Covid-19 isn't done with us yet

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

I was saddened to hear about the loss of Ed Rizzo from Covid-19 (I have been closely following the Pennsy caboose restoration he has been a major part of). I shouldn't have been stunned though probably. Our group is mostly middle-aged or older, and some of us have pre-existing conditions that make things worse. It will be another three months or so at at a minimum before all of us can be vaccinated, let's be careful until then.

JR May · **Posted:** Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:11 pm

Just a couple of comments. Ed was a big, strong guy, 72 years old, no major health issues, a good eater. Maybe a tad over weight, but in many cases that works to your advantage. Ed was a big automobile collector, focusing on AMC products but did build a Ford custom truck and had a convertible Mustang for a bit. The local car guys would meet weekly and they did lose a member not long ago to COVID. I guess the point is, as we all work together on our projects, it may be worth keeping the mask on. I know when we worked on the caboose, we did not wear a mask, when we drove to lunch we did not wear a mask, it was only worn as we walked into the diner and out again. Luckily, the last time Ed and I worked together, we did not go to the diner and were outdoors the whole time. That was almost two weeks before he became ill. I was watching my calendar closely, trust me on that.

If working as a group, wear the mask, keep your distance, work outside if possible.

J.R. May

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

Are we allowed to discuss COVID-19 now? Or will this thread also be locked and / or deleted.

I suppose it takes people dying for us to be able to get our heads out of the sand dome and believe it’s real.

Zach Lybrand · **Joined:** Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:36 pm **Posts:** 120

joe6167 wrote:

Hearing about Brother Rizzo's death from Covid (or anyone's death from covid) quite incensed me.

I'll level with you all.

As the world spirals out of control, I've spent the last few weeks doing my own covid literature review and I've compiled an impressive collection of pertinent studies, documents and articles on another forum I frequent, here:

https://www.gunownersofcanada.ca/showth ... n-Studies/

I also have this collection on dropbox and am more than happy to share with anyone who is interested.

The long and short of it all is, there are simple, cheap and effective treatments available to us, and have been this whole time.

I'll give you some hints: the scientists who helped create these viruses, first in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and then the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in both cases with funding from the NIH, already told us how to deal with these viruses. They also told us how not to deal with these viruses.

We could have put a stop to this disaster months ago, but too many people have a vested interest in dragging this out.

Think about it:

Imagine your name is... Justin... Trudeau... and you are Prime Minister of some Banana Republic... let's call it... "Canada"... and your Intelligence chiefs come to you and say, "Mister Prime Minister, there's this virus going on in China, what should we do."

Now our imaginary leader of an imaginary country could take steps to prevent the virus from coming to the country, but what would he get for it?

A "bravo, you did your damn job [slow clap]?"

OR... he could "sit back and watch how things play out" and in the process "win everything", such as:

-Massive, unprecedented, totally unaccountable spending. This hypothetical country has racked up a deficit of $381 Billion dollars (in fictional Canadian Currency). For context this country, as I imagine it, has about 37 million people, and the previous years deficits were in the $20 Billion range, which were already considered massive, grossly irresponsible and unsustainable.
-Added bonus, there is NO accountability on where ANY of that money went. There are hints of corruption everywhere, but Hypothetical Justin and his minority government has used the fecklessness and gutlessness of one of the other leftist parties (and his own waste-of-skin ministers) to run the place like a dictatorship (The PM has way more control and influence over the government than a President ever could).
-Suspend the parliamentary process. The parliament was shut down for most of the pandemic, namely to block investigations into fictional trudeau's various money-laundering schemes
-Impose totally undemocratic laws and edicts. He managed to pass a ban on AR-15s, M-14s and other good guns, without a functioning parliament to oppose him.
-And the institution of near-martial law throughout the country, using the fear of a virus, rather than having to pay for the military to do it.
-Using the virus as the excuse to usher in "The Great Reset" in other words global communism, or as I call it "Electric Feudalism".

With that said, who here among us WOULDN'T want this virus to run roughshod throughout your country?

Right now I'm in Poland (currently number 14 overall), but the restrictions we're having are nothing compared to what they're doing in Canada, which is 26 overall.

Anyways, this whole thing is a scam, we can stop it at any time. And y'all need to demand an end to this.

Or, you get "The Great Reset", where as they wrote in 2016, "Welcome to 2030 you'll own nothing, have no privacy and life will never be better"...

How did we get to that? Simple... destroy the economy, bankrupt everyone, have the central banks buy up all the property and debt and voila "no one" owns anything, except for the ultra-wealthy and bankers...

Thank god for armchair economists and virologists.

The big · **Posted:** Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:05 pm

Hi everyone first of all my sincere condolences to the whole family of Ed Rizzo great loss for the preservation groups

Second event if is true or not this virus make many loss in lives and i hope 2021 was a better year and we see a end of this. I want to see Big Boy 4014 and other steam engine back on work again

Third Joe6167 you are the right to speak, write, and display your opinion. I respect that and defend that fact we are American or Canadian we are free to do that

BUT i think is not the place and the moment to write this politic opinion

Trainlawyer · **Posted:** Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:15 pm

I too mourn the loss of Brother Rizzo.

As a group we have lost several colleagues to the virus. A quick perusal of recent posts indicate that we are loosing an average of one a week to the virus - and those are the mentions which posted. That is a topic which I believes is fair game here, as is the guidance from organizations such as the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, et cetera on how to continue to operate safely. Comments such as the one second above go beyond any semblance of relevance and I would suggest that the author move it to a more suitable forum.

Our condolences to the family,

GME

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

Rehashing the origin story of the virus now is sort of like closing the barn door after the horse got out. Let's all just think about the sacrifices we made over the past 11 months and make sure that they are worthwhile.

msrlha_archivist · **Joined:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:33 pm **Posts:** 151

PMC wrote:

Let's all just think about the sacrifices we made over the past 11 months and make sure that they are worthwhile.

I'm sure folks are being as cautious as possible. For my friends who lost their livelihoods, businesses, restaurants, or homes due to the shutdown, they think about the sacrifice everyday. By the numbers, 98.6% of the population recovers from the virus. If you're at risk, due to age, underlying health conditions, or just plain fear, stay safe and be extra diligent. Like with everything, interacting in public, volunteering, dining, etc. is at your own risk. The virus is spiking right now in California, a state that has some of the toughest lockdown sanctions in place, by the way.

msrlha_archivist · **Joined:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:33 pm **Posts:** 151

Trainlawyer wrote:

...as is the guidance from organizations such as the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, et cetera on how to continue to operate safely.

Why not just follow the CDC guidelines in place? A handful of tourist railroads seemed to operate successfully this season. Amtrak and commuter trains are in operation. Look to their practices for inspiration and ideas.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:42 am

Without going into needlessly specific details.........

......... it's also completely valid that the excursion RR that counts on the "Santa" and "Pumpkin Patch" trains for half their annual ridership and revenue is not going to be able to fix their steam loco, maintain miles of track, finish the new cars, or whatever once the mandated restrictions reduce their capacity for said trains by 75-80%.

We are in the hospitality business, those of us that run such events and don't "mothball" at the end of September. And we're taking the same hits as hotels, resorts, restaurants, and pubs. I'm waiting for the next couple to shutter permanently.

I'm being informed of one operation that is ostensibly "closed" for the duration, but clandestinely is continuing equipment and site maintenance, restoration, redecorating, rebuilding plumbing, and/or whatever. The volunteer crews are working in widely-scattered locations (shops, enginehouse, offices, opposite ends of a display hall, etc) in assigned shifts so no one is ever in close proximity, no public exposure, all self-isolating as much as possible at home, etc. I'm even told one volunteer works late-night--his preference and added night security.
No, I'm not telling you where it is. They're afraid of being shut down in spite of what they're doing.

Steamguy73 · **Joined:** Wed Dec 24, 2014 3:15 pm **Posts:** 635

Crescent-Zephyr wrote:

Are we allowed to discuss COVID-19 now? Or will this thread also be locked and / or deleted.

I suppose it takes people dying for us to be able to get our heads out of the sand dome and believe it’s real.

I mean, I don’t think anyone sane at this point is disputing whether the virus exists or doesn’t. And that’s not really the purpose of disputes that occur at this stage: it’s more about the politics surrounding it, not the virus itself.

And personally, I really don’t see the point of having it be discussed here. What needs to have been about it has said has been said here, there, everywhere, and the only discussions that really could be had about it are subjective arguments that for the most part no one is entirely right or wrong about that just aren’t worth anyone’s time because they ALWAYS devolve.

But that’s just my two cents.

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:30 am

The virus is now the leading cause of death in the United States. We passed losing a 9/11's worth of victims every day and are closing in on losing a Battle of Antietam number daily. We are soon to pass the number of Americans who died in WWII. By the time we have an effective percentage of the population vaccinated we may have lost as many Americans as died in the Civil War. A 41 y/o incoming freshman Congressman from Louisiana died of it last night, less than two weeks after having been diagnosed, and presumably getting the best care available. Yes, this is relevant. What is also relevant is that a few places, like New Zealand, are open and functioning without lock downs or mass mask-wearing. There is blame for this to go around on many sides, including the media-sainted Dr. Fauci, who early on lied to Americans about the effectiveness of wearing a mask, because he didn't want to start a run on masks and take them away from first responders - a situation that should never have been allowed to develop in the first place.

A core reason for the dissension in our society is that there is next to no safety net for any industry or group (including ours) to insure that they survive financially until it is safe to reopen. Most other western countries are digging deep financially to bail out most people, but not us, and that is a major reason we are suffering from the infighting and conspiracy theories.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:15 pm

PaulWWoodring wrote:

What is also relevant is that a few places, like New Zealand, are open and functioning without lock downs or mass mask-wearing.

With all due respect, this is like comparing the operation of the Toonerville Trolley or a looped narrow-gauge ride to the Union Pacific.

New Zealand and some other "few" places were both physically able and mentally willing to blockade ALL entry into their nation, the second the extent of the potential crisis became evident. And they are still requiring masks on flights and public transit.

When our leadership proposed such a blockade (not that it would have done any good, because it has since been revealed the virus made it to our shores before it was detected in its origin country), it was instantly condemned by its political opposition as "racist" and "xenophobic." In addition, a full mandatory blockade or quarantine period would have done even further economic damage to this country.

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

PaulWWoodring wrote:

What is also relevant is that a few places, like New Zealand, are open and functioning without lock downs or mass mask-wearing.

With all due respect, this is like comparing the operation of the Toonerville Trolley or a looped narrow-gauge ride to the Union Pacific.
.

Well if the Union Pacific was losing 3,000 lives a day and the Toonerville Trolley wasn’t I’d say they would still be worth comparing.

If we can’t compare our country to other countries what can we compare it to?
The United States isn’t some magical place that is beyond compare.

Boilermaker · **Joined:** Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:47 pm **Posts:** 219

I dont care what side anyone chooses to take on this, but shut the hell up with the political preaching. Take it somewhere else.

I'd like to see a reasonable and relevant discussion here on the impacts and overcoming of all this. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, the politicization of what's been happening the last 10 months makes this impossible, as they've become one and the same. This thread has proven that. No wonder the previous covid threads were locked, seeing all this childish squawking.

-Sam