I don’t claim to have any insider knowledge - I’m just going with the news reports!

Dude, Dudette, He, She, Them, Their, & non binary pals -- you keep nagging for information that is NOT public knowledge -- and keep denying any responsibility for the actions of someone who is ignorant enough to cross the legal line.

Go ask the authors of the news reports. They don't get paid to post here.

Brian Helfrich

Wowzers - what a reply! haha.

Umm... I'm not sure what you are talking about regarding legal lines. Multiple posters, including you, have implied that the resignations had something to do with the locomotive's fuel source or where it would or would not run. Based on all of the information released, the issue seems to be about the use of funds.

My question was - unless you or someone else claims to have inside knowledge - I will continue to believe that this is an issue about funds - and not where they get to run the choo-choo or what fuels it.

Also... nothing on this site is worth getting that worked up about - stay calm and choo-choo on! :)

Trolling a Troll is so easy sometimes.

You're so cute -- can I pinch your cheeks?

This was one of my favorite quotes from my Grandmother on my Mom's side. (Born in January 1899) Here she is holding my son - who is over 31 years old these days:

https://i.imgur.com/4OvIBcV.jpeg

She loved when the Maryand and Pennsylvania steam engines pulled into town.

Brian Helfrich

Brian Helfrich, I'm going to say your grandmother looks like she was a wonderful person, with the beauty that can come with age.

And your little boy (who's not so little today!) is a jewel, too.



Brian, I'm going to say Crescent-Zephyr has some good advice, too.

So, in that spirit, I'm going to suggest we call a truce, calm down, have something cool to drink* (we all need that with this weather we're having), and come back a bit more reasonable, a bit more thoughtful.

None of us needs the excess stomach acid.

And we do need to discuss, and if we're in a position to do so, to work to keep our dreams alive, to see them in steam and steel (or even with diesel exhaust), to help tell the wonderful story of American Railroading, now approaching it's own bicentennial.

(Has it been that long since the Chessie Sesquicentennial, with the Chessie Steam Special? Where did the time go?)

*My own cool drink, which I have with me now. . .a nice, homemade, simple mocha.

Start with two teaspoons of chocolate powder (i.e., Nestle's Quik), and one teaspoon of instant coffee (my personal choice is Nescafe Classico) in a glass. Fill the glass halfway with water, the rest with milk, all as cold as you can get it. If you wish, you can just use the milk, but my stomach complains later about too much creamy stuff, so I have to watch it.

Then you just stir it all up, and enjoy it!! Optionally, you can add an ice cube or something to help hold the chill a bit longer. You might also find you'll want to vary the ratios a bit, depending on your own taste and also on the ingredients used (some coffees are stronger or weaker, depending on the brand).

Hope you like this!!

Here is what a recent Roanoke Times article had to say.

At least one of those former board members stepped down because they said the organization is not sustainable in its current form, according to a resignation letter.

Joining the 17-member museum board this week is Ted Krumreich. And the board is talking to additional community members about filling the other five vacancies, said Tom Cox, executive vice president and board member.

“We’re continuing to move the museum forward in the same direction we’ve been moving it,” Cox said. “I’m not saying that we won’t miss those guys. Certainly we will.”

The former board president, William Harris, stepped down for health reasons, as anticipated, Cox said.

“As far as the other folks,” Cox said. “Whenever you have a group of people, you always have differences of opinion.”

Cox said many of the resigned board members were closely involved with excursion season for the famous Norfolk & Western Class J 611 steam engine, which is owned and operated by the museum.

“There have been some assertions. 611 has a very emotional following. Very unique, and that’s to our benefit,” Cox said. “But there are always persistent rumors circulating around the locomotive.”

He added that the museum and board fully intends on preserving and operating the 611 for as long as feasibly possible.

Most of the board members who resigned did not respond to inquiries from The Roanoke Times on Tuesday. In a text message, former board member Gavin Miller said the concerns cited in his resignation letter speak on their own.

“I wish the best for the museum and 611 going forward,” Miller’ text message said.

The museum board declined to provide copies of the former members’ resignation letters. Miller declined to share his own resignation letter due to what he said is a confidentiality agreement.

But a museum member who attended the annual meeting on June 20 provided a copy of Miller’s resignation letter.

“While I am proud of many of the projects I and other members of the Board of Directors accomplished during my tenure,” the letter reads, “I have reached the consensus that the Virginia Museum of Transportation as the organization exists today is not sustainable.”

Harris listed seven reasons with examples in his four-page resignation letter. Financial concerns top the list, including an alleged need for tighter financial controls after, “the recent loss of museum funds via fraudulent wire transfer,” according to the letter.

“Excluding state grants and other restricted fund sources, the museum continues to operate at a net loss,” Miller wrote. “A change to the museum’s operating model is needed to attain profitability.”

The letter said there is more than $130,000 worth of excess merchandise leftover from recent 611 excursions, after $230,000 of goods were purchased for an event budgeted at $65,000.

“There has been no accountability to date regarding this difference, or the fiscal approval of such,” Miller wrote. “This excess inventory has drained much of the event’s profit and the 611 operating account at no fault of those who worked tirelessly to ensure its success.”

He also listed concerns about safety, oversight and board decisions surrounding the 611 steam engine. There is allegedly a conflict of interest regarding repairs, the letter said.

Rumors about the 611 steam engine are not true, said Cox, museum’s executive vice president, during a phone interview on Monday.

“There is no basis for any of those rumors,” Cox said. “The last thing we’re going to do is be a part of anything that’s not above board, dotting i’s and crossing t’s. The worst that happens is people disagree on things, and everybody’s entitled to do that.”

Cox said he wishes board members would have spoken up sooner, rather than stepping down. Some concerns could have easily been addressed, he said.

“Disagreements may occur with regard to policy, but these guys, all of them had the opportunity to address these issues as board members,” Cox said. “They were in a position to do that. They were on the board during this entire period.”

It is true, and no secret, that the museum of transportation has long operated at a net negative. Documents show the museum employs 20 people, has about 125 volunteers, and has operated at a loss since at least 2019.

During the 2022 fiscal year, the museum ran at a deficit of $351,000. The deficit more than doubled in fiscal year 2023 to $705,000, documents show.

Much of that increased deficit can be attributed to 611 repair costs, said the museum’s executive director, Mendy Flynn. She hopes that long-sought funding coming from the state government will help pay for costly capital improvements to the old train station at 303 Norfolk Ave.

“It’s just an old, old building, and it needs a lot of money,” Flynn said. “We are doing some significant improvements.”

She said some of the board members who decided to resign had simply told her they were tired after the excursion season.

“It’s been very puzzling, and very disappointing,” Flynn said. “We don’t have anything to hide. It’s just a matter of, you know, opinions get around. People get unhappy, and you never know what they’re gonna say.”

One of the museum’s founding faces is Bev Fitzpatrick, who was appointed Monday to fill an unexpired 6-month term on the city council. He said the museum started in 1963, at what is now The Green Goat restaurant in Wasena.

“I’m obviously very concerned, as a person who started on the very first board, to see anything that questions what might be happening at the Virginia Museum of Transportation,” Fitzpatrick said. “My hope is that whatever is not right gets corrected and that the museum continues on a very positive path. I don’t want to see it get hurt.”

My translation -

We volunteer to keep the 611 running and your paid staff wastes money that makes our 611 events lose money - and they are not held accountable.

BINGO !!!

As always..............follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Ross Rowland

Crazy how big an issue wire fraud is these days. Organizations really need to let their folks who are authorized to wire money know what to look out for.

Also can confirm there seemed to be an absurd amount of merch at last year's excursions.

The theatre where I was employed was victim of a several sizeable external wire fraud transfers. A alert bank employee caught the first one which saved us time and money trying to claim funds later.

Wesley

Here’s a different opinion on this story.

I’ve been a board chair three times in my volunteer life.

If I am president of a non profit board, joined by five of my colleagues with concerns listed here, I’d be holding an executive session with the board and the staff and taking steps to correct the underlying issues.

Wesley

Deleted due to inaccurate assumption.

.

I was there that day! the crowds all left because of the delay and I got some great photos of the 611 arriving at the platform on that list trip.

That was also the year they charged a $5 parking fee even if you were walking - so silly. I had already paid over $1,000 for the Lerro trips, etc. so it’s not like $5 broke the bank but it was still annoying.

Another article for those interested. Lots more detail in this one. You do need to sign up to read it but it's a free subscription.

https://www.roanokerambler.com/i-dont-h ... t-reeling/