An open letter to the citizens of Grand Island and Hall County……from the Great Plaines Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society 6/21/01.
The Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer recently announced that it would trade Baldwin steam locomotive #69 to the White Pass & Yukon Railroad for three sets of old passenger car trucks. The locomotive, a narrow gauge 2-8-0, was built in 1908 for the White Pass and spent 46 years traveling over the step grades and sharp curves of Alaskan and Canadian mountain ranges carrying fortune seekers and gold rush “fevered” prospectors in the early 1900’s.
The claims made by the museum for not operating the railroad and getting rid of the locomotive have been many and varied over the years and most recently include the one that “the locomotive is not native to Nebraska”. The fact is, that the locomotive has spent over 28 years in Nebraska since it was delivered to North Platte in 1973! That’s over ½ the time it spent in Alaska! Number 69 has been a resident of the United States for 45 years, so we think it qualifies as a native. Also if the museum is concerned about heritage how does the Florence & Cripple Creek coach that they received a T-21 grant for and are about to restore, fit in at the museum.
We have been told that the Stuhr, “does not want to be a railroad museum.” And our organization does not propose that they become one. However, the way of life during the period from 1865 to 1920 that the museum interprets was so tied to railroads that any valid portrayal of those times must include them. Trains were the primary means of long distance travel through that period. The coming of the railroad opened the plains to the very pioneers to whom the Stuhr is dedicated. My own great-grandparents rode the rails to Nebraska after being enticed to the New World by advertisements for cheap, fertile farmland placed by the Burlington and Union Pacific in their eastern European homelands.
Many of our towns were founded by the railroads. Early steam locomotives could travel only eight to twelve miles before having to stop for water and fuel, so the railroads built depots and water tanks and soon a community sprang up around them. Even the towns that were already populated before the tracks were laid felt the effects. Grand Island’s original site was far to the south of the present downtown. It took only a short time after the trains came for the town to relocate to where the depot became the center of the community.
Practically all the goods needed by merchants and farmers were shipped from the industrial east by rail. Livestock, grain, and other farm products grown on the plains were shipped out by rail. Lumber to build on the treeless plains was hauled economically from the forests of the west coast. The mail was moved on railway postal cars, and the depot was usually also the telegraph office where messages could be sent when the mail was too slow. Politicians campaigned from the rear platform of train cars. Railroads provided high paying employment for thousands of people and wielded great economic and political influence. In short, to try to interpret the history of that era without explaining the profound effects of the railroads would be a gross distortion of reality.
It is unconscionable to think that this beautiful antique machine is being given away for far less than its true value. Old passenger car trucks are relatively simple to make and it is done all the time by artisans who work in the various railroad shops that serve tourist lines that operate antique equipment. There is absolutely no way that the trucks are worth $30,000 per pair as is stated by the museum’s “railroad expert.”
Prior to the board’s unanimous vote to give the locomotive away, there was 45 minutes of discussion by several members of the Great Plaines Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society, before the Stuhr board president ended the dialogue and called for a vote. During the discussion it was suggested by one member of the railroad historical society that an operating group be set up to supervise repair, rebuilding and operation of the museum railroad. The group would also apply for grants through the State Department of Roads (T-21) to help fund the reconstruction. The group would be made up of volunteers who would report to the Stuhr board and operate under their guidelines and budget. The group would be made up of knowledgeable railroad people who have experience with steam locomotives and tourist railroads. The group would take away the day-to-day worries about repairing and eventually operating the railroad from Stuhr officials who have little or no experience with a railroad of this type (or any type). This suggestion was soundly defeated by Director Goss because his mind was made up to get rid of the locomotive and delay the rebuilding of the railroad to a time in the distant future.
What the museum doesn’t understand is that the railroad is the single most important asset and tourist attraction that they have. Attendance records have been in a continual decline since the railroad quit running because visitors have found other attractions more worthy of the ticket price. It is true that the railroad takes a fairly good-sized budget to maintain and operate but it is also true that many other ancillary benefits come from running the railroad. Many people come from many miles and will once again make the Stuhr Museum a destination for their vacations if they knew they would be met with an operating narrow gauge antique steam train.
The museum also has plans to move the standard gauge equipment including Union Pacific #437, it’s tender, a coach and a restored caboose from railroad town to the space between the Reynolds building and the moat. If asked why they are spending over $20,000 to take the train out of railroad town and put it in the parking lot they will tell you the reason is because they want visitors to the museum to see the train first in order to draw them on to museum grounds. If they consider the train a main attraction, why in the world they take it out of railroad town. What is railroad town without a train?
A good museum has several missions. It should preserve historic documents, artifacts, and knowledge for future generations. It needs to make its collection available to researchers, and to perform its own research on the part of history to which it is devoted. From the point of view of the public, its most visible mission is to interpret history and to educate the community. Museums that do this in a way that captures the public interest will be most successful. More people enjoy history when it is portrayed in a way that lets them actively participate in reliving it. The operating railroad offered a way for us to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of years past instead of merely looking at “old stuff” standing cold and quiet.
We would like the support of the community on these important issues. The museum needs to hear how you feel about getting rid of this one-of-a-kind, classic old locomotive. Send your thoughts to “Letters to the Editor” in the Grand Island Independent. We need your help. Share your voice and lets rebuild an operating steam railroad for our kids and grandkids.
Jim Hanna, President
Great Plains Chapter, National Railway Historical Society
