Who wins at Mid-Continent? Not the visitors and not the membership, for sure.

The winners are those who prevented it from happening at Mid Continent. They may not have considered it at the time, or consider themselves winners now, but they got what they worked for whether they like it or not.

I don't believe that the following has been discussed here yet, when the 2 went East around 1962 from Washington State on her own wheels (largely over the N.P.), she did so with a messenger. This was covered in an older issue of Railroad magazine

That person was Jim Gertz, a Rayonier employee, but at the other WA operation, that out of Sekiu and called the Clallam County operation.

Jim just passed about a year and a half ago. He was a great gent and in a real irony, also owned a Rayonier steam locomotive numbered 2. It was 75-3 class Willamette s/n 34, the last one built and recently rebuilt at Mount Rainier Scenic RR in Mineral, WA. Jim stored it at his property near the airport in Port Angeles, WA for close to 40 years.

Dave gets it! It doesn't matter if you like what you have created or even if one takes responsibility for his own creations. You get the results regardless. There is no judgment in this and even if there was it would not change anything. The decision was made to continue this to the end result and the end result is what it is. We have multiple winners, just not an abundance of happy people.

We the membership do not have to like it, the owner does not have to like it, the BOD do not have to like it. Whether you as an individual choose marriage, buy a property or sell, try crack cocaine and have indiscriminate sex with multiple partners, it is a choice. You may or may not like the consequences. The real lesson is of course to become aware that choices and consequences are directly related to each other. To keep putting your hand on a hot stove burner does not mean the blankety blank stove is at fault. It is a belief system failure that fails to recognize ones own creation. Be it personal or corporate.

Please do not say a "leased pc of equipment" caused all this trouble, it ain't so. To continue any program or path that continues to "not work" and think that "as if by magic it will work" is nothing short of insane. As individuals, especially when we were younger we may have resembled this remark. Every once in a while you may need to do a reality check and see if your grandiose plans don't need tweaking or even scrapping. I learned from women that it is ok to change your mind when needed. Won't go into this any further it could get expensive. Oh I guess it has already and will continue too by the sounds of it.

Regards, John.

John,
Very insightful on many levels. Logical thought processors are few and far between these days.
Matt

Sorry, John, but I am pretty sure that Jeff thinks he is the winner here. After all he has finally achieved what he has been working toward for the last 15 years, namely giving Skip the boot. All at the expense of making Mid-Continent look pretty darned foolish.

And today the saga of the Saginaw Timber No. 2 comes to an end at Mid-Continent. The locomotive was loaded on the low-boy and has left the property. Mr. Lichter, the owner, is looking forward to finding a more friendly home in Oregon. Mr. Bloohm and the Mid-Continent board are looking forward to paying for the move.

Having observed these two characters for the last 8 years, I can say with some confidence that they are both happy to be rid of each other. Skip would certainly have preferred to remain in North Freedom, his home for the last 30 years, but it was an impossible situation at the Museum and he is too personally invested in his locomotive. Mr. Bloohm has eliminated a headstrong and fairly uncontrollable personality who was always at the museum doing one thing or another, with or without permission. Jeff wins as one less irritant is gone. Of course, there are no winners of losers here, only a changed situation.

In the aftermath, there are many Mid-Continent members who are unhappy that steam is returning later than sooner. But I think that change is mostly the driver of the unhappiness.

Received a video today of the #2, being towed on its own wheels into the surviving (1 of 2) blimp hangers built during WWII at Tillamook Bay, OR. I am not computer literate enough to attach the video to this post.

Alex Huff

Here it is, posted on the OCSR facebook page. They are lucky they got it unloaded before a deluge arrived here this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4dE2Gf ... e=youtu.be

Will this locomotive run on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad?

The best answer I can find after gleaning the OCSR website and facebook page is that when it operates the owner will have full control over when and how. Here is an article from a WI newspaper from a few months back posted on the OCSR facebook page a few days ago:

http://www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepu ... 5e8f5.html

"Lichter said he chose the Oregon railroad from more than 20 other sites across the country because the proposed deal was “very agreeable,” and the institution has a working steam engine program.

“They’re willing to be partners, and that’s what I’m after,” he said. “I don’t need a case where they’re boss, and all I do is suffer the decisions later on.”"

Yes, the #2 will run on the OCSR. It will be used in both regular and special excursion service. We have many plans in the works but we are not ready to announce anything yet.

Brandon Thompson
OCSR Volunteer

Here's a photo from the loco's first shakedown run yesterday on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. No major problems other than a dynamo that put out only 2V. They were able to put in about 6 miles altogether. She's currently housed in the Blimp Hangar just outside Tillamook until we can secure a larger engine house.

If you need a larger enginehouse than a blimp hanger then you would be the first person in history to understand the REAL space requirements of a locomotive shop!

Well, there's only one track in there.