Like too many in this nation, you willfully and deliberately stick your head in the sand instead of listening to the valid points he did have, at the peril of our nation and its future. And that obstinacy is part of our overall national crisis.

It can be argued that both 1) the way most companies fire personnel and 2) the way most government funding comes about--the insertion of appropriations into massively overbloated "omnibus" spending packages--may technically be legal, but is neither "correct" nor "appropriate" either.

We may not like it, but we most decidedly need "shock and awe" applied to basically all government spending and taxation.

Not intended as a codeword or dog-whistle for Mr. Trump's assault on DEI practices.

The Government has a nasty (in my opinion) tendency to put all kinds of tests or criteria on civil-service jobs, make decisions based on 'other than competence and best fit for the position', and to pile other government 'priorities' on as additional conditions. That is likely to be particularly troublesome for Steamtown when, as noted, the criteria used for 'park ranger' positions accord with preserving our natural parks, rather than preserving and teaching the historic and technical aspects of steam railroading. That one of the trainee welders was dismissed summarily 'by hiring date' is a very poor sign concerning what is to come about 'Steamtown as Old Williamsburg' with folks actually doing the work in the shop rather than playing roles.

The conceptual problem I have with what is occurring is that they (so far) have only gotten rid of the most recent hires. However, money has already been spent to give a proper oreintation and training tot hese new hires to prepare them for he job that they accepted with the goals that someday, someone senior to them would retire and they would fill that role as experience and training allow. That is money that has been effectively wasted/thrown out when they decided to fire all of these people.

Now, the senior/more experienced people are still there, but they're not training anyone to replace them. They retire and now what happens when its found that the person that just retired was working on some critical function but now no one knows how to do that job? IF they lift the hiring freeze and hire someone to fill that role, they're again paying for the orientation and training of someone. Now WE the tax payer just paid twice for the same result.

As someone pointed out earlier, this is just one big game of FAFO, though many are still in the FA portion of that phrase and haven't begun the FO phase yet.

This is correct except they won't hire somebody to fill that position. They're trying to ruin the National Park Service so that it can't operate successfully so they can sell off what they deem as "unnecessary" and privatize what remains.

Well... here's a question... regardless of Red or Blue, this seems like it might be a great time to start up a Steamtown Foundation and offer to just buy the place? Since the current people taking control have no interest in doing it the "government way" - they may just sell it to you in one full swoop.

The property and collection has enormous potential.

One has to wonder how things would have worked out if Steamtown had gone to the Smithsonian Institution group instead of NPS.

Brian Helfrich

Now that's an interesting question. I'm not sure the Smithsonian would have the core competencies to have an operating railroad museum either and their one proposed "offsite" acquisition-the Bethlehem Steel Works never came to fruition, instead it was repurposed as a casino complex.

Unfortunately, Bill Withuhn passed away and we can no longer ask him if such a thing was ever considered or even contemplated. I wished somebody had asked this question fifteen years ago when we had adjoining lockers.

There is the question of how McDade decided to maneuver the NPS as the receiver of the assets. Did his staff look at it and say, this is the only possible part of the federal government that could receive it. Did they recognize that it was a square peg in a board full of round holes and that the rules, regulations, dispositions and habits of the NPS don't really anticipate operating the things in their care? How many concessions were made to overcome the objections of the John White's and Bruce Vento's who stood in opposition?

I suppose in an ideal world; the concept of a national operating railroad museum would not have had the operating mission conflated with the historic preservation mission. It would have emerged organically, rather than as a bring home the bacon crisis response.

In that scenario, or more accurately fantasy, the historic locomotives and rolling stock could have been static, and replica locomotives and coaches, as true to the original as modern safety and operating practices would permit-providing visitors with an authentic experience without the difficulties. Of course 1986 was before Kloke's replicas, the Torn ado and 5550 projects. CAD/CAM was in its infancy. Maybe (full size) replicas were simply unimaginable four decades ago.

Unfortunately, attaching pdfs here is not provided. I have a copy of GOA Congressional testimony that shows what was anticipated in 1991, it's rather fascinating to see what they said then, and how things turned out.

As a 'oldtimer' now I have an interesting document in my possession, the East Broad Top Railroad Study of Alternatives, done by the National Park Service Planning team in 1990. That's when it was widely assumed, and promoted, that EBT was going to become a NPS property. And it was also during that time that there were active and uniformed NPS park rangers on site, giving interpretive talks at Colgate Grove during layover.

Never mind that they did it right under the air compressor on 14, and nobody could hear anything. Never forgot that one. That was my first clue.

But while you're gnashing your teeth over Steamtown, think about it. The one that got away.

EBT SOA available on archive.org

https://archive.org/details/studyofalternati00btop

You don't use Shock and Awe against yourself, and you've bought into the narrative that Federal Employees are the enemy of America, instead of the reality that they're the lifeblood of America.

I guess you won't understand until it affects you personally. Do you receive Social Security or Medicare?

I want to make sure it is clear that the person I talked about wasn't a welder trainee, he was a certified welder who happened to be within one year of his start date.

I would be ok with the hard choices brought about by a legal Reduction in Force (which the party that controls all three branches of government could easily put into action,) but instead a ketamine addict with a literal chainsaw is firing whoever he thinks he can get away with firing, with zero regard for what they do or if they're necessary.

Steamtown NHS exists because the Federal Government bailed out the bankrupt private Steamtown foundation, which was operated by big names in the industry at the time, and who started with two running mainline engines, 15ish coaches, and ownership of the mainline that Steamtown now pays the counties to use. You are deluding yourself if you think there is a business model where a private Steamtown is profitable.

Maybe not "profitable" but certainly self-sustaining. As much as any other museum.

Delusional.

When you're reduced to flinging insults and calling names like "ketamine addict" you've lost the rational debate.

See also: "Literally Hitler!!!!"................