I know this topic, or combination of topics is volatile, and could create another "flame fest" but please read what I have to write. While walking through the Steamtown locomotive shop today, I realized how far the work is coming on so many projects. The K4 tender is nearly all reassembled, with nuts and bolts to be replaced by rivets eventually. The stoker machinery is nearly complete, although some parts are on the shop floor, and others are in the welding room. I believe I saw the power reverse near the boiler, albeit on the floor. Plus, two brand-new eccentric rods crafted out of solid steel over the past several months. B&M 3713 staybolt holes in the firebox are being plugged up with steel, so they can be retapped to the original staybolt size. An order for new mud-ring and firebox steel will be placed shortly. The brand new washout plugs (made in-house) are installed on the top of the boiler.The original hinges have returned to the smokebox, with the eventual return of the smokebox door and faceplate expected soon.Baldwin 26's boiler was in rough shape, but has been bulked up recently, and will be seeing the return of the tube sheets when the door sheet is finished in a few weeks. The steel for the new firebox is in, but not ready for installation, because there are no holes bored yet for staybolts. This is all while we are racing the clock to repair unexpected wheel damage to a couple of coaches, and bearing meltdown on CN 3254, experienced on the Memorial Day excursion. If you can, please attend our 10th anniversary celebration, to be held July 1-4, with yard programs, excursions to Tobyhanna, plus the requisite speeches, and visits by diesel locomotives from Canadian Pacific, in both the CP and D&H schemes, the Reading & Northern, The Delaware-Lackawanna, and the Norfolk Southern Exhibit Car. We at Steamtown have spent the past 10 years improving our Interpretive programs, whether on the train, in the yard, in restoration or in the museums. We look forward to your visit.

Let me add to Tim's post. Despite the obvious frustration associated with the loss of the regular excursion and in spite of the comments made here and elsewhere, Steamtown is in many ways improving itself slowly and gradually. I find that the general visitor is happy with more and shorter things, especially the caboose hop (and the pullman experience, when its hot- presented a/c comfort). The loss of the regular excursion was no fun but was the result of a hard-nosed look at numbers and dollars that the government doesn't always do well. Once the 3713 and 26 are done, there will be a greater chance that steam will be regularly available and that the 514 won't be used in regular operation.

Afternoon EveryoneAs a sometimes (and usually justified) critic of Steamtown, I would like to echo the above postings. Over the past two years or so the place has put together an interpretive program that I wager is second to none. The programs given in conjunction with live steam operations seem to have a broad appeal and there’s a lot of smiling faces when I visit the place. There’s also nothing like walking into a shop to see three major restorations taking place at the same time. I wholeheartedly believe Steamtown’s future lies not with regularly scheduled mainline excursions, but an intense, family oriented array of activities in the yard itself.Kudos to the Park Rangers and Train/Shop Crew who have made this work.Dave Crosby

Echo that one, Dave. I have had my grumbles about the park in the past, too, and many justified, but what I am seeing now is really, really positive. Potenital fully realized? No, and I don't expect it will be until more funding comes. Major progress? Absolutely.

If Steamtown does obtain more funding, it will have to come from the private sector. The stark reality is that so much federal spending is now in the form of entitlements, that an ever shrinking portion of the annual budget is now discretionary. I say that as a former part of the state apparatus that spent federal welfare allocations and "unfunded mandates". At the risk of trying the moderators' patience, we have an exploding population of the aging, due to two factors: 1.) Reduced and delayed fertility 2.) Advances in medical care which assures a greater percentage of the population reaches the outer frontier of human longevity.These factors assure that a greater percentage of the population are going to be net recipients of federal services. Persons aged 75 and older consume TEN TIMES the amount of healthcare younger people do. Incidentally, through a variety of organizations, that is the most politically alert and active group of voters. Thats why Social Security has been called the "third rail" of politics, an analogy not lost on anybody here right? Anybody care to guess why legalized gambling is coming to PA now and not 10 or 20 years ago? Because a proposal to allow casino gambling in the Poconos some years ago was opposed by the AARP, who regarding it as competition for their captive program, the PA lottery. When the gambling interests decided who the boss was, they packaged their industry in the form of property tax relief (the elderly do tend to be house rich and cash poor) and sure enough- it went through. The cover of today's local newspaper talks about the political battle shaping up over PBS funding, but I'd suggest that is a matter of when not if that programs like that start feeling the heat. I know matters political make some folks queasy, so I've tried to stick to FACTS as best I know them. It would be nice if we could go about our business mindful of the old adage "there's two things a man shouldn't see made for him, his laws and his sausages" but the reality is that being attuned to the political dynamic IS important. Remember, our nation is the first built on a shared core political consensus (with a whole lot of fighting about the details), rather than shared ethnicity or geography. On grand matters like the federal budget and more direct matters like the slowly building potential for increased federal and state scrutiny of charities (aka 501(c)(3)'s) is important to see what lies ahead. Yes, some states are considering mandating audits for some nonprofits and the Senate Finance committee did or will hold hearings on "exempt organizations". These things will all affect the difficulty in running your 501c3 and obtaining government funding.Hope for the best, expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed.

Having reciently filmed 3713 donated whistle presentation to Steamtown, and the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley NRHS. I had the chance to wander around the shop. Indeed progress is being made! Three locomotives in the rebuild process. And now, the 3254 having burned bearings replaced! As a former volunteer knowing the inside of Steamtown, I think its moving foward!Ed K. cp. Laurel RunOH WELL PRODUCTIONS

Not wanting to offend Eric et all, I will agree that the nickel and dime cuts hurt at home while spending astromonically abroad hurts the overall economy ( Superheater, please contact me off list re:gambling in PA). When I go to see new exhibits at Steamtown, RRMPA, B&O, I put money into the local economy. I eat at Joe ... Cafe. Small business drives most of the economy. So small investments in these facilities have a multiplying effect in the community. How can we work to enhance this? More cooperation with the local business and put together packages? I think that could benefit everyone. How can we make (congressional appropriaters) them see that xx dollars spent at say, Steamtown, translates into a new bike for "Tina's kid" the waitress at the diner who never let my coffee get cold.Scott

thanks for the update. Glad to hear some positive news from Steamtown

Let me echo the importance of detailing the importance of playing a role in the economic well-being of the community in which you operate. We go to great lengths to make sure to detail in our government grant applications of all types what role the Railroaders Memorial Museum plays in economic development in Altoona and the surrounding area. I, as Executive Director of the Museum, sit on the Strategic Planning Committee and the Board of Directors of the Greater Altoona Economic Development Corporation. We trumpet our partnerships with local business and publicize the impact our visitors have on the local economy. We track visitation by zip code in order to show that impact and are proud to let various Commonwealth agencies and the local tourism people know such facts as Railfest is attended by people from an average of 22 states each year and the Horseshoe Curve Birthday last summer had representatives from 34 states and 3 foreign countries.Being a "premier cultural attraction" is not always enough anymore. This is about dollars and cents and return on investment whether you like it or not. Don't spend your time fighting the system. Learn to smartly play the game. Don't get me wrong. We aren't trying to make the proverbial silk purse from a sow's ear. We truly believe the Museum is as important an asset there is to the local economy. We just need to make sure we get better and better at convincing those with the purse strings of that fact.

tim how are the repairs going on the 3254 will it be back together for the 1st?al