Ham40PH wrote: ↑Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:03 pm
The F40PHs are in better condition than a lot of the GG1 sitting out there and lot more
historically important. Just setting one up and letting the public walk around inside of it
would be a real good educational opportunity.
Unfortunately historical importance when it comes to modern equipment isn't considered.
Never mind a midlife crisis it triggers in Boomers who run these museums.
F40s more historically significant than GG1? Most would disagree on that, though the F40s ended up as the
standard of North American passenger rail during their production run at EMD (1976-1987) and continuing
at MK/MPI well into the 1990s.
As for modern (1960s-) equipment, those who grew up often find in hard to realize that the equipment
they saw delivered new would become old. At NYTM for example, much of the excursions focus on prewar
equipment, and while the postwar fleet is loved too, some are too recent or too similar to cars in active
service and not yet to be point of being viewed as "classic cars". So there is a grey area: equipment not
old enough to be truly deemed "antique" or historic, but still fairly recent or modern on most minds.
Some equipment, such as RDCs, Lackawanna electric MUs, Reading Blueliners and LIRR MP72/75s, became
the choice of museums and short lines. But looking more recent, there hasn't been much interest for buyers
in post-1965 stock, except with the low door Comet I fleet for NJT (popular with aftermarket buyers). Only
recently were the first Amfleets sold to a private excursion service. From this point on, equipment seems to
bland and slim, as the single level Comets remained in production for 30 years, and now bilevel/multilevel
coaches are the norm. The last private (non-subsidy or government owned) passenger equipment were
UP and KCS coaches from St. Louis and Pullman respectively in 1965 and the bulk of both fleets are now
owned by NCDOT, meaning anything after due for preservation or aftermarket sale will be government
developed, such as the Comet I.
Since my friend continues to chain smoke nonstop, she is probably an Alco.