Word on Capital Hill is that as a result of the massive gov't. bailout efforts now underway that all Federal agencies considered "non-essential" will see unprecedented cuts in thier upcoming FY09 anf FY10 funding.

The latest chapter in the bailout plan is still a work in progress (although generally agreed to be approx. $700 BILLION) so actual magnitude numbers are not yet established. If the $700 BILLION turns out to be the final chapter, "non-essential" agencies can probably expect a reduction in FY 09 funding somewhere in the neighborhood of 25%.

If this comes to pass it could well mean that the whole Steamtown debate was timely as I would guess that it is very possible that should cuts of that magnitude be imposed on the Dep't. of the Interior it would have no choice but to shutter its most expensive per visitor parks. I would further estimate that S'town would be near or at the top of that list??

Official announcements are expected from the Treasury Dep't. soon after the final bailout plan is voted into law.

Ross Rowland

The happiest man in America right now has to be Grover Norquist. This looting will pretty much give him exactly what he has argued for - a bankrupt government that has no choice but to cut programs.

I am sure there will be a strong push to cut Amtrak, the Dept of the Interior, preservation grants and so on. I wouldn't expect anything like ISTEA again, at least near term.

The hope that this looting of the treasury is not allowed to happen is dim. Much lime the Patriot Act, this one looks poised to be rammed through with little debate.

Rob

Hopefully the current financial situation will put a damper on any more impractical restoration projects like the SS NOBSKA that soaked up millions of dollars of taxpayers money that got spent on offices in the historic district, expensive studies, lawyers fees, etc. only to have the ship get turned into razor blades. More projects like that, pushed through by powerful politicians as pork barrel spending for their home districts, we do not need. The days of spending borrowed money that will have to be paid back by our children, their children, and future generations just so we can play with expensive toys, are over.

PC

Mr. Rowland, I think your posting sounds just a bit too thrilled about the prospect of our country's insolvency. There is much more I would like to say that would most certainly run afoul of this site's posting guidelines. I will try to point out, that if Paulson's plan is approved, and Steamtown were to be shut down, that generous $2.5M corporate welfare you have called for will most certainly not exist. Is any operator going to be able to make money at Steamtown without being paid to make money? Possibly, but only if they are all "volunteer." Prison workers maybe?

As I have suggested before, much of the anti-Steamtown rhetoric is based in an ideologically-driven hatred of our government, yet most government operated railroad museums are significantly more successful than their private non-profit counterparts. How many of those offer any "mainline steam" at all, let alone provide families with well designed exhibits on the history and technology of railroading?

I think it is wise to approach any government program with skepticism, but to believe that private enterprise can always do better is to misunderstand the inherent differences that exist between the missions of government and business. A self-supporting Steamtown may be possible, but it would most certainly accomplish even less, and if a private business was involved that was concerned about profitability, it would be run with diesels for certain.

Let's not forget that the mainline we are talking about was originally purchased from Conrail for only a short distance out of Scranton to allow for the Steamtown excursions - I'm talking the Foundation, not the NPS. Eventually, the entire line (well at least to the East Stroudsburg border) was purchased by Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. But it was purchased to support freight service and perhaps to keep the dream of passenger service to Hoboken alive. The fact that Steamtown can run beyond Elmhurst (or Moscow in NPS days) is strictly because there is significant (for a short line) freight business that justifies the existence of the line. Mainline steam excursions to East Stroudsburg and the Delaware Water Gap are just a by-product of this, not the other way around.

You're wrong Mr. Ruiz, I am only reporting what I have been told is developing in Washington as a by-product of the gummits efforts to solve the nations financial mess.

You're also wrong with what is my motivator. I have been trying to promote an outsourceing of the places operation so that some funds each year can be devoted to the restoration of the very machines the place was created to celebrate vs. most of it being spent in salaries to support a staff FAR larger than needed to operate the place. Please remember that even though nearly $100 MILLION has been spent on yearly expenses in the 20 years the NPS has been running the place, not a SINGLE mainline locomotive has been restored. THAT is the main point.

It's impossible to predict what may happen if the huge budget cuts materialize as it now seems they will. Perhaps the NPS will entertain paying someone else to keep the place open if it can be done at a substantial savings from the $5 MILLION plus it now costs them? Perhaps they will be ordered to do so by the Dep't. of the Interior??

Time will tell.

Ross Rowland