One would think a place named "Steamtown" would run Steam engines, but alas, they also have budget problems.

I don't visit there unless I see they have a trip run by a Steam engine. However, if you plan your visit with no expectation of any running equipment, and treat it as a museum, it has a lot to offer.

While in favor of the operation of large locomotives at Steamtown, the operation of a smaller locomotive would clearly benefit the parks mission.
Perhaps a worthwhile project for Steamtown to explore would be the modification of a locomotive to include refinements which would make the locomotive not only more powerful, and efficient, but more economical to repair and operate.
Steamtown does a wonderful job interpreting the heyday of steam in the United States, but the interpretation insinuates that the development and advancement stopped there.
If they had a locomotive that could be somewhat reliable and efficient in comparison with a D-E, perhaps that would be incentive to operate steam with more frequency. It would also be an outstanding tool to interpret the continued development of steam locomotive technology.

Stephen Piwowarski

I believe you'll see an increase in "steam days" at Steamtown with the completion of the 0-6-0 #26, which for all purposes, will be just a step shy of a new engine. The other, and perhaps more difficult question to ask is, will there be an ample source of labor to crew the thing 5-7 days a week?

When I first started full time as a fireman at Steamtown we litterally had a full time, paid crew (Engineer, Fireman, Conductor) for each operating steam engine and ran steam 7 days a week during the summer months. Over the course of a few years, through retirements and other departures (including myself) that number stands at less than half.

As people left, the money for their positions was effectively "taken back". With budget cuts and cost increases, the funding for "new positions" was not made available, even to replace an employee. That's just (unfortunately) how the gov't works.

So, expect to see the 26 scheduled to run on the days where it can be reliably crewed (crew scheduling is done weeks, sometimes months, in advance). What does that mean for actual operating days? We'll have to wait and see.

See the voulunteer thread below for more thoughts.

Dave Crosby

I emailed Tyler Glass of Reading & Northern a few months back about the possibility of seeing 425 in Steamtown anytime in the future, and all he really replied with was "Never say never" but it would difficult getting to Steamtown.