has anybody got pictures of the failed tubes????????

Conjecture without analysis of failed hardware is futile and worthless.

They were out by the shops, I tried to find the one that failed but couldnt.

Anyway, here are some photos from Pete Lerros charter over the weekend.

http://scriptunasimages.smugmug.com/gal ... 3455_Ea797

Wow. Even a hot Berkshire isn't enough for some people to quit whining and attacking. I feel sad for them really.

I find it infinitely rewarding myself, even more so when there are two:




Sincerely,

T.J. Gaffney
Director
Steam Railroading Institute

T.J. thanks for such a great weekend. I guess nothing will ever please the whiners, you could have had 50 Berks and people would still find a problem.

Simply STUNNING photography !!!

Great stuff guys. Hat off to two amazing steam crews!

So THAT'S what you guys did in the yard. I went back to the car for some gear. Damn, I will have to photoshop myself in. :-)

It was a great charter. Pete Lerro organized a wonderful event. The SRI guys... well, you can't say enough about the effort and pay off. And the NKP #765 team was all class.

I am so glad that I went. It was worth every penny and I would do it again in an instant.

If you want complaining, don't come looking for it here. I just got back to NJ literally 25 minutes ago. I haven't seen all my images yet, but I am very pleased with what I have seen. But I can honestly say just BEING THERE was worth the thrill.

There were some freeloaders out (typical... the trip was not sold out, but some buffs will never, ever pay whether it is $10 or $800), but the really REALLY cool thing was all the families that wandered out to watch the runbys. There are a lot of little boys and girls in Shiawasse County who may be the future of steam preservation thanks to what they have seen over the years. T.J. and company you guys are certainly planting the seeds.

I can honestly say NKP #759 cemented my love of steam in 1973, and my traveling partner had a similar experience as a kid with #765 in the 1980's. To say that each of our expectations were fulfilled is an understatement.

My five days started with shooting the stuffed 0-4-0T in Coatesville, PA, N&W #475 running at Strasburg, PA, my first visit to Henry Ford where the Mason was running (what a backshop they have!) and then the Huck with the Mudhen running under the supervision of a great guy, Paul Daleska, and an enthusiastic crew. And then there were those two Berks...

Rob

You do realize that some of us AREN'T so wealthy as to spend that much money without some financial burden? I agree, some people are dirt cheap, but there are plenty of others who I'm sure would pay, provided they had the pocket book to do it.
I "freeloaded" a little bit on Sunday afternoon, but I did pay the cheaper $78 package for Friday's night photo session. I thoughroughly enjoyed the session and I do wish I could have contributed more, but alas, being only a college student and all, I couldn't afford to spend such a large sum of money.
That said, I must congratulate SRI on another successful charter and offer mad props to the Mechanical crew for the fast repair of the locomotive. Great job guys!

If you don’t have the money to buy a ticket to be a legitimate participant in these photo charters, then you have absolutely no business being on the property – plain and simple!!! Freeloading and saying “I don’t have the money” is kinda like shoplifting food at a grocery store and saying “well, I’m sorry I don’t have the money, but I need to eat!” There is absolutely no plausible excuse to justify ones actions.

There’s a reason why these photo charters charge big bucks – the money is used to keep these things running! These steam locomotives don’t run on coal and water. No, they run on very large quantities of $100 dollar bills! I have a lot of respect for the paying participants of photo charters. They chose to be part of the solution to the problem of railroad preservation.

Here’s a case where a railroad police department could play an active roll in a photo charter outing. Attempting to freeload on a photo charter??? You will be considered trespassing on railroad property and will be dealt with accordingly!!! My $0.02.

and get a full discussion on visual copyright infringement!
Did nobody take a picture of the failed artifact?
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF THE #1225

Ahhhhh............

Yes, there is. And it was contained in an earlier post:



Now, the law still says "if you can see it from public/your own property, you can see it, photograph it, etc. and no right to privacy can be inferred." If you have "freeloaders" on museum/railroad property, aboard the train, and/or in the night photo session, that's an entirely different matter, of course. And I have no problem with the several photo charter operators who took/take pains to make their trains "un-photo-worthy" in between location shots with orange traffic cones, banners, huge US flags on the steamers, or a diesel on the point between locations.

But a uniform hostile attitude of "I paid for this train, you bugger off you unworthy creature!" is a textbook method to ensure that: 1) the locals and neighbors see your operation as "rich nutjobs playing with trains," and 2) that nobody gives a rat's posterior about the history and heritage involved with these things five or twenty-five years down the road when the next paint job or repair fundraising is necessary--in fact, they'll be happy to call your stuff "the junkyard" and lobby for its relocation or removal.

And you know what? One time, I saw a "freeloader" during a photo charter treated rudely by one of the participants. It turned out the "freeloader" he was cussing out was the guy who was the only reason some of the equipment on the train still existed.

Congratulations to Mr. Gaffney,his entire crew and all the dedicated folks who keep the 765 healthy and alive!!!

Unfortunatly there will always be folks who you can't please no matter what you do and other folks who are just terminal cheap by nature. Over the years I've come to observe that with some of them it's genetic!! They can't help themselves!!

Anyhow, the 2 engines sure looked great and I'm sure those who participated were glad that they did.

The point about there being tomorrows leaders amongst the casual lineside observers is a really important one and the reason I always do all I can to encourage bystanders interest and answer all questions. You never know who the next steam champion will be!!

I'm looking forward to the October doubleheader riding in the o/w coach!! The ONLY way to go.

Ross Rowland

Two of the most delightful steam pictures I've seen in recent years! Congratulations to all of those who made it happen. It's hard to beat a hot Berkshire!

Anybody who knows Matt is aware he isn't complaining - just expressing a credentialed professional interest in knowing the nature of the cause of the failure. As a mechanic, I'm also interested in the particulars, from a POV of potentially preventing or being watchful for the possibility of a future occurrance of a similar nature. Just what the nature of the failure was is his question - and one of some relevance to all steam operators.

In any case, it doesn't detract one bit from the fine work done by TJ and Company, the excellent programming the provide, or have any relevance to the discussion of "freeloaders".

dave

I didn't think mentioning the freeloaders would equal hijacking the thread. When someone shows up with $3K of camera gear around their necks to shoot someone else's charter, the "poor" argument goes out the window. Not sure who those guys were, and I really don't care. As Ross said, it is a constant.

Pete and the crew handled chasers very well. They were a non-issue as far as our locations and shots were concerned.

I did look at the tubes next to the shop, but saw no need to photograph them nor to share the pictures. The SRI team has proven to be quite adept at communication and I am sure that any learnings will be shared. Perhaps the Interwebs are not the place for it? Maybe they are? I will let T.J. decide that.

SRI got the locomotive back in service and kept the chatter underwraps which I am sure helped lessen the amount of chasers. Heck, most of us who paid didn't know the situation until we got to Owosso. The suspense was fun.

Rob