We do engineer for an hour programs at Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City. It is a significant revenue source, and in general is a lot of fun, with a reasonable amount of work.

Recently we had a special needs individual participate (very successfully) and his sister, who arraigned the experience asked what other museums offered similar programs.

In part to address her question, but also in part get an idea of what others are doing, I would love to know who else offers similar programs and some details like equipment used, costs, and any limits or extras offered as part of the program.

In our case, we use our 4 diesels, a GP-30, a NW-2, a GE 80 ton centercab, and a FM H12-44, we charge $250, guests get to operate the locomotive along over our 4 mile long "main line"... starting near our shops so the visitor doesn't operate over our single grade crossing. Crew consists of an engineer and a brakeman. An extra guest is allowed in the cab (more if we are using the GP-30).

Randy

The Williams Grove Historical Steam Engine Association, in Williams Grove, PA, offers multiple opportunities for the public to run either a 1953 Vulcan 65-ton diesel, or the only currently operable PRR steam locomotive, B4a 0-6-0 #643, for half-hour time slots - $50 for the diesel, and $125 for the steam locomotive - on various dates throughout the year. They have, I believe, a half-mile of track to run back and forth on. Passenger rides are also offered during various events and at various times throughout the year.

http://www.wghsea.org/blog/run-locomotive-2016

Randy ... what if the participant has a valid, FRA-compliant locomotive engineer's certificate from another railroad? I know of a few engineers who would be tempted to splurge on the opportunity to operate something "out of the ordinary." In some cases, your "guest" may have more experience than the actual crew, and only really needs a "pilot" under the letter of the law.

Taking a valid locomotive engineer's license into account, may be something worth considering in designing a EFAH program.

And let me tell you, it's great.

How many people, today, can tell you they've run a REAL Pennsy steamer?

My list of facilities that offer Engineer Experience programs can be found here.
http://www.railroaddata.com/rrlinks/Eng ... _Programs/

They seem to come and go, so I'm sure some of the info will be outdated, but it's a good starting point.

First full size steamer I ever ran, and since I'm a PA native I always felt that was very appropriate. I also had my first real train ride on a Pennsy Passenger train.

I suspect that his program is exempt from engineer certification. I am sure having the 'engineer' and 'conductor' and not going past the crossing is more of a insurance issue or just being cautious. For that matter, simply not crossing the crossing wouldn't change the rules anyway.

Does bring up a question-what are the rules about allowing a 'guest' non-certified (and presumably lacking rules book exam, health exam, background check, etc) engineer on a general system railroad? Anyone can fly an airplane as long as a qualified pilot is there. But you can't drive a semi without taking the basic written exam. I don't know what the boat rules are....

The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum has two programs:

Guest Engineer Program (over museum trackage) $100

Throttle Time (over former C&O main line trackage) $240

The requirements include:

1. 18 years an older.

2. Valid drivers license.

3. Meet physical requirements.

Additonal information is available on the museums website.


Les

I, too would be very interested in what the rules and limitations are for this type of program. We tried a similar program a few times with excellent feedback. We limited the throttle time to within our yard. This allowed people to hook on to a flat car and move it around between a few tracks and run around it. We did have alot of opposition from inside the organization that kept us from expanding this experience. We have quite a few public crossings that limit (supposedly) where a un qualified engineer could run. I have read that the Nevada Northern has a very in depth experience that I would like to work towards.

Shelburne Falls (MA) Trolley Museum has an "Instant Motorman" program. Cost is $20 plus your $4 ticket, as available when open. You get one observation trip on our 1000' line and then you can take one or more trips under very close supervision. On a recent one there was someone napping beside the tracks, so I took over. We let anyone who wants to operate do so, the little kids like to wiggle the brake wheel and think they are driving. Our Rulebook says: "Motorman must allow no unqualified person to run car, except under his direct and constant supervision."

Sam,
Does your rule book address the conditions in which the guest motorman may operate? During regular operations? Who is allowed to ride? Within yard travckage only? Etc? Or do you leave the choice to your qualified motorman?
Ken

The Sumpter Valley Railway has a similar pay to run program for their 3' gauge Alco #19.

That's the one I hope I can schedule.

The Pacific Southwest RR Museum (PSRM) in Campo, CA, runs an EFAH program during our slow season (summer). $150 for an hour, running a GP 9 along about a half mile track on our yard lead.

In looking in to how we would do this, I did find that several museums (as I recall, Hoosier Valley was one) applied for, and received waivers from the FRA. These waivers allowed "non-certified" people to operate the train under certain specified conditions, when a certified engineer would normally be required (like over a public grade crossing). Because of various factors specific to our operation, we did not pursue this route.

Greetings:
The Valley Railroad (dba: Essex Steam Train & Riverboat) has been doing our "Your Hand on the Throttle" program twice a year since 1997, teaching folks to operate a full size steam locomotive and then allowing them to operate it (under supervision) on an 8 mile round trip over portions of our line.
More information at: http://www.essexsteamtrain.com (see seasonal events page).
As of this moment, we still have a couple of slots open for November 3, 2016.
J.David

We leave it up to the motorman. All our trackage is 'yard trackage'. It is OK during regular operations and with regular passengers. Realize that our qualified motorman is standing next to the Instant Motorman, in front of the brake wheel (we have hand brakes), and can take over immediately if needed. The glee that the Instant Motorman expresses upon starting out, and the satisfaction they get from (usually) making a smooth platform stop upon return are very rewarding.