No question. Even when, hypothetically, the greatest argument against them is somewhat lessened (i.e "a 700 foot freighter is just too big") it all seems to come down to money. Somehow the Valley Camp was saved, and it was a 600 footer if I remember: maybe it was better climate in the 1960's, but somehow I don't think so. 350 feet (or a little over 210 in the P.M. #10's case)
cuts that number down to a third or half, and yet it still can't get done. *sigh*
As to the boxcars, maybe your right. Lord knows there is a lot of rusting equipment that is supposedly safe in museums, and I do NOT need to start yet another thread on that one. I guess it boils down to this --- will there come a day when my grandchild has to ask my son what it was the went between the caboose and the steam engine, since that seems to be what is preserved? I already wonder what it was like to take a passenger ship on the Great Lakes, and dare say I probably won't ever know. The Keewatin does survive (sadly its sister the Assinoboa is charcoal); the South American is gone, its sister at the North at the bottom of the Atlantic; the Aquarama rust away in PA with what is left of Lansdowne, and a whole element of our past is forever lost.
Stop this train, I want to get off. Otherwise, find me a time machine like in that "Ghost Train" section of the Twilight Zone movie a few years ago.......
TJG
> 1. A feeling of being overwelmed. I am very
> familiar with the Lewis G. Harriman; but
> there is also the S.S. Catalina in Mexico
> and the S.S. Nobska in Charleston, all of
> which are threatened with immediate
> scrapping. Then there are others like the
> Kalakala that are "safe" for the
> time being, but will require millons and
> some miracles to truely be preserved.
> We lost 30 or more steamers in the past 2-3
> years; ranging from classic beauties like
> the passenger steamers Stella Solaris and
> Dolphin IV to more humble steamers like the
> 1927 ore carrier Kinsman Enterprise and
> Artship. It is all enough to make you feel
> powerless in stopping the march to the scrap
> furnance.
> 2. Lack of faith in the preservation
> organization. While I can't speak for the
> group trying to save the Lewis G. Harriman;
> I belong to the S.S. Catalina group on
> Yahoo. I have seen times when the Yahoo
> group was frustrated with the lack of news
> come from the S.S. Catalina Preservation
> Organization. While I can sympathize with
> the obstacles in trying to meet goals, the
> sensitivity of negotiations, and the amount
> of effort required to sent out newsletters,
> continual communication helps to instill
> confidence in the organization trying to
> save a project. Lack of feedback only
> reinforces the preception that the group is
> not able to follow through with the project.
> 3. Bad reports from the group memebers. This
> is a return to our previous discussion on
> the control of information coming from a
> preservation group. Awhile back, a member of
> the organization trying to preserve the
> Nobska contacted me about the vessel. As
> part of the e-mail "conversation",
> he had some negative remarks to make about
> the group. We have heard these comments
> about groups before; but they do not instill
> confidence in someone reaching for their
> checkbook.
> 4. Lack of a hero. Let's face it, all the
> projects I have mentioned so far have been
> ongoing for years now, with dim prospects of
> succeeding. (Except for the Lewis G.
> Harriman; while I know someone with the
> organization trying to save it, I don't know
> anything about the group's history.)
> However, in the case of the S.S. Catalina, a
> major motion picture studio is interested in
> using the Catalina in an upcoming film.
> Their plan is for the Catalina to portray
> the USAT Dorchester in the motion picture
> "Sea of Glory", a World War II
> historical drama based on the novel of the
> same name. They may have the capital to help
> the group succeed in returning it to
> California, restoring it for the movie, and
> leaving it in museum condition when they are
> finished.
> I am getting the preception that the
> "Friends of the EBT" are the hero
> for the EBT. While they may not have much
> money, they are spinning lots of positive
> press while making a visible difference in
> stabilizing and restoring what they can. It
> is all making a positive, visible
> difference, and must make it easier for the
> EBT to generate visitors and donations.
> 5. Lack of resources. T.J., should someone
> have saved the cars you mentioned; only to
> leave them to rust because there is not
> enough labor or paint to take care of what
> they already have, or to be flamed on this
> board for "that pile of scrap in the
> back of the museum"?
> I think many museums these days are
> straining to keep up with what they already
> have in the face of steady or declining
> members and visitors. They just don't have
> the money to out-buy the scrap dealer and
> transport them to the museum. How much can
> museums purchase and preserve when in the
> past, their collection pieces were donated
> and transported free of charge?
> In closing, if I have say $1000; should I
> split it up, and donate some to each; or
> write a check to just one organization;
> hoping my money does not go down the drain?
> Right now, I am in discussions with Larry
> Tucker on trying to save the 1905 compressor
> house at the former Solvay Coke Plant in
> Milwaukee. I am hoping we can convience the
> developer that the compressor is something
> unique, and worth more as the centerpiece of
> an entertainment district than it does scrap
> metal. I have lots of examples to point to,
> the following are some examples:
> * The Power Plant of Hampton Roads, VA -
> some equipment retained
> (The Cordish Company, Developers)
>
> http://www.coliseumcentral.com/developm ... rplant.htm
>
> http://hamptonretail.com/revitalization ... plant.html
> * Power Plant Live; Inner Harbor, Baltimore
> MA - some equipment retained
> (The Cordish Company, Redevelopers; used to
> be Six Flags Power Plant)
>
> http://www.angelaandmike.com/baltimore/ ... to_18.html
> http://www.powerplantlive.com
> * Alamo Quarry Market, on the grounds of the
> Alamo Cement Co. plant in San Antonio, TX -
> some equipment retained.
> http://www.alamoquarry.com
> As well as Gas Works Park in Seattle:
> * Gas Works Park, Seattle, WA - some
> equipment retained
>
> http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/park ... SWORKS.htm
> http://www.vrseattle.com/html/vrlist.php?
>
> http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/hist ... ksPark.pdf
> I know the same thing has been done to
> preserve stations, roundhouses and other
> railroad-related structures; although the
> results are not always welcomed as being
> true preservation projects. Do we just let
> them get torn down instead?
> I haven't figured out how to try to save
> steamships, other than making a museum out
> of them. "Artship" will apparently
> go down as a failed venture; floating
> resteraunts or hotels only seem to buy time.
> What do we do? In the meantime, I guess most
> of us focus on what we can do, be it
> volunteering at a local museum, or
> preserving what we can. (Even if it just a
> tired set of steam pumps at a humble
> chemical plant.)
> -James Hefner
> Hebrews 10:20a
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org
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