamzurg@earthlink.net

> Hey, I said a LONG time ago we should buy
> Saluda and have the steam equivalent of
> "tractor pulls" 2 or 3 times a
> year. Unfortunately, "Trains"
> didn't think much of my article and didn't
> publish it. :-(

> Seriously, look at the corporate and fan $$
> dumped into the broad heading of "motor
> sports". We ought to be able to figure
> a way to tap into that!

> WHO

Not long ago on one of those Junkyard Wars shows they converted an old Mustang and another auto to run on rails and then had them compete for time/distance on a short stretch of track.
There are folks out there who race farm tractors,lawn tractors, wheelchairs, semi-trucks, boats, horses, dogs, mice, chickens and pigs, just to name a few. There are guys who strap themselves to semi trucks and drag them to the finish line. I have seen a race where two teams of people pick up entire houses and race down the track with them. On one TV show they push a huge boulder up a flight of stairs to see who can do it faster. Racing railroad locomotives wouldn't be
very radical compared to some of that stuff.
Now a Big Boy is probably a bit too large for this and Shays are awful slow, but what about some souped-up Plymouth or Whitcomb switchers, say about 20 tons? Or maybe some 0-4-0 or 0-8-0 steamers. A museum/tourist railroad with some double track and some marketing savvy could really draw a crowd, and possibly generate new interest in railroad preservation. Crazy? Yes.
But a small fraction of the money that Nascar fans spend every year could, for example, restore the entire East Broad Top Railroad to operation, or put all that rusting equipment at various museums indoors.
mw



p_michael_warren@yahoo.com

I've watched Jay Leno for years and think he is the funniest guy on TV, but he has never said anything positive about railroads. He is definitely an automobile person, who doesn't think much of public transportation. Kevin Smith, who does the Roadside Attractions piece, is not funny and often obnoxious. Personally, I wouldn't hold out much hope for funding from this source.

ryarger@rypn.org

> Leaving aside for a moment that rather
> unimpressive nature of the conversion /
> rebuilding of a little 4 wheel dinky did
> impress somebody who should have know better
> (or do I overestimate media types?) compared
> to an actual full size locomotive legitimate
> restoration, or even a replication as LYON
> or JUPITER and 119, or a restored
> replication like LAFAYETTE, wouldn't the
> appeal to somebody like Leno be the chance
> to take them out on the road and play with
> them?

> Michael Jackson has his 3 foot gage steam
> train at his fantasy estate. Ward Kimball
> had a 3 foot gage line, Disney used his to
> surround his theme park. Some other private
> individuals own their own loocmotives which
> tour (EUREKA) or have ample property to
> build a short railroad of their own.

> Few of these people seem interested in
> opening their private estates to the general
> public. I can't blame them - wealth and
> celebrity can present substantial
> impediments to a private life under the best
> of circumstances.

> Those potential limitations understood,
> maybe it would be worth the trouble to write
> the "top ten" reasons why a
> project should gain celebrity support and
> get them to any interested parties capable
> of providing resources or public image.

> Little cost and the only potential loss is
> hearing another "No Thanks."

> dave

but dont give Jay Leno a "top ten" list! ;)
that might be insulting..
("top ten lists" are a Letterman thing!) :)

Scot


More urban legends
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