Re: this Flimsies piece:

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story ... y_no=22147

Considering how much this locomotive has made for Hollywood, I could never understand why there was a shortfall in funding to repair it. Numerous movie stars became rich appearing in films that featured it. Some of them are dead, but their descendents are still well off. Clint Eastwood and others could easily write a check to make it run, and get a tax write-off at the same time. I've asked this question of persons involved before, but never really got an answer about whether figures in the film/TV industry were seriously approached with such a request. I wonder if any of them were approached for funding rather than just moral support?

I'd chalk it up to lack of access more than lack of trying. CSRM has one of the finest professional staffs in the country, imagine what they could do without the restraints imposed by being part of the public sector.

Penetrating the wall surrounding celebreties for personal appeals isn't easy. Approaching their publicists means you get filed away with all the other appeals, and publicists tend to aim their clients at supporting charities that are much more newsworthy than rusty iron way up north in the hinterlands of California.

dave