Blount was in a position to grab a lot of stuff when it was there to be grabbed, hauled it onto a yard in the snow, and left much of it outdoors for years. It had more the context of a scrapyard than a museum.

JJ is being more selective and providing a roof and a sort of future.......although he's not publicising any specific plans for each piece (can't blame him for that).

I don't think there's much of a comparison here.

dave

Blount he did grabbed whatever he could I give him credit for trying to save much that he could. Blount didn't lay out any plans or guidelines about what to do with his collection when he got them. Blount didn't really took care them like he should've but he had a company to run so he had to put his collection aside. When Blount died Steamtown was on the verge of destruction because he built a too big of a collection to care of and left no plan on what to do but shed the collection down to size and make Steamtown into a museum.

I think JJJ was learning from Blount's mistakes by being smarter about his collection buying locomotives that he can take care of. Jacobson built a home for his collection with a roof and keeping it I an manageable size. He sold his railroad so he can focus entirely on his collection by building AOS Roundhouse. I think he began to train new people to take care of his collection so AOS wouldn't end up like Steamtown when Blount died. The AOS will probably have a better future after Jacobson than Blount with Steamtown.

It occurs to me that if there's any 21st-century equivalent to a "preservationist grabbing stuff willy-nilly before it heads to the scrapper", it would have to be the Pullman Rail Journeys crew and their collection(s) of rolling stock in various locations--New York, Illinois, Colorado, etc.

This is not meant to be a knock against them, or criticism. Just an observation.

In toto the differences between Nelson Blount's efforts and Jerry Jacobson's efforts are like trying to compare night and day.

Mr. Jacobson had the good fortune to sell a railroad he worked hard building for a lot of cash and he and his wife decided to devote a portion of that money towards preserving in perpetuity the things he loved. I suspect that in due course he will see to it that on special occasions the AOS facility is opened to the greater railfan community to enjoy as well.

The Jacobson's have set up the AOS enterprise with an endowment that will provide for its care after they've passed on thus insuring its long term viability for generations to come.

Mr. Blount wanted to save a representative sample of the greater locomotive steam fleet before the scrapper got to them and he did a good job of that. He had very detailed plans for Steamtown at the time of his untimely death but sadly did not provide the long term finances needed for it to survive his passing....thus the subsequent scramble to find it a viable home which turned out to be Scranton,Pa.

Seems to me that we need to be grateful to everyone who has saved any of the pieces representing railroading's heritage even the many who have not had the resources to either restore or properly store the items,...... as once something is scrapped its gone forever.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

you needed a get it now or its scrapped mentality to save equipment. Its not so true today but we still get "its getting scrapped" warnings here even yet today.

You may not have had a solid operational plan but to preserve in anyway you can.

IRM is in that predicament and they still are working on Barns to get things under cover.

Yeh, JAcobsen has been very quiet, I hope his projects are still under the gun and going forward.

I think Mr. Jacobson is collecting endangered locomotives as they become available. He's allowing his shop forces to have the privilege of bringing them back someday. He's ensuring the locomotives are there to work on, and not long forgotten memories. If that's all he accomplishes, it's far more than most accomplish.

Mr. Blount should be remembered no for what he didn't live long enough to accomplish, but for the fact that so much of his collection has lived to see another day. Imagine the hole in our collective memories had he not save an N&W "A"?

I think there's another important distinction to be made.

Blount's collection, and plans for a working roundhouse and yard, was intended to be a public facility. Mr. Jacobson's collection and buildings are not. They are a private collection, items from which he enjoys sharing with the public from time to time.

I think much of what F. Nelson Blunt acquired would fall into the endangered category, especially given the time period and throw-away outlook of railroads towards steam at the time.

Mr. Jacobson's collection consists of steam locomotives he wanted to have. With perhaps one or two exceptions, they were not in immanent danger. Better off now? Yes, but not really snatched from the jaws of death.

It's the difference between trying to rescue refugees from imminent death and trying to get them set up in homes with productive jobs and the like. Both are commendable, but they're different tasks.

Setting up the foundation may have been even more important than building the roundhouse.

Blount/Atwood/Hart/Gorman/Moedinger were like early NHL goalies. They saved what they could, a lot got through and each bore some scars. Essentially, they invented the entire realm of private individuals making large scale industrial saves.

JJJ is more of a modern goalie. He has much better equipment and can adapt his style based on the experiences of those who came before. His steam saves are (in some respects) all rebounds as they are not coming direct from the railroads, but his diesel saves are one-timers. Every save gets the full glare of attention... and should any steam locomotive get scrapped anywhere in the USA now you can bet someone somewhere will blame JJJ for letting one get past. A shutout will expected, no matter how unrealistic that may be.

I can't compare Hainsworth vs Broduer, just like I can't compare Blount vs JJJ.

I can be (and am) grateful to all of them.

Rob Davis

Good analogy. I'd probably include Paulsen Spence, although that game was a 40-4 rout.

Howard P.
Grab Em, CT

Jeff, I don't think anyone took that view. The missions were unique, but critical to steam preservation in North America.

Sounds like they were each men of their times.

The fact is that Mr. Blount inspired JJJ and forever changed Jerry's life. I'll say most ALL of JJJ's steam preservation efforts were to carry on and complete Nelson's dream.
Nelson Blount picked up a young, uniformed 82nd Airborn paratrooper who was on a weekend pass - hitchhiking to Bellows Falls to see the fabled "Steamtown". Jerry returned to Steamtown many, many times ( he knows and keeps track of the exact number of visits).
Jerry was there talking to Nelson that last day Nelson flew off in his plane. Soon after there was an announcement over the PA that Nelson's plane had crashed and that Steamtown's founder was killed. Jerry was there that day and it forever changed his life.
I think the greatest compliment JJJ could imagine is to say that Jerry has so completely
carried on (and finished?) Nelson's vision.

IRM has a line of steam engines outside all getting their rust workout. You do what you can.
They have a great operation yet it exists, and it takes time money and effort (volunteer or otherwise) so its not so unusual Steamtown could do and not do so much. They are NOT a scrap yard. They have a Nickel PLate 4-6-0 preserved which is more than what the Louisiana and Eastern could do having several NKP Hudsons and other equipment...all scrapped now.

Its a little differrent world too between the Steamtown start and the AoS start. But the goals were still the same.

cheers.