Yup.. Lock 'em down. We have been censored!

They said that after Sept. 11, 2001.

After the OPEC embargo of 1973.

After the Kennedy assassination.

After Pearl Harbor.

We got back to a new, and in some ways "better," version of "normal" each time.

Meanwhile, there are various parties out there with a vested interest in making SURE we don't go back to anything even vaguely close to what we consider "normal." (If I elaborate, I steer to the "political," You know who I mean.)

We can capitulate to those people, or we can fight for a "new and improved normal."

In the summer of 2000 I took a flight to Europe with a pocket full of knives, including a lockblade buck knife that is around 6" when locked. Try that now. Or try to go across the border with Canada without a passport or even ID as you could in 2000, as my dad was doing with semi trailers loaded with chemicals back then. I still carry the buck knife, but not long ago I forgot to leave it and my swiss army knife keychain on my dresser before I left for a sporting event and had to hide them in a shrub (I ride the light rail so couldn't put it in my car). Our lives changed enormously after 09/2001 and it has never gone back to what it was, especially in terms of trusting other people. In Asia it was common to see SARS masks even before covid-19 and a decade after SARS and H1N1 hit. The one way in which we might be lucky is that with testing it is hypothetically possible to know who is infected and who is not, and to then to confine those who are so that the rest of us could live somewhat normally (but not completely normally). IMHO: hope for the best but expect the worse, and be ready to survive for a year without passenger trains operating.

Please take your political talk to another thread that can be locked.

The topic of this thread is VERY important to the future of rail preservation in my opinion and I would hope that the on topic posts can continue as we get closer to re opening museums and operations.

Are you a moderator now? Otherwise I don't think your opinion on what is political and what is not matters. This VERY important thread topic seems more than anything else to consider whether museums and operations will be allowed to open at all, or at what level.

Of course I’m not a moderator... I just wish the posts could stay on the topic so the thread doesn’t get locked. I’m sure my phrasing could have been better and I apologize for that.

From what the epidemiologists are saying, the COVID-19 is going to stick around until a vaccine is developed. It’s probably going to do what the 1918 flu did-weaken over the summer and come back during the next flu season. It could be the same virus or it could mutate and be worse-also what happened in 1918.

What’s worse is the economy. Our unemployment rate now is the worst it has been since the Great Depression, according to many economists. Many people do not have any money to spend on life’s necessities, much less diversions. Those of us in the museum business and tourist railroads are probably going to be looking at a couple of lean years. This year is probably a write off at this point. Maybe we’ll be able to get some butts in seats by the holidays, but we’ll probably be having to keep social distancing then, so you can expect revenues to be maybe half that of a normal season. The fact that the government is handing out money to taxpayers and loans to businesses is a very bad sign. We will recover from this, but it’s going to be two or three years.

When the lights come on again, we WILL reopen.

We'll have to follow the rules for our locations and find a way to work with the reduced capacity, at least until the underlying virus (SARS-CoV-2) is under control.

It will probably vary state to state and region to region.

But, when the lights come on again, we WILL reopen.

For now, though, stay safe.

Phil Mulligan

I'm not conversant with the details, but I've been told by a person who is directly involved that HRA is presently doing exactly that. Apparently it's not yet ready for release. Patience is a virtue.

/s/ Larry

I sure hope some groups are having serious discussions on "How do we properly secure our equipment and facilities for a potential long term shutdown/drastic reduction in operations" along with future plans to reopen. Leaving places look "abandoned" right now is a recipe for disaster in its own.

For the information of those who may have to prepare diesel locomotives for longer periods of inactivity, in a way that will help insure they will be ready for return to service, EMD published two Maintenance Instructions (MI's) on Locomotive Storage Procedures:

MI-1726 was written based on locomotive technology and maintenance practices of the 1970s, to address the storage preparations for locomotives with 645 series engines.

MI-2176 was written based on locomotive technology and maintenance practices of the 1950s, to address the storage preparations for locomotives with 567 series engines. The list of materials and supplies in this older version specifies some items no longer readily available.

If you have an older MI book, one or the other may be in there, otherwise they could be requested from Progress Locomotives, 9301 West 55th Street, La Grange, IL 60525.

Or see the second post in this discussion: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39747&hilit=MI+1726

PC

This moderator has no problem with the discussion about COVID-19 and its effects, both on the wider culture and our own industry. It is important to have forums available for respectful conversation and debate about this issue, which currently is the most important issue facing all of rail preservation.

Perhaps operations could put in place new volunteer guidelines for this shutdown period. There is no need to completely shut down a facility to everyone including volunteers who may now have more time on their hands and can work safely either individually or in a small group to keep progress moving forward.

Even if it is just mowing the grass and maintaining a presence. Anything is preferable to locking the gate and prohibiting all access.

We’re shut down except for grounds and equipment maintenance and some track work, all where social distancing is easy to maintain. No public access, though.

So no one really seems to want to discuss this other than from the political point of view but it is an important subject as things begin to go back online. I would suspect that museums and tourist lines should at the very least be engaging both volunteers and visitors as to what will make all feel safe and re-engage both in operation and restoration tasks and public rides.

Obviously the CDC and local government officials will have guidelines and recommendations but we need even more data on how those who are involved see things moving forward. Is anyone here planning on using their contact list to query these individuals as part of an informed re-opening plan or is there just too much gloom and doom to think of how in the world anyone should contemplate a plan to re-open?

I wish a real dialog about this subject could be had but I won't hold my breath.