http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stor ... 3dba9.html

Is your museum's right-of-way a collecting point for trash? If so, how does it get there?
By wind?
Dumping by indolent citizens?
Hoboes?

Sloan

P. S.: No flames please. This post is not a reflection on OERM.

The two urban museums I get to watch first-hand, the B&O Railroad Museum and the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, suffer from chronic urban syndrome, surrounded by far too many miscreants that literally feel that it's their civic obligation to throw trash on the ground, in order to provide employment for city employees. At least that's the only explanation I've been able to come up with for their behavior.

Local legend has it that at least two automobiles have been dumped along the "First Mile" from the B&O Museum over the decades, with at least one set afire, and I'll be amazed if the number is actually that low. Since the Museum's acquisition of the trackage there have been steadier patrols of the property, but it's still hardly unusual to see mattresses, furniture, appliances, and similar trash dumped on the property. It's my belief that the presence of a major scrapyard close by has kept the problem somewhat in check, by allowing addicts to drag ferrous trash there to sell for their next fix. But paper, garbage, and the like continue to litter various embankments by the truckload at certain disreputable spots. Short of imposing the death penalty for littering/dumping or moving the whole thing to a rural location, I can't think of any effective solutions to the problem.

The BSM has a somewhat similar problem; I understand one of the operating rules is that the initial operating car of the day must make a round trip to the 28th St. Loop and back to check for obstruction placed by vandals, or simply miscellaneous washers, furniture, etc. dumped illegally. The road along which the line runs is, unfortunately, just isolated enough to encourage such dumping, and unfortunately I've personally seen folks/authorities recover items stolen from automobiles from "hiding places" along the line/road. Such factors, along with the flood plain risk, are part of why there has been a faction in the BSM lobbying for moving the operation to a new location, at least in past years.

Congratulations to OERM for getting the locals into a clean-up mode.

Congratulations on getting PRESS COVERAGE and a plug for DOWT.