Besides Kelly's point about the quality of work in Strasburg (and he didn't mention the tremendous freight car collection which has been fully, appropriately, restored) I got over the #972-with-belpaire thing awhile back. Why?I don't own it. Someone does, and it isn't me. If I owned it, I could do what I wished.If one wants to argue that some private owners are not proper stewards of their property, I offer that there are better places to begin than Lancaster County.Rob

For me, you have to add some context to this debate.If this were in a MUSEUM, the use of that word implies (at least to me) that some history is being preserved and there ought to be a standard of authenticity embodied there.But Strasburg is and has been a railroad, and they are considering the need of the locomotive in a service environment. Many preservationists love to unravel the history of pieces that have bounced form owner to owner and I see few comments that the new railroad owner did not preserve the original form of a car or locomotive.Actually if you want to be a knuckle dragging purist rivet counter, you should probably insist on many things impractical today, including the strict adherence to using only asbestos laden boiler lagging and insulation, since that is the way it was.Bob Kutella

I respectfully suggest that when we start showing more respect to iron than to people who have devoted their lives to maintaining steam as a living technology, something is out of whack in our sense of what's important.AMEN!!! and.. Strasburg is an operating tourist railroad- they need to keep their operating assets in the best condition for economical and valuable service-"original fabric" considerations.These guys keep a fleet of their own stuff as well as others alive and well. Its their show, be glad they sell you a ticket to get in.

Wow! What a fuss! It's good I haven't told anyone that I would like to change SRC to 3 foot gage and run proper trains.972 is a wonderful locomotive. I have had some wonderful experiences with her on the mainline. She is a runner. She was also worn out. Her firebox and wrapper were junk as was the mudring.With the number of that class surviving versus the number of Belpaire boilers that will be in service sometime in the future (maybe two), it seemed like a reasonable decision to convert 972 to what I believe to be a better design that does not have the whacky stresses of a radial stayed box. Kelly is correct, with the downturn in business there is no incentive to complete this project at the moment. Time will tell.

I think the folks at Strasburg have earned the right, based on the last 47 years, not to be second guessed by what they do, or plan to do in the restoration of any of their equipment. Their work over the years speaks for itself. Whatever, (and whenever) the railroad decides to do with this locomotive, I'm sure it will be something both exciting and special. Enough said.On as side note. I know what it's like to have people not wanting changes to original equipment. Last year I changed all four original tires on my car, and my neighbors burned me in effigy!Paul

[rushes over to TrainOrders and Trains.com:]Hey, everybody! The Strasburg RR is gonna convert the railroad to three-foot gauge! I heard it from Linn Moedinger himself! I quote:Gee, he doesn't even like the trains he's running now! I wonder if he's gonna buy the East Broad Top and relocate it!(^_^ )(And now you know how movie studios get those great blurbs for lousy movies......)

Linn and Kelly,Thank you both for our updates and insights into the operation of your fine shops and railroad. The quality of what you do is fantastic and it is always a pleasure to hear what is going on. As I said in the other thread the Reading #10 is very near and dear to my heart as a beautiful example of a Harlan and Hollingsworth PV. With so few examples of Wilmington built equipmet around it is nice to know this girl is in good hands.

Well they did a great job on Thomes The Tank Engine a few years back, BEDT # 15 H.K. Porter locomotive.Len

Strasburg is not in the museum business, they are a tourist railroad. Conservation of fabric isn't their priority, and shouldn't be. Ironically, their tourist railroad does a much better job of interpretation of the historic shortline experience than most museums. They have also managed to preserve a lot of artifacts by considering them rolling stock rather than artifacts, although some changes in materials and techniques have been instituted in the process. If you want to measure Strasburg, pick the correct yardstick. Despite the decline in tourism resulting from the destruction of the main draw to the area - the Pennsylvania Dutch culture - by overdevelopment, Strasburg continues to not only maintain high standards but grow, evolve, and reinvent itself a bit at a time even as ridership declines. They haven't compromised quality, or cut back in an effort to buy time to die more slowly, just in case somebody else makes things better. Their continued success using this approach sounds like a victory to me. dave