AH>BW> How many people will any U-boat or GP-9 draw trackside when they're as
AH>BW> old as some of the "museum pieces" from the steam age that have
AH>BW> literally thousands of people standing around the rails with their
AH>BW> cameras when those dinosaurs from the steam age come marching through
AH>BW> town?
 
AH>we are not talking about how many people come to see it, talking about 
style
AH>and grace...... something a ratty, smelly steamer cant produce!!
 
Ah, then it comes down to your taste versus that of literally thousands
of steam devotees who will go out of their way to catch even the
briefest of glimpses of the Union Pacific's 844 or 3985 rolling along
one or another of their mainline tracks in Wyoming or Colorado, even out
here on the West coast; or the former Southern Pacific's 4449 as it runs
off the miles at 70 or faster with a string of varnish stretched out
behind it, just as do the U.P. steamers when they romp on the mainline.
 
AH>The steam age is dead, and a lot of railroads/ railways all over frown on 
th
AH>cause of the organisational headache they create.
 
A good part of it depends heavily on who it is that maintains such
equipment for use on the host railroad's mainline. While the hosting
railroad can gain some measure of good marks for allowing steam to run
on its rails, there are obvious safety factors that do need to be taken
into consideration, and obvious scheduling considerations for the
dispathers who do have other trains to move along the system.
 
AH>I wouldnt be suprised that in the not too distant future those steamers 
that
AH>arnt on their own right of way will be austed from everything else..... 
look
AH>at the NW/NS with 611.... a classic case of a company overcome with 
legality
AH>say what you will.........
 
Go even further to the south and look for the former Southern Railway's
steam engines, all of which used to frequent the mainline rails over the
summer months. Between nervous management, lawyers and insurance
carriers, it's hardly surprising that much of the steam we used to see
running mainline excursions has been bumped off the rails. Even Amtrak
is having problems in scheduling charters with equipment that sits on
the side tracks for 36-48 hours or more every week without drawing any
revenue for Amtrak while they lay over to await the next scheduled run.
 
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 # SLMR 2.1a # retupmoc siht edisni deppart m'I !pleH
 # PDQWK 2.5 #51
 
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