[quote="Climax9" D&GV is a business and not a museum, whether you want to argue that fact or not. [/quote]

This pretty much says it all i think.......

If you don't understand that museums are businesses you have doomed yourself to failure before you even start. Stop blaming people whose ideas are different than yours and insist on a rational and sustainable basis for their operation for the failure of one that isn't demonstrably so, if it is founded on this kind of foolishness.

I'm very sorry to hear that Earl has resigned. That's a very bad sign, and suggests my rosy outsider's impression above may be entirely incorrect.

Hypothetically speaking, would the D&GV's contract with the State of WV permit them to take a piece of Cass equipment (such as the Climax) to another railroad they operate? They already have another Climax in Durbin, after all.

-Philip Marshall

I read on one of the railroad forums (don't remember which one) that the two-truck Climax that runs out of Durbin is down for maintenance/inspection and that it wasn't expected to be back in service till mid-season 2016. Perhaps someone else can confirm this. I'm wondering if #3 will be trucked to the Cass shop for this work to be performed.

Those interested might want to read Earl Knoob's post in the "NNG - Cass Climax in Jeopardy?" thread on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum.


Here is the newly rebuilt crankshaft, all machined up, (and sounding like) with no place to go.

A direct link. http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php ... msg-305935

Thats the story I would tend to believe..

It took me to the thread topic, I linked direct to Earl's post.

From the MSR&LHS facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153864993528373&id=374909463372

I don't know who to believe, but I do think Cass is in big trouble. Better visit this year if you want to see Shays in operation, looks like the funding may be drying up fast.

The more I look at this situation, the more I see a classic historical railroad fight in play.

Namely, the "Old Guard" insisting "this is the way we've always done it and it's always worked" versus the "new administration" bringing a fresh outlook and contemporary business approaches to an operation. The "old guard" gets resentful, and then hostile, to the newcomers. Their hearts may be in the right place (or they're just protecting their jobs or positions of power, or just the chance to "play trains"), but they're fighting to maintain a path that will eventually kill the operation if left unchanged.

We have seen this at play at a number of places. Railroads transitioning from steam to diesel (and not needing "firemen"). Local politics. Schools. Any number of companies transitioning to new technology, or not (seen Kodak or Polaroid lately?). Even the Strasburg RR of 2016 is not the Strasburg of 1966 (thank goodness). Maybe the current UP steam team scenario applies. And I'd love to have seen what happened at places that underwent fundamental transformation, like Durango & Silverton, Grand Canyon Ry. (sold to a big corporation and demoting steam), Sierra RR, etc. I've been around a couple places that underwent major transformation--like the B&O Museum becoming an independent, non-RR-owned non-profit, the Wilmington & Western assuming ownership of its railroad, etc.--and I've seen (and am still seeing, in some cases) precisely this same "we've been here and doing this for years; who the hell are YOU to tell us what to do?" mentality evoked far too often. Acrimony and shouting matches ensue. People stalk off--and take with them their tools, locomotives, sole knowledge of how the computer system runs, etc. Couched in all of this is the fact that there's never any guarantee the "new way" if going to be any more "successful"--unless, of course, we're talking instituting preventative measures that keep things from blowing up, burning down, derailing once a week, etc.

We'd love to think that everyone at Cass, MSRR&LHA, etc. has the best interests of Cass and the railroad and equipment at heart. And maybe they do. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're "right." Some of them are no doubt just as driven by the "almighty dollar" (or the chance to "play trains" the way they want) as Smith and the D&GV no doubt have to be.

And if anyone ever successfully steps in to "successfully" "save" the East Broad Top, we are no doubt going to see many of these same battles play out all over again. Brace yourselves.

It's easy to forget that those "almighty dollars" are what buys us the chance to play trains. Evolve with the world as it changes what it is or get passed by.......

An expression I heard while serving in the military:
"If you don't hear a good rumor by 10:00 a.m., start one"
Now everyone take a deep breath.

In what way should the MSRLHA have evolved in this situation?

It seems alot of this could have been avoided if the new owners could have sat down with the board of MSRLHA and had an honest discussion... rather than letting it get to this point.

Fixed that for you.

Oops! Thank you. :)

Are there any updates on the plans to complete the restoration of the Climax at Cass

Thanks

Stan Ames