Overlooked in the proceeding remarks is that the central issue
is not finding dollars or facilities capable of restoring steam
locomotives! Dollars and knowhow are both uncommon , but
the central issue has been finding places to let you run your
restored or new steam locomotive.
The best bet is that you get ahold of some run down piece of
track and with a large group of fellow enthusiasts maintain
the physical plant and find and restore a small industrial
tank locomotive or mainline old 0-6-0 (or smaller) to
power it.
Unfortunately, this does not have broad appeal as most fans:
have visions of northerns/mountains, or at least pacifics,
dancing in their heads as they haul the varnish with some elan.
Selectively, another smaller band sees vintage freight trains
as the besought Grail.
The last issue is holding the focus of the group and keeping
it together, when differences arise. If you think that is easy
for instance, then you don't know anything about the history
of railfan run railroads.
You say what! Who ever gave railfans a railroad to run?
Well the citizens of Warren County gave the local chapter
of the NRHS a real common carrier railroad (that still had
a few customers at the time, as well as agreements from
some nonusers to use the operation if it was manned).
The fans filled up the property with scores of free freight
and passenger cars (from the DoD courtesy of local
Congressman's intercession). This made them probably the
best equipped tourist excursion operator in the country,
if they chose to do this. They didn't have steamers,
but they had some side rod equipped, operating, center cab
DE switchers, that could have moved along the cars.
However, someone had to switch those freight cars, clear
the RoW, and also make sure the track stayed upright and
the like. It turned out the directors wanted to control and
direct , and the pool of actual folks that wanted to go
out after a tropical storm to clean ditches and shore up
whatever needed it dwindled. In a year or two no one
was around to sally forth in the Carolina sunshine to
do any sweating. Guys would ride speeders, and occassionally
throw a switch as long as they could run the locos
but soon the WARRENTON belonged to the ages. The
class one took out the connection and lots of old cars and
a few locos corrode in the tall grass, because an
'ingroup' discouraged expanding the membership and
otherwise sharing in making a unique opportunity i
n the worldof railfanning a reality.
Not many fans are given a shot at railroading, and the
PRAIRIE DOG CENTRAL is an excellent example that
shows a large scale operation incorporating volunteers
with paid employees can be made to work. It
requires organizational skills and people that are not
there merely for a quick sensory fixof the sites and
sounds of steam .
Even if the organization is focussed exclusively on a
locomotive, the matter of finding trackage to run it on
has become an overwhelming problem. It is not all
about insurance, although some rates are exclusionary
for excursion operations. The carriers simply do not want
your locos on their lines. They find the crowds brought
near trackside, and the interferance with operations
a burden. Obviously, some run their own programs
but most do not, and those that do are frying other
fish than getting good general press.
We have a great number of locomotives that are
first class mainline haulers with virtually no place to
go. We have 4-8-4s from ATSF,SP&S,Milwaukee Rd,
SLSW, SP, and a few needing minor work from
GTW,RDG, CN, C&O and probably other ATSF (there
were two other Long John 4-8-4s being rebuilt as of
two years ago). This doesn't touch the odd 2-8-4,
4-8-2 and Pacific around in operating condition.
Some of these are fairly tragic for reasons related to
some of the prior comments. The Reading 4-8-4 was
bought by a rich Canadian gentleman that proceeded
to spend over a ¼million to rebuild the boiler and
superheater (the whole works; new tubes and flues,
welded patches where needed, new stays, hydo testing
-the works) but he couldn't get CP or CN to let it
out for excursion train service. It was on a small tourist
/museum operation that had a little steamer, but this
was not the place to send a 'T-1' forth to do it's
stuff. All attempts to shake the guys with the mainlines
from their negative positions failed.
So he threw in the towel. In order to at least
see it move around the musum tracks, he butchered
the grates and stuck a residential oil burner gun in the
fire box.
This was a travesty, but by the same token
rebuilding the arch and doing all the oil burner and
appliances work for another wad of his dough...
also would have indicated he had lost his marbles.
There are many other examples of poor decision
making by groups , and individuals concerning
the restoration and operation of steam locos, but
unless some way can be found to overcome the
matter of where to haul passenger excursions that
replicate the past as it was... then focussing upon
small locos running on museum type physical
plants is the only realistic approach.
Good-Luck, Peter Boylan
There are many people that can afford to support the restoration of full scale steam locomotives. Most of the horror stories regarding restorations that I am aware of have to do with incompetent restorers wasting owner's money. This applies to the engine recently moved from Traverse City, as well as engines in highly respected rail museums such as the Ventura County #2 at the Orange Empire Museum in Riverside California. Find a sponsor with lots of money, and have a great restoration facility do the work. And most of all, THINK POSITIVE!
