Frankly, a volunteer museum that is open four or five days a week seems to be to be doing reasonable well. Some are open for only four hours or so, one day a week. The Ohio Railway Museum and the Houston Railroad Museum come to mind. If that is the extent of you museum's volunteerism, you have problems.

By contrast the little Rosenburg Railway Museum (down the road from Houston) is open six days a week, 4-7 hours per day. Maybe it comes down to the decision to either play trains or operate a museum.

http://WWW.masstimes.org for alternate times and places of worship. Maybe other denominations have similar aids?

Instead of criticizing an organization for not opening a museum or running an operation on Sunday, it would be far more appropriate to show respect for the organization's volunteers and employees and their respective religious convictions. There are many who still believe in literal observance of the Sabbath (which includes not patronizing businesses and thereby not forcing others to work). There are also the issues of the critical need for a day off and the avoidance of overtime -- especially those who do this for a living. It often makes the most sense to give employees Sundays off for all the aforementioned reasons.

If an organization elects to be closed on any given day, it is imperative that information about those closures be communicated through the website, the phone answering-machine message, collateral material (brochures, etc.) and through signage on the property. Even with the publicity concerning closures, there will always be missed business opportunities (regardless of operating schedules or hours of visitation), because people may be just passing through the area and their schedule will not permit a visit at another time. This is simply a fact of life.

It all comes down to what is best for the organization. It also comes to to personal responsibility of the visitor, to do the necessary homework.

Craig Lacey

As to Duluth's steam program, all I can add is that on my last visit in December '07, I was told by a locomotive shop volunteer that their steam program consisted of the ex-Georgia Power 0-6-0T #97 (then stripped down to the boiler, under tarps) awaiting donations/contributions/benefactors for possible repair to operation. IIRC, he was not that all that optimistic it would occur any time soon. I do give credit to museum volunteers for a brilliant job in restoring the Savannah & Atlantic 4-6-2 $750 and Campbell Lumber Heisler #3 for cosmetic display, along with several pieces of passenger and freight equipment displayed indoors. Hopefully, their energy may soon be applied to at least a cosmetic restoration of the Atlanta & West Point and Cahttahoochie Valley engines, in hopes that at some time in the future, they may see steam again. The value of their collection goes beyond the Southern E's.

It most certainly does! They also have "Old Rivets", the former Monon offset cupola steel caboose which is a long way from its home in Indiana!

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana)

Chattahoochee Valley #21 (ax-TAG 201) is now complete, other than a few minor details, and is now on display. See the link below.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1686508

Sorry I couldn't find a pic after we put the bell on. ;-)

290 is next, as soon as repairs are complete on our SW7.

Andrew Durden
Locomotives Manager
SRM