It's as official as we're likely to get it for now:

TRAINS Newswire is reporting that the decision has been made to return 261 to the National Railway Museum at Green Bay.

The news is for subscribers to the magazine, but I will quote one relevant sentence here:



More if and when it becomes available.

I think they just tossed aside the most viable option to get the locomotive operational.

While the cooling of one locomotive is likely to follow, it does open the door of opportunity to see another big engine returned to steam. The Museum has stated their goal to keep her operational. That ball is in their court. We've had her for nearly two decades, and hopefully many years to come. In the interim, we can speculate at which of those locomotives awaiting the breath of life will see resuscitation. One can not exist in a climate of doom, particularly when there are many good things happening in our hobby world.

Perhaps they could install a diesel in her tender and shove her around their loop like the Sumter & Choctaw 102?

http://steamlocomotive.info/vidlocomotive.cfm?display=1317

Good Lord. The poor humiliated mike.

I;m afraid you're right about that.
A hugh thank you to the Friends of 261, for all their hard work giving the rail fans the shear joy of seeing the 261 operational for all these years. I truly hope they continue their efforts with another steam locomotive.

Frankly I think we are seeing another phase of the negotiations. Why is anyone issuing press releases if they think things are really over and there is no hope of reaching agreement?. When and if the 261 moves to Green Bay, its over. Not before.

Perhaps so but just like when the conductor walks off the podium before the encores we must accept it at face value and I do think we are entitled to bitch and moan.

Steve

Then maybe we should all take out our lighters and hold them up high enough to be seen in Green Bay. Does anybody still do that at concerts anymore?

They do Paul, but get this...while watching CBS Sunday Morning last week, they did a segment on something called "apps" for your cell phone. One of the "apps' was a picture or film clip of a Zippo lighter in use, a flame without heat if you will. That seems most appropriate for this occasion...


Cheers, Dave

The popular thing at the moment is to open up your cell phone. With fewer people smoking--especially the younger ones--there aren't nearly as many lighters, but the overall effect is nearly the same. Pretty surreal looking around a venue and seeing all these greenish-glowing screens.

I actually was being a little facetious about the lighters, I certainly didn't mean to hijack the thread. I was at the Springsteen concert in Cleveland last week, and Bruce really didn't even give the crowd time to do anything before he launched into the "encore". I think everyone knew that after "only" about two hours he's just getting warmed up - total show time 2:50 and 28 songs! Then the house lights came on almost immediately at the end, so, I didn't get a chance to see what people do these days. Now back to railroading.

I never really understood that whole lighters thing anyways and what its purpose was.

I don't know what the purpose was either. Theoretically, there was a purpose at one time, but being the 70s with drugs and alcohol, it's probably long forgotten by now.

Now, before someone suggests doing a mass railfan candlelight (or specifically cell phone-light) march on Green Bay, let's try and get this thread back on topic.... This whole thing isn't over 'til the fat lady sings, even though the howling of my dogs might suggest she is warming up.