I am new to this but here we go…
What has happened to steam in the west? I visited Ely in the fall of 2006 and was AMAZED with the staff in the shop and the attention to detail. I met the shop Forman, Al I think his name was and he remarked about the young talent there in the shop. I’m sorry if I get the names wrong but I think it was Jason and Jarred who were doing a bang up job on the 105, I think it was. They were egger to answer all my questions about the engine. As were Jerry and Chris who were working on the Ghost Train 40. Neat place then. We were out there a few weeks ago and nobody knew who I was asking for or where they went. The steam program appears to be abandoned. The 93 is in pieces and no one wanted to answer my questions. The Ghost Train 40 looked as if she had not been run in a while but was ready to go. Did I miss something?
About the same story in Williams, AZ. Our trip there was the day after the mass layoff of the steam program. I was told there would be a person there to “keep up on paperwork”. What ever that ment. 3 years earlier we toured the shop and were amazed on how the shop was a buzz with activity. What will become of the engines there?
On the other hand. We visited Virginia City and rode 29. Great ride out on the new track to American Flat I rode on the engine with Jerry and Jeremy and they said they were past volunteers in Ely but neither of them had been out there recently and were not interested in conversing about it. Sure seams the V&T was the only railroad to revive any steam this year. Where is the future of steam in the west going?

It isn't just steam, and it isn't just the west. The current economic crisis and credit crunch have the business world completely tied up in knots. Budgets are being cut, operations are being trimmed back, and purchasing decisions are being delayed, and it could get a lot worse before it gets any better. The events of the next few weeks will write the rest of the story.

PC

Nevada Northern had a run of bad luck, found a cracked axle on one loco, checked other axles on that loco, found additional cracks... Checked the second loco, more cracks... They are working through rebuilding both locos running gear. I believe they will be without steam for just over a year, but steam will be back (an in better shape, followed by a third loco)

Grand Canyon is at least scaling back their steam program, possibly abandoning it. There are previous discussions here about it. New owners seem to believe the railroad is the significant issue not the motive power. While most of us are saddened we are not their primary market and they could be right.

In other places in the West steam is well... or at least surviving. The V&T (the Bob Grey operation out of Virginia City) has steam again after an absence of 3 years. The Nevada State Railroad Museum ran the Inyo last year, and regularly runs two other locos. Roaring Camp continues with its geared steam. The Pacific Locomotive Association and Golden Gate Railroad Museum in Niles Canyon are running multiple locos, including one triple header with a visiting loco from CSRM, and now have a Pacific up and running with more in the works. The State railroad museum at the Sierra at Jamestown has two locos live and continues to work on the 100 year rebuild for SRR3. Orange Empire has the Ventura County loco in steam, and seems to be making progress elsewhere. Roots of Motive Power located on the California Western continues to make progress... There is a significant private steam narrow gauge operation on the central coast. The Yosemite Sugar Pine has steam.

There are at least a couple of 3' gauge privately owned Porter 0-4-0ts undergoing significant work. A small Heisler and a Baldwin Forney are waiting their turns. We had Dianna an 1891 Baldwin 0-4-2t at Ardenwood this year and are looking at two engines next year...

Like so much of the country we seem to be slowly climbing out of the "Form 4 funk" that caused so many programs to step back and rework their locos. Times are still tough, but there is lots of steam to be seen here.

Dear K Cameron,

I think you will find your answers to what happened here in large part in the meeting minutes of the management board meeting minutes which are public records if you want to take the time to do so. You will find that the except for Al the people you are talking about were involved in a heated political battle that played out in 2007. In June 2006 I and the NN parted ways due to the activities of (4 names removed by the moderator, RH), and the inability of the management to deal with these issues. In 2007 there was so much decent within the group that volunteers were upset and some left.

While the board may have taken some action I put as much blame on the management and their inability to adequately address the issues earlier. In the end many people did a lot of damage at the NN that is still being undone.

Robby

I am sorry these people were the cause of such grief in Ely. Robby, you gave me more finger pointing than answers. I assume the named people were to blame for the locomotive problems there. How would I get a hold of the minutes?
Randy, you gave me a lot more positive incite. Thank you. I was at the Nevada Railroad Museum early in the summer and some of the volunteers were talking about lack of fuel funds and not running steam. I will not visit there again thanks to John Fink and him yelling at my kids while we were on the platform.
I did not know Perris had a running steam engine. Cool. Road trip. Is there still steam in Fort Brag?

Orange Empire has the VC #2 2-6-2 scheduled to run on the third week end of each month until the summer. The crew is also out on the first weekend for maintenance, etc.

See our link: http://www.oerm.org/pages/vc2.html

Thanks Brian, good to see steam returning to the rails at our independent volunteer museums. Since your post says that steam runs through the end of Summer, and the last run is December 21, it confirms what I have always suspected. Summer in California lasts until Dec 23, followed by one day of Autumn, one warm Winter day, then 4 1/2 months of Spring. From a Midwestern perspective, of course!
O. Anderson

Not mentioned yet in this thread are the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Both continue their steam programs, both do their heavy locomotive repairs in house.

Here's a short video from the C&TSR that I took three weeks ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b889l_ymoqI

K Cameron

In this preservation world there are people who often do not say what needs to be said in the interest of political correctness. I have seen cancers created by internal politics eventually consume groups as it almost did on the NN. As the economics of operating steam trains become more difficult to make profitable we have to make sure that missteps are minimized. To do this we have to be open and blunt about the situations we all face or may affect us. The tolerance for hero worship should disappear. There is not a day railroading that I did not learn something but it took objective observations and blunt talk to make improvements.

If you want to see the meeting minutes then I suggest you approach the Ely City Clerk for a copy as the board is appointed by the city council and the clerk should at least have access to the meeting minutes.

Robby

The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is winding down its first season of daily steam operation out of Alamosa, CO. #18, a 2-8-0, will make daily trips to La Veta through October 31st. The line to La Veta crosses the highest standard gauge pass in the country at an elevation of over 9000 ft. The route also includes 17 miles of nearly continuous 3% grade. Its a phenomenal show! Check out their website at: www.riograndescenicrailroad.com.
-Chris

No, I wrote that it will run until next Summer. I'm sure that the published schedule will be expended into June with steam operations on the third weekend. Then no steam during a couple or three months and start up again in the fall or late summer.

Perris is on an semi-arid, upland (1,400' high) plateau that will have summer temperatures above 100 and has been known to be 110+. The evening/night temperatures will be 30 degrees cooler. Winters are mild, but we've had wet years and even had snow fall during an early November Thomas event! In the very early years, before we had covered facilities, etc. the Museum would shut down during the Summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day) -- now we're open year round.

I would like to reply to Robby's first post which has many discrepancies because of his hatred of the named individuals. I was there for the said meetings (not meeting) Robby was not becasue he had "parted ways" as he put it. In these meetings these individuals, along with many that were not named, brought up many important issues about the main manager of the railroad, most of these issues involved financial issues and what I can only discribe as a dictator like rule of all aspects of the railroad he is not qualified to manage. The result of these meeting was the mass departure of 5 out of the 7 shop employees.
I would like to know how the cracked axels in a locomotive can be blamed on employees. The first axel had the crown brass worn out so much that it was pinching the axel (this is what caused the over heating which is why 93 was taken out of service) so much that we could lift up the whole wheel set with the box. This axel was the original axel made in December of 1908 the other axels (one from 1908 and two from 1946) that were cracked were logically the main (1946) and the other original (number one) these cracks were found by ultrasound testing and was ordered to be done by the board, this is also why 40 is not running (it has two cracked axels).
Work (slow work) is being done in Heber and in a machine shop in Salt Lake on 93's axels and boxes,(even though the Nevada Norhtern shops are equiped just fine to do all the work that this locomotive needs,except they now lack the excellent machinist they fired in May because he knew what he was doing) there is no work being done on 40 and I actually laughed at the thought of there being a third steam engine ever with the current management, I will be surprised if the Nevada Northern has steam before August of next year.
The once great shop staff mentioned by K Cameron has been reduced to what he later described, nothing, this can be attributed to bad management, along with the lack of funds. Let me ask you all a question, does it make sense to run everyday with an average of maybe 10 people per train (I am being generous here) even if you're only running diesel, let alone steam? That is the question that led to the so called "Political battle".
And as for the volunteers who left, the only one's who left because of these individuals were incompetent at anything that had to do with operations nad/or maintenance of anything, the one's who left that were any good or had any common sense left because of managment.
May is when I quit volunteering in the shop there because I had had enough of the lies by the management, oh and the completly daft decisions by the management.

Well, where do I begin here...
Thank you EVERYONE who added about other great steam railroad opportunities out here in the west. I mostly go by where I have been as a child (way to long ago). I will plan on spring trips to several of the noted places. I am very eger to see what happens in the Spring. I am open for sugestions.

As for J Oxborrow's question about running regular trains with 10 or so passengers. If the is directed in Ely, I would say yes. I myself would be livid if I drove 7 hours to not ride a scheduled train because there were not enough tickets sold. I can always accept mechanical issues, there is not much choice.

Mr. Peartree, too many psychology classes clue me in to the fact you seam a little hung up on past issues and should move on. Please take my advice and just chalk them up a experience that will make you stronger and look for a positive future. Sulking in the past has done nothing good for me.

So for fun, I people searched and googled the names quoted by Robby earlier. I take note in David Griner. This man sure seams to be a vital piece to the steam railroading industry. I find it hard to believe of foul injustice. I noted his employment with many great places. I found a website with a great bit on his past. (http://arizonamechanicalengineering.com/About%20Us.htm) I also see reference to his works at Wasatch Railroad contractors. There was a lot of neat things done by them although they now seen to have gone under. David, if you read this, how is the new exhaust setup on the 3985? I heard there was troubles...

Does anyone know when Heber will have steam again. I was hoping to make it there for the winter photo shoots. If they are still on...

K,

Just want to remind everyone that there really are railroads, many of them steam, in places other than Colo. A couple great ones there to be sure, but there is steam throughout the NW and the US.

In particular, SVRy will have it's annual Fall Foilage Photo runs the weekend of Oct 18 & 19. Both Mikado No. 19 and wood burning Heisler No. 3 will be steamed up and operating.

Prices on our web site (very reasonable for what you get).

And, you will find during the regular season, which was just completed last weekend, if our schedule says we run at a particular time on a particular day, we run even if you happen to be the only passenger!

All volunteer, except for a partime depot staff and full time OPS Mgr. during the operating season, SVRy has been operating since 1976. Check out our Engineer for a Day program.

dan

If Heber's doing winter photo shoots, I doubt it will be with 2-8-0 #75, which was, as of a few weeks ago, stripped down to the boiler/frame and sitting on a flatcar. It looked like firebox work was still to be completed, with temporary bolts holding it together. I understand #618's inspection is due, too, so prospects for steam on Heber in the near future seem dim.