A minor and sidebar correction, but--Will Smith or at least Warner Brothers money DID restore the Mason. The 25 was not in operating condition when the production team approached the museum. The Warner Brothers lease specifically paid for the Mason to go to Strasburg, be put into running shape, and cosmetically altered for the filming. Prior to the film contract there was no front-burner plan to work on it. Had Warner Brothers not had the need--no operating Mason.

Sandy - Thank you for the correction - I was unaware of that arrangement. That's a sweatheart deal, that I wish we would see more of in the RR preservation world.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

I'm Erik, not Sandy, but you're welcome! It WAS a great deal for the museum, and causes me to think fondly of an otherwise pretty atrocious movie. In fact, an appearance by 25 seems to be the kiss of critical death--I'm told Gods and Generals was pretty uneven too.

Erik, yes, Gods and Generals was pretty awful...and waaaaay too long. But it wasn't the 25 that ruined the Wild Wild West feature film...it was Barry Sonnenfeld -obviously not a fan of the tv series. He was also asked to direct Forrest Gump...fortunately he declined!

Stephen

NRM set a precedent? Or did they follow one? Hasn't 611 been museum-owned all along? Doesn't that predate the 261 restoration? There's also 1522 but I think that post dates it.

Steve

611 is property of the City of Roanoke. It's return to static display had little to do with the lease price from VMT, who is the custodian of the locomotive. NS had obtained 1218 outright by trading with it's owner, Steamtown. It was at VMT on a long term lease. 1218 is now also owned by the city. VMT actually only owns one steam locomotive, the 1151. The other 5 are part of the City of Roanoke's collection.

Further back yet--Southern leased 2716 from the Kentucky Railway Museum in 1980, to be rehabbed into something totally not C&O. Also relevant to the discussion: that lease came after the Clinchfield had started a lease on 2716 in 1979, only to have their excursion program halted before repairs were done.

Further, wasn't SR 4501 always leased from the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum?

Good points. So while we may be appreciative of NRM leasing the engine for service it's obvious that they did not do anything unusual by doing so.

Did any of these other leases deliver fat rent checks to the owning museum? Even when the lessor was a prosperous Class 1 railroad?

Maybe using their engine as a cash cow is the real precedent that NRM set.

Steve

Yes. And 750 from Atlanta Chapter NRHS. The Southern/NS Steam Program only ever "owned" 3 locomotives; 630, 722, and 1218

Sandy and Erik - Sorry about the mix-up. I had only 2 cups of joe by that point and was not quite fully awake. Have a good weekend Gentlemen!

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

This just sounds a lot like the Georgetown Loop debacle. The operator is competent, professional and knowledgeable and makes a reasonable profit operating someone else's property. Paper pusher at owner gets the bright idea that it is an additional revenue stream and since the operator is doing OK they have loads of money and can be forced to pay lots more. If they don't like it there are plenty of other blokes that can be brought in to do the same thing (WRONG). Result, greed to turn reasonable income into large income results in NO income. Kill the goose that laid the golden egg, if you will. Bloke comes in to operate and (surprise) finds it is a lot harder than it looks and there are actually no huge profits. Money is lost reinventing the wheel unnecessarily and operation suffers or dies.

It looks like 261 is heading down this road. I never got he chance to see her operate and unfortunately it looks as if I never will.

I don't normally post youtube links, but this one is an exception. It is a Requiem, or maybe a Dirge, to the magnificent 261. While the images could be nice in High Res, the views and the linking to music is emotional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBy2o9LuoeA

O. Anderson