I was very impressed with the editorial by Molly Butterworth of MOT. It is good to see that there is true professionalism at MOT and it has done a lot to change perceptions. I donÂ’t think some realize that with a collection as important as the one at MOT many people traveled from long distances to visit MOT. When you go 900 miles and find the place to be a junkyard, it takes a lot to change those perceptions even after a decade. I know some of my posts were not always the most positive, however I did ask over and over what policies and long-range plans were in place and up until the wonderful editorial by Molly, the other MOT folks attacked me, side stepped, dodged, and square danced around my questions. This gave me the perception that these were the type of questions they were not interested in responding to. I thank Molly for taking the time to put together her well-written article. I also thank Molly for not taking the job at the Cosmetology Museum and must say that she sounds like the right person for the job.

I would like to respond to the folks who question my involvement in the rail preservation movement. I have done volunteer work at several places for over 20 years in one capacity or another. I have done the following: locomotive fireman, shop foreman, brush cutting, track work, sand blasting, painting, written grants, made phone calls for donations, trainman, brakeman, boiler work, boiler training, grunt work, hi-rail inspections, record keeping, written articles, and probably a few other things I canÂ’t remember. In addition I have made donations totaling thousands of dollars and obtained donations of goods and services including welding machines, air compressors, pipe fittings, welding services, boiler repair services, just to mention a few. In the future I will keep MOT in mind for a donation.


tgears1@home.com