A message that came too late for the woman who got clipped by the UP 844 while she was filming a video.

What shocked me about the fatality with #844 in Henderson, Colorado was that there was a group of photographers gathered at that grade crossing, but NOBODY tried to warn that lady or get her off the track. Maybe she wanted to end it all, and was videoing the incident for "Watchmeoffmyself.com", or some similar wacko website, but I have no first hand knowledge of that...

Here’s a sorta off topic question.

Is there anything preventing the VRE excursions from starting in Clifton Forge as opposed to Goshen? Nothing against Goshen of course but it’s kinda in the middle of nowhere, having been there for Boy Scout camp long ago.

Nobody's questioning Operation Lifesaver as a waste of time or anything.

The question is, was the Chessie Safety Express a valid tool for teaching the mission/lesson, or just a handy excuse to run steam excursions?

The same thing happened with Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam - It began as a PR move running short excursions often only for employees of NS. Then the railfans somehow got ahold of it and turned it into the second coming of the foamer express and it wasn't long for this world.

This is not accurate.

The original plans for the steam program were quite significant. They were scaled back due to logistics and cost. The F units, heritage units, and the like were what prevailed from what was originally envisioned.

The 21st Century Steam program and contracts for the program were always intended to sunset. It wasn't long for this world because TVRM, FWRHS, and VMT were only contractually involved for a limited time only. That was the deal.

More to the point, 21st Century Steam was "cool" from an event perspective and very meaningful for lots of other reasons, but was never the compelling, cohesive, or effective PR campaign it could have been. I would hope a sequel would be much savvier.

eh... my statement was somewhat accurate but I'm not gonna start naming names or getting into specifics on here. The deal with TVRM was never supposed to be short-term.

Well, it's certainly true that everyone got the opportunity to make hay while the sun shined. I'm fairly certain there were folks in all corners who left a few stones unturned, ours included...

The truth is that the Class 1's posture on running steam excursions has always been completely based upon the CEO's opinion.

When CSX was run by Mr. Hays T. Watkins who was an out of the closet steam lover, steam was welcomed on CSX as evidenced by the Chessie Steam Special ( 1977-78) and the Chessie Safety Express ( 1980-81).

When the Claytor brothers were in positions of senior management at the Southern and Norfolk & Western railroads their out of the closet love for steam carried the day and steam was prolific on both roads.

Perhaps the most glaring example is when Mr. C.W.( Wick) Moorman became the CEO at NS the long dormant steam program on NS quickly came back to life resulting in the restoration to service of the 611. When Mr. Moorman's tenure ended it took less than a year for the steam program to again be mothballed.

As to mainline steam on the class 1's it's wonderfully simple........if the CEO loves steam there's fertile ground for a steam project............conversely if not ...forget it.

Therefore, mainline steam's best chance for a long term future lies in being part of a public agency's mission to serve its constituents ( i.e. NJT, VRE etc.) ,a place where the mission is to encourage passenger rail not look upon it as an attractive nuisance.

Hope you get my drift.

Just to set the record straight I personally financed the 1979-80 restoration of the 614 which cost a total of $ 1.1 M ( 1980 dollars). CSX contributed $ 100k and I paid the balance.

OPM is always an attractive option.

Need to go now and practice my swarmy politician skills.

Thanks, Ross Rowland

Thanks for setting the record straight, Ross.
Alan

Perhaps the "Let's bash Ross" club will sit on their hands until this project has been fleshed out. We should do everything we can to see mainline steam operations put in the best light possible.

Hi All
I also would like to see exC&O # 614 back running again,,the last time I rode behind her, were the Erie Limited trips out of Hoboken, NJ..
But sense it had been a while since the locomotive has ran,, what would be the cost, to bring her into the current FRA standards to operate in 2024...
Plus how much (Time would be needed) to do this,,even tho the locomotive is in great condition,,she has been sitting outside in the weather for a number of years... Pat.

Positives and Negatives should both be discussed. And also.. this isn't really the definition of Mainline Steam.

I think that despite who may own the track, if it will support operation of a large locomotive pulling a decent size train at a decent speed, it can be considered mainline. If you're poking along at 10-20 mph, I wouldn't consider that a "mainline" experience. I think the R & N trips and something similar would come close to being considered mainline steam, even if on a regional railroad as opposed to CSX or NS.

John

AND there was "someone" who had apparently committed to lease the 614 from SLCA for at least one year, and I'm certain the lease was not priced at $1 a year................

........... and you are notedly NOT "investing" three million or so (adjusted for inflation) in 614 NOW.................

................ which goes back to the "how much should you charge?" thread elsewhere.