On Saturday, April 30, I made my once-a-decade visit to Steamtown NHS (from Utah). According to the website, the short yard excursion is operated on Saturdays with a steam locomotive, but I was disappointed to find an NKP GP9 #514 in its place! It was a beautiful spring Saturday with a good number of tourists in attendance, and not a single "hot" locomotive in sight! The disappointment didn't really hit home until today when I reviewed my videotape from my last visit on a blustery day in late fall of 1995, which featured not one, but two operating steamers: CPR Pacific #2317 on the excursion, and BLW #26 moving around the yard and on the turntable.

C'mon Steamtown, what gives? Being somewhat aware of Steamtown's dubious reputation, I wasn't too surprised, but it seems to me they missed a "golden" opportunity to impress and delight visitors that day with operating steam. At least some explanation or apology should have been given after the website promised steam. I'm sure I wasn't the only one disappointed that day.

I think you could probably find a non-steaming steam excursion operation somewhat closer to you than Steamtown.

Steamtown is becoming "Dieseltown" in actual fact. I've had a few "discussions" with the staff down there over the years. One actually said something to the likes of, "We don't want to wear out these historic machines." In the old days in Vermont, steam ran pretty much whenever they were open. I've been on the train to Chester Depot with only a handful of passengers on the off days, but they ran steam every trip. That's what it's supposed to be all about, isn't it? I told them that they spent all the money so you can watch steam trains INSIDE the museum on various TV monitors scattered about the exhibits, while the real thing usually is DEAD outside! What a laugh, if it weren't so sad. It's a typical Fed boondoggle. Not only is there usually no steam during the week, even in summer, but you have to look high and low to discover anything about Steamtown's founder, the late F. Nelson Blount! He must be rolling over in his grave up in sleepy Dublin, NH.

Now,now,now-stop picking on poor 'ol s'town. You have no idea how tough it is trying to run that place on a measley $5 MILLION/Year. If the folks in Washington would only loosen up a little and send say $10 MILLION/Year then once in a while they'd actually be able to field a LIVE steamer????? Then again maybe I'm low-better ask for $15 MILLION/Year that way we'd be almost sure of steam occassionally????
Or we can hope that someday sanity will enter the picture and the Feds will outsource the operation to a competent private sector operator who for half the current $5MILLON/Year will not only provide reliable daily steam operations but bring life and vitality to the rest of the operation!
Hope springs eternal!!!!
Ross Rowland

Was over at Steamtown April 29th. Many Delaware Lackawanna Alco diesel's there. which isn't a bad thing. Some were on display.

The lack of operating steam is one thing, but in my opinion watching priceless rolling stock just rotting into the ground is very sad.

The condition of the locomotives upon entering the park is sad as well. The Big boy 4012 is turning purple it needs paint so bad, Lord only knows how much rust, and rot has accumulated as well.

Opening day, and the following few years seemed so promising.

Ed K. cp Laurel Run

You mean people go to Steamtown to see STEAM? When I'm in Scranton it's for the Krispy Kreme donuts and to watch the Delaware-Lackawanna's Alco powered trains do as God and Schenectady intended - pull revenue freight!

Phoebe says, and Phoebe knows
That smoke and cinders spoil fine clothes.
So if in Diesels you delight,
Then ride the Road of Anthracite!

Phoebe Snow did have a real job, she didn't just ride trains all the time. She worked for the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors selling diesel locomotives, and appears in one of their 1950s era ads.

Truthfully, Steamtown was just a stop for me driving from NYC to Rochester to see family. I get my fill of excellent steam operations at the Heber Valley RR, which is less than an hour from my home.

Why is it everytime someone has a less-than perfect experience at Steamtown, they have to announce it on RYPN? A gripe doesn't lend anything to railway preservation.

The fact of the matter is that Canadian National Railways no. 3254, the steam locomotive expected to run on April 16, needed more repair on her firebox than three months downtime could allow.

Also, the $5 million doesn't go into the locomotives or rolling stock. A good deal of it, including a 20% assessment of the entire NPS budget goes back to Washington, or Philadelphia (regional office) or Boston (regional office) for any number of national programs the NPS is conducting. The recent 20% assessment goes toward financing two wars. The remaining money goes to upkeep of the physical plant (13 buildings, needing the same heat that you have to pay for, along with groundskeeping), salaries and then locomotive/rollingstock upkeep.

Also, contracting is no bargain either. If you compare the average hourly rate of the workers in the roundhouse and loco/restoration shop, they are a bargain compared to the contractors working on a specific locomotive in the same shop. Not to start another flame war, just to make a point.

Finally, if you have questions on Steamtown's operations, PLEASE talk to someone at the park, either in person, via phone or e-mail. We don't need to start another round of RYPN banning discussion of the park or its contents.

I'll inform all of you when I see smoke from no. 3254, and Baldwin Locomotive Works no. 26. We may even see Canadian Pacific no. 2317 under steam before the end of the year.

Finally, how many trains does the Heber Valley run for a single $6.00 admission? I rest my case.

RYPN has become well known in preservation and people from many museums and operating railroads post news, answer questions, and share thoughts here. This website and the Interchange are one of the best things to happen to rail preservation in a number of years.

Aside from the flames that have flared up once in a while there have been a lot of good discussions about rail preservation and maybe Steamtown could actually gain if some of the folks running the place took part. People like us would get an understanding of what they are up against and they could hear some constructive feedback.

I am certain there are a lot of "little victories" that are happening at Steamtwon all the time. Getting the word out on these is just the reason they have the sections on briefs. We are in the great electronic age and it is time for Steamtown to step up and join in.

This topic has been thoroughly gone over in this thread and other similar threads in the past. I think enough has been said in this thread already, and therefore it is now locked.