I have deleted the MEC 501 thread and banned Mr. Smythe from this forum permanently. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and even reminded him of the RYPN guidelines this morning. He immediately proceeded to break those guidelines repeatedly throughout the day. RYPN is not the place for personal insults and I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. Unfortunately I am usually away from the computer during the day so dealing with rules infractions have to wait until I get home.

A good rule of thumb is to not "feed the Troll" but to report the infraction and one of the moderators will take action on it asap.

Thanks!

And BTW train guy, come back! Don't abandon us due to the actions of one person.

No need to apologize, you were just doing your job as the moderator. He had his chance, you reminded him, and he blew it. Nothing to apologize for.

.

I apologize for taking so long to deal with the problem.

Good decision sir!


Les

Thank you Rick!

I appreciate and extend a hearty thanks to you and all the other fine people who keep the forum up and running.

Best regards,

Terry

Outstanding! Thank you Rick.

There are some good minds offering their opinions, Rick. Obviously, you couldn't be too far from the right call.

Thanks. I'd welcome somebody with good information about today's situation and no interest in dredging up old personality conflicts to continue to inform us about that locomotive. It sounded like it could be a great opportunity to make something good happen.

What?!?! Rick, you can't lay track, fix the boiler on your loco and stay chained to RYPN all day, all while driving to PA to get 757 ready to move?!? Very classy to post an explanation but I knew you would be on that thread eventually. And you gave the poster a fair shot. Thank you for all your hard work.

I was going to post a similar line of inquiry to Mr. Wilkins', but I refrained because of two sentences the same person posted in the thread that was moved to Railfanning, "Maine Central #501 & John Smythe". His post on 12-27-17 contained a statement that, "New codes came into effect in 2000, we could have snuck over the finish line but winter was just getting underway, I was at the end of my rope & suffered a nervous breakdown & needed to be in the hospital." To me, that is a red flag that perhaps he attaches a bit too much emotionally to that time in his life and is not going to be as receptive to rational suggestions to lay off going after people long out of the picture (or even passed away) as one would hope. In his post dated 1-22-18, he stated, "I have no intention of ever being any part of a [sic] effort to restore a steam locomotive ever again." If he had no intention to make a contribution to 501 moving forward, I could see no constructive reason for his posts. Of course, this is all just my opinion and everyone is free to interpret those two sentences as they wish.

So, as I have suggested in dealing with another more infamous, and very sadly troubled, railfan who has posted here under various aliases in the past, maybe the best thing to do is just ignore and not provide the attention (whether it be positive or negative) that is craved.

As a believer in the importance of operational steam in preserving the knowledge of how to maintain, repair, and operate these wonderful machines, and in opening peoples' minds to the story of steam railroading and its impact on our society and prosperity, I hope that the poster reaches out to the new ownership at Conway Scenic and offers his technical knowledge and assistance in the restoration effort. I'd love to read a story a few years from now about how a gentleman came out of 501's past and helped finish the work he started years ago.

Rick, thank you. I was a moderator on a forum for awhile, so I know how hard it can be. So thank you for stepping up and doing the dirty work. It can be a trying thankless job. People get real weird sometimes hiding behind a screen with an alias.

If he has been here before under different names, he will be back. We just have to report any suspicious posts. We had a swindler that forum has been fighting for years. I even almost got swindled myself.

So again Rick, THANK YOU.

Thank you, Rick. I like to come here for railroad-related news, not the sort of BS he was spreading.

well it is ignorant of you to have a life Rick...JUST KIDDING!
no one expects the mods to live in front of the computer. We appreciate all you mods do to keep this a great place.

As a Maine Central fan and a board member of NESCo that's restoring 470, I'd love to see active 501 discussion on here. Unfortunately every thread about it turns sour quickly.

I would be all for a 501 thread in the future, it just needs a little more attention from mods. There really isn't much to talk about at the present so I don't think one is necessary. Hopefully that will change soon!

My $0.02

If something worthy of discussion happens, by all means post it. I'll keep an eye on it. I don't want there to be a list of taboo subjects here if we can help it.