It occurred to me that I posted this question at the end of last year, and thought it would again make for some good conversation. That being said, I again ask:

To those of you involved in all the different aspects of railway preservation, how have we done in 2005? What are some of our strong points and big victories, and where is there still much work to be done?

I wish you all the best for a happy, healthy, and coal-smoke filled 2006!

Hello All, and Happy Almost New Year

Tim brings up a good question and here’s my own two cents here, on a subject where this industry as a whole can do better.

There are some amongst us (and many of us at one time or another) who have fallen into the trap of letting our mouths write checks that our posteriors cannot cover. What I’m saying is this; we get excited about a particular project and in an effort to drum up publicity we announce that such and such a project will be completed on this date or this event will happen on such and such a date. Often times we do this when the locomotive is still in pieces on the shop floor, or we don’t have an operating contract yet and so on and so on. When we announce to the public that we’re going to do something and it doesn’t happen, it hurts the image of our group as a whole whether its our fault or not. Its true on most occasions Murphy’s Law is in full effect, locomotives will have mechanical issues, host railroads may throw in a money wrench, the plumbing might not be done in your new building on time, these snafu’s will always happen, no matter how well we think we have our bases covered.

What I’m arguing against is something else entirely. I can think of two examples, talked about extensively on RYPN here in 2005. One of these was a locomotive restoration, another was an excursion start up, both setting, what many on the interchange believed to be unrealistic expectations at best.

While most of us, if not all of us understand the 10,001 details that go into any given project, the public does not. When you sell tickets to ride a train, and the train is still on the other side of the continent, you’re asking for trouble. When you publicly set an unrealistic completion date for a locomotive still in a “zillion” pieces, you’re asking for trouble. This sort of thing not only hurts your organization, but damages the cause of railway preservation as a whole.

I guess my point is this: Set reasonable goals and avoid publicizing artificial or arbitrary completion dates. Wait until your cars are in the same state as your loading platform before you sell tickets. Wait until you’ve had steam pressure on the gauge before you announce a return to steam. Don’t shoot for the moon and put out a press release hoping that it all comes together in time, because more often than not, it won’t.

My two Cents

Dave Crosby

Many on this interchange appear to have quite a bit of experience in this type of activity ( for lack of a better word). Most of what is placed here are "opinions" usually based on those experiences. On many occasions, personalities even get involved. There is a lot of pride in what we do, and on often, the slightest criticism will set someone off. That's not my intention here at all.

While I agree with you on most of your post, I do have a problem with the "public" part of it. I've been involved with this "hobby" or whatever for over 14 years. I've mostly been involved in the planning, and other logistical items involved. I've been in the front of the line when Murphy's law reared it's ugly head, when the bearing overheated, or the piston failed, bearing the brunt of the "public's" frustration.

But one thing I can tell you is that 95% of the most agitated complainants were not your average "John Q" person, they were our own "brethren". The ones with the jackets and a hundred patches, or with the hats with their favorite locomotive number emblazoned. In my experience, the public, ie: non-railfan, would eagerly accept any substitute ride, or refund when the fecal matter hit the oscillator. Just the fact that someone seemed concerned seemed to satisfy almost all of them.

And I don't really think that the "public" will be tearing down our doors when our projected completion date is surpassed for a particular piece of equipment. I really think that the "public', that is what I consider customers or riders, is often misconstrued in our field. Most of them are very condescending and are just out to have fun.

While I agree that there are some who set unreasonable goals, and some events seemed poorly-planned, I really believe that occasionally on the posts, it almost looks like we're the enemy ourselves. And that is sad!

Getting back to Tim's question, I would say that, in the steam world, the biggest news to me would be the public's rallying aroung the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. The fact that track was actually ripped up, then replaced, and the people returned to the train in droves for 2005 shows that they do feel a train is necessary for the area, and that it can exist with a trail and with a canal. It will be the real "live" part of Cumberland's revival. How the future bears this out will be determined later, such as when the steam engine needs some heavy overhaul, and disappears from the rails for a year or so.

My other bit of big news is that the T&NO-Southern Pacific 745 made that fantastic circle trip of Louisiana, (and Mississippi) running over four RRs and being on the road for over a month. The fact that it has minor mechanical problems now should not get our hopes down, She survived a category IV hurricane, and will live to steam another day, when her home town recovers properly.

On a smaller scale, the progress continues on breathing life into Steamtown's Baldwin 0-6-0 no. 26, with new firebox sheets reaching completion; Boston & Maine no. 3713, returning her whistle in May, and firebox and smokebox progress; the reassembly of PRR no. 1361's tender with new steel fused to some of the old, and steps toward the reassembly of the boiler, Plus the beginning of restoration to Long Island no. 39 in Riverhead,NY. Overall, 2005 probably looked like other years, but the groundwork laid in 2005 will lead to the reintroduction of a new generation of steam operations in the next couple of years.