For those who are able & care to donate, you now have several additional options available thru eBay Auctions (eBay Giving Works) & PayPal Direct Donations.

http://givingworks.ebay.com/charity-auctions/charity/virginia-museum-of-transportation/62575/

From the above link you can:

1 - Set up your own auction(s) with a selectable percentage of the proceeds going to VMT & the FireUp611 Project. Auctions do not have to be RR related items, though it certainly ties in with the theme of this project.

2 - Make a PAYPAL DIRECT DONATION to the FireUp611 Project; 100% of your donation goes to VMT. There are no service fees or commissions deducted.

3 - View all other current auctions with eBay Giving Works Proceeds dedicated to the FireUp611 - Virginia Museum of Transportation Fund.

I just received a donation request circular in the mail--very well done, and I certainly applaud the effort. However, I'm in Southern California and we have several Pacific Electric and Santa Fe projects that need contributions. I don't know which mailing lists FireUp611 uses; it would be interesting to see a ZIP code breakdown of where their contributions are coming from. I'm reflecting on the occasional discussions of why railway preservation seems to do much better in England than here in the USA and the provincial attitudes that many, if not most US railway enthusiasts have. I suppose what really got my attention (and not in a good way) was the line in the circular: "...finest American locomotive ever made." They are welcome to their opinion, but having ridden behind Santa Fe 3751 and Southern Pacific 4449, I beg to differ.

You can beg to differ, but you're wrong. :) Just kidding of course.

I'd also like to see a break down of zip codes. I think seeing donations for a western US project like 3751 or otherwise would demonstrate east vs. west loyalties, but I could be wrong. It seems that the last decade or so not much has happened in the east with mainline sized equipment that that west coast has enjoyed on a more reliable interval.

I can remember the "bad old days" when Southern Californians with an interest in steam had to settle for Disneyland or Knott's, or make a trek to the Sierra RR or the Cal Western. The big mainline steam action was in the Eastern Standard Time zone. Now the shoe is on the other foot, but it looks like we may be getting into a more balanced condition. Illinois Ry Museum is expecting to get one of their steamers back in service late this year or early next. And in New Mexico, the Santa Fe 2926 group is making steady progress toward having 3751's "big sister" ready to run. The mere fact that any standard-gauge steam locomotives are running in the US half a century after they ceased to be a factor in interstate commerce is a tribute to everyone who works on or raises money to restore them and keep them running.

Maybe they should have stated "most modern steam locomotive" which 611 certainly is.
Lois

I have to agree with Jeff. Perhaps the description might better be changed to "most technologically advanced and reliable steam passenger locomotive"...... "finest" is a subjective rather than objective observation. IIRC, 611 only suffered one mechanical failure during it's 12 year excursion career.

Just curious, why will they not show us the progress of the fundraising. Every major fundraiser I have given money to has showed their running total. I have spoke with several other people who have the same question, and said they would not give a dime until they see a progress report. One of them had already given $50.00, he wants to know if his money is helping by seeing a running total. There are many other fundraising sites that show the running total.

Is there something they are trying not to show us. Not saying there is anything shady going on, but not showing the running total throws up red flags in my head. I run a for-profit business and help manage a non-profit, and the business sense of me says that's bad business. They could be completely funded and just playing on everyone else to get more icing on the cake.

Just saying, and until they do something to show how much they raise thus far I will not even consider giving to them.

As I've stated since the start of this commendable effort, the ONLY way they have of raising $ 3.5 MM is if a very few ( 2-6) MAJOR donors step forward by writing large 6 figure or small 7 figure checks. The railfan community is sadly majority populated by folks of meager means ( with a VERY few exceptions) and there's less than zero chance of raising that kind of money from it.

The good news is that some of the key players involved are folks of substantial means so if they choose to they can make it happen.

Time will tell.

Ross Rowland

Joe,

The reason they have not mentioned a total yet is because they are trying to process all the donations they have so far. They also have received two grants now in the last few days totaling $40,000. They know people want to see they total so far and they plan to have a tool showing that on their Facebook page in a couple weeks.

That makes no sense. First off they are using a crowd funding site for the general public. If you go to other crowd funding sites like indiegogo, kickstarter, or gofundme.com they all have a running grand total of what the public has donated. And by the way those sites have a much larger user database than most other crowd funding sites according to Forbes Magazine.

Secondly, I run a business, when I receive money into the business I am able to immediately know what I have. With modern technology there is no excuse that it should take that long to process incoming money. Look at a telethon, they have a running total of money being pledged over the phone. I believe they should be able to keep an updated total pretty easily with a much slower moving campaign than a telethon.

I think I understand Joe's point. It's been over a month since they started taking donations, the took donations foI over 4 months for the "study" and never once have the donors been told what has been raised or what was done with their money. I have and do contribute to a number of not for profit causes and never once has there been any level of secrecy in terms of how much has been raised or for that matter how the money will be spent.
This is real money they're trying to raise and I support the endeavor but I for one will not contribute unless I see a running total, which IS NOT difficult to do, and see a basic break down of projected costs. How much is the building? What is the design of the building? What is the projected cost of the locomotive? What is the contractors rate for the locomotive? Are they fair and competitive rates for both the locomotive and building?
I've never seen a fundraising campaign launched on the basis of "give us money so we can give you what you want". If there's secrecy, there's something wrong.

I did a quick search, Joe, on the crowdfunding sites you referred to. Looks like they are using the only prominent site which does not allow for tracking monies raised.

John

This is a partial breakdown of the details regarding the Fire Up 611 fund. A more detailed view is on the feasibility report on fireup611.org. First, the restoration is expected to cost $1.5 million, with additional $2 million for the building, which is planned as a two bay N&W style lubritorium. An additional $1.5 million will ensure the 611 stays in operation for several years.
lois

At this point point I believe they stated they are working on getting something put up to show what has been raised ect. I believe I saw that posted on their Facebook page. But I know I certainly would like to see where the magic number is at this point...it certainly will motivate people to donate and show them where things are at.

I noticed on one of their Facebook status updates that people are commenting and asking questions about the current total. Then I looked at their Facebook page and saw that many other people have been asking for quite sometime to get an update on the money raised. Once again this throws up red flags to have this many people asking for a substantial amount of time, with no progress report.

Not necessarily. Too close to the magic number and people think "oh, they don't need my donation."