I don't want to steal Ross' thunder, in case he was planning his own post on this here...but this appeared in Trains Magazine's News Feed today:

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... s-for-2017

There's a ton of interesting stuff in here, so I'm just going to post the whole text (sorry to the people at Trains!):

"PHILADELPHIA – Steam impresario Ross E. Rowland is promoting a steam-hauled exhibition train that he hopes will visit 125 cities and towns in the U.S. between 2017 and 2020.

The idea is an updated version of his highly acclaimed 1975-1976 American Freedom Train. "It's a clone of the Freedom Train," Rowland says. That train, bearing hundreds of historic artifacts and documents, was seen by more than 7 million people.

Rowland says that the Yellow Ribbon Express has two goals. The first is "a national loud and proud thank you" to American military veterans, especially those who have served since 9/11. The second, he says, is to raise $1 billion to aid wounded veterans of the wars who have fought since 2001. "It's a thank you from the 99 percent of us to the 1 percent of us who have done the heavy lifting," he adds.

Rowland is currently seeking 10 corporate sponsors willing to invest $2 million a year each for five years, so that all admission income from the traveling exhibition will go directly to what he calls "A Billion for the Brave."

The train will be steam-powered, Rowland says, so it is more than just a train. "It will be a spectacle," he says. "Steam will draw people to the train. It will be a happening." He is seeking support of several Class I railroads, and one, which he will not name, is already on board with the idea.

The primary locomotive will be former Chesapeake & Ohio No. 614, a 1948 Lima 4-8-4 that Rowland has owned for three decades. He revealed that he and his engineering team are considering converting the locomotive to burn natural gas. Other main line locomotives will double-head with No. 614 on the tour, according to Rowland, so that a live, steaming locomotive will be on hand every day at every exhibit site. "There are quite a few large, mainline locomotive available around the country so we can have alive locomotive on site every day," he says.

"It's a tall mountain to climb, and there are no guarantees," Rowland says. "I'm modestly optimistic that we can do this.""

Did the Trains.com server glitch out and repost old news? This was supposed to happen back in 2008:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 13&t=50024

Never smoke the weeds growing up under the wheels of your locomotive.

Sigh.

Break out the bulk popcorn and poppers. This will be a while.

As I stated to the Trains reporter when he called yesterday there's a long ways to go before this project is a reality.

The largest hurdle is to procure 10 corporate co-sponsors to fund the entire DBOM $ 100M budget so that all the revenues from the 3 year tour go directly into the Billion for the Brave fund to help those veterans who have been severely wounded and their families. We have had a highly respected event sponsorship company study the YRE plan and they believe that thanks to the success of the AFT ( the YRE is operationally a clone of the AFT ) we can show that the YRE will produce sufficient " eyeballs" to make a $ 10M ( over 5 years) co-sponsorship a good commercial investment with the patriotic halo a bonus.

If we're able to procure the needed sponsors the next major task will be to locate approx. 125 sites where a 3,000ft. siding exists next to 4 acres of level, vacant land to mount the show. There's little doubt that the vast majority of the display sites will be on shortlines or regionals vs. Class 1's.

One of the biggest complaints we received on the AFT was when we had to move the steam engine off site to do the obligatory monthly boiler wash. By double heading and staggering the wash dates one engine can always be live on site and thus address this issue. Also, by double heading we eliminate the chance of road failure and thus end the need for a diesel in the consist. Full steam ahead America. The good news is that there's a surplus of mainline qualified steam engines looking for gainful employment.

We have done the preliminary engineering for converting the 614 from coal to natural gas and the results indicate that it is very doable and should work well. It nearly doubles the operating range vs. the range with 50 tons of coal and makes the over the road operation ( no ashes, no cranes etc.) much simpler. Personally I like a coal fired locomotive, as to me it's the "real deal", but sometimes you need to go with the practical??

The naked truth is that this is a very high mountain we've chosen to climb and there's no doubt lots of obstacles between here and the summit...... and no guarantees we'll be successful.

I do believe that the vast majority of our fellow American's realize that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who have served on the frontlines in the never ending war of good vs. evil and given a chance will show that gratitude in strength.

The next 6 months or so will tell the story of whether or not we'll be able to generate the corporate support needed to make it happen. The only promise I can make is that we'll give it our best efforts.

Thanks for your interest. Best regards, Ross Rowland

Wouldn't it be more cost effective to rent one of the "surplus of mainline qualified steam engines looking for gainful employment" and stick a diesel behind it instead of converting 614 to natural gas AND renting another steam locomotive?

Or from a purely cost perspective don't use steam at all.

As a responsible American taxpaying citizen, I wonder why doesn't our government properly fund the cost of vets that need physical & mental health? Shouldn't we all be paying for this without having to resort to a glorified bake sale?

If this site had the capability, I'd give this a big LIKE, and an AMEN, Brother!

If the government was as responsible as the taxpayers, this would not be a problem. Essentially, since the government isn't doing its job in respect to the issue of disabled veterans, someone else must help them. I applaud any well-intentioned effort to give back to the brave men and women who gave up so much for us.

So yes, this may be a glorified bake sale. However, I enjoy successful bake-sales.....

I don't think national funding priorities are subject to change due to the proposal for a series of traveling public events. Probably not within the scope of this thread......or this board?

I'd like very much to see it happen and wish Ross well in his search for sponsors. A successful high visibility mainline tour would only increase interest and visibility for the rest of us as well.

dave

I just read about this on the Akron Rail blog and I while I know this might be far fetched for an idea but I would recommend the Reading T1 as the second engine. It already has a second tender and like the 614 it also needs an overhaul.

As for the complaints about dreaming big, Big dreams don't come true unless you 1st dream them. And, since the success rate is so low, you have to dream a lot of them to increase the chances that even 1 will happen. I suspect that some of the ill will towards Mr. Rowland are because some of his Big Dreams have violated the edicts of railfan experts, like running steam passenger trains on New Jersey Transit.
Can you imagine the ill will if his 10 sponsors control a lot of CSX stock? Worse yet, if the 1st 9 do, and vote in Directors who make CSX the 10th sponsor! (I only have 300 shares to contribute to the proxy fight.)

I don't see any connection of these excursions to the greater project of long-term "railway preservation". What's the relevance?

It may postpone the death rust of some preserved railway equipment, possibly even for longer than the 5 year term of the Dream.