Just returned from 3 fascinating, tiring and very rewarding weeks at Trainfestival 2004!!

All in all, particularly from the perspective of the general public (who made up the vast majority of the estimated 27,000 attendees) it was a rousing success and it made a lot of new freinds for railroading in general and for the Ohio Central in particular.

IMHO, Jason Johnson, Wendy Zuckal and the small Army of volunteers who made it happen are due a large vote of appreciation!! Yes, there were many things that could/should have been done differently/better, but when you consider that this event was put together by people with no prior experience with an with an event of this magnitude, it was an inside the park GRAND SLAM!! The many lessons Jason&Co. learned from this one will surely make Trainfestival2006 that much better!!

IMHO, from the serious steam fans perspective there were many downers! Fortunatly the problems that took both the 1293 and 6325 out of service by mid day Sunday were caused by human error and the repairs needed to return these engines to service had commenced as I was leaving Morgan Run shop early yesterday morning. I am confident that Jerry Jacobson will effectively address the human issues side so that a repeat performance will be avoided.

I will write a comprehensive report on my experience as a volunteer during the final two week ramp-up to the event, and share my findings(from the perspective of a volunteer) on the overall O/C steam program.

From the big picture perspective,Trainfestival2004 did it's job of paving the way for the future and despite the dissapointments to us serious foamers it made a lot of new freinds that will serve us well for the future.

I was particularly gratefull and pleased to see so many family groups with loads of little kids(3-7)all dressed up in their bibs& engineers hat etc.(thanks Thomas). These are tomorrows foamers- those that will keep the flame burning when we've been called to the great roundhouse above!!

From a personal perspective I had three of the nicest days of my life meeting and greeting hundreds of freinds from around the nation, many of whom I hadn't seen in many years!!!

I look forward to posting my comprehensive report " from the Backshop" soon.

Again to Jason Johnson, Wendy Zuckal and the hundreds of men&women volunteers who made it happen-- a hearty thanks, and of course to Jerry Joe Jacobson who had the courage to support Jasons vision with the full backing of the Ohio Central organization a strong congratulations and here's to many many more!!!

Best regards, Ross Rowland.

rrowland@weidel.com

Ross,

Could you elaborate on how the mechanical problems with 6325 and 1293 were caused by human error?

> IMHO, Jason Johnson, Wendy Zuckal and the
> small Army of volunteers who made it happen
> are due a large vote of appreciation!!

Ross -

as someone who donates thousands of hours and thousands of dollars in the name of saving railroad history each year to my local railroad museum - thank you for taking time to say Thank You to these volunteers. I know it means a ton to me when people take the time to say thanks.

Jim

PSRM
Jim@psrm.org

Ross,

Thank you for the kind comments. Train Festival 2004 was put together in just 7 monthes. We now have 24 months to plan Train Festival 2006. TF2004 was a massive undertaking and a great education in large events. This was a nice option to Thomas.

To address the "human error" problems Ross wrote about, we did have some issues come up with the 6325 and 1293 over the past weekend. Some preventable, some not. The 6325 had a shifted grease screen on the #3 axle on Sunday which caused her to run warmer than normal. This has been corrected and we plan on using her this coming weekend for an excursion for the Orrville Railroad Historical Society. www.ocsteam.com

The #1293 suffered a leaking staybolt near the front mudring early Sunday Morning when the crew came to get her ready for the return to Dennison. We stayed on the side of caution not wanting the bolt to get worse while pulling passengers back to Dennison. The locomotive was towed back to the Shop that afternoon. She is being repaired and is expected to run again this fall. One note, she performed flawlessly on Saturday pulling a 16 car passenger train at track speed to Columbus. Those that were on the train are still talking about that run. Nice job Andy!

Work is progressing on the 33. We expect her to make a few trips this October. We will post that info when it becomes available.

Thanks go out to everyone for their support!

Jason Johnson
Operations Manager
OC Steam

www.ocsteam.com
jmjohnson@ohiocentral.com

Im in SW Louisiana and have never even been to Ohio, but I say Thank You! to all the volunteers, staff, and crew up there.
Eventhough I cant be there, it is comforting to my heart to know such an excellent establishment is prospering!

Alan

alan@mcneese.edu

"...IMHO, from the serious steam fans perspective there were many downers!..."

Sorry, Ross, but I don't agree. Three operating steamers in one place at the same time on a railroad the welcomes these kinds of operations and is planning to do it again with even more steam the next time is not my definition of a "...downer..."

The mechanical issues that came up with the steamers were very minor, and the railroad chose the safe route in dealing with them. Nothing wrong with that.

And that 4-8-4 handles VERY nicely...almost as good as the 765! ;)

rich@765.org

> Sorry, Ross, but I don't agree. Three
> operating steamers in one place at the same
> time on a railroad the welcomes these kinds
> of operations and is planning to do it again
> with even more steam the next time is not my
> definition of a "...downer..."

Sorry Mr. Rowland, I'm with Rich on that one. (Would've called Rich "Mr. Melvin" out of respect, but he told me not to :) ). Nothing to be down about there, for the public or us railfans. For a young steamfan like myself, was one of those trips of a lifetime. Either way, was a pleasure to meet both of you (and everyone else that I got to shoot the breeze with), and a true honor to be a part (albeit a small one) of TF2004.

See ya in '06!

Tim Botti


tjb231@comcast.net

Rich;

Agreed - I think there were more operating steamers there than I have ever seen in one place in North America before - that was not a "downer" in my mind.

Some thought that the fact that the #33 was not running would prove to be a "downer", but, being beside her in my grubby work overalls during all 3 shop tours, having her in the almost ready state was a definite "upper", as people of all walks of life and knowledge could see and talk to workers about what it takes to bring one back to life. I did not hear one "geez - you spoiled my weekend".

Kudos to the OC steam crew for erring on the side of caution; not only are these steamers expensive to maintain, but in the post-Medina (Ohio) world, caution is the keyword.

So, it is a changed world, and one that (IMO) the OC is poised to fit into.

> Sorry, Ross, but I don't agree. Three
> operating steamers in one place at the same
> time on a railroad the welcomes these kinds
> of operations and is planning to do it again
> with even more steam the next time is not my
> definition of a "...downer..."

John Stewart

freewrl-04@rogers.com

I have a feeling there may have been a lot of disappointment among those who purchased tickets for the Sunday Columbus excursion. Many bought tickets planning to ride behind 765, then they were promised 6325, then 1293 and end the end they ended up riding behind diesels. I think most railfans are understanding, but I'm sure it was still a bit of a downer for some.