Randall Hess Wrote:
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> A couple of years ago, when we were living in
> western Mass, my wife and I included the SR&RL
> group in our itinerary; when you talked about
> Phillips being "sad", I thought you were going to
> talk about the trials and tribulations that group
> has had in getting a genuine steam locomotive
> running and having to use their Mustang-powered
> faux-locomotive instead. They have some real
> treasures there, and I would encourage people to
> visit and ride, faux locomotive and all, because
> they have stuff worth seeing and they really need
> support and encouragement!!
>
> I wish I had known about the stuff across the
> river; I'm sure we could have fit it into our
> schedule, but what we did see was well worth
> making the trip to Phillips.
Hi Randall,
Yes, it is a sad situation, but the SR&RL group has a truly important collection of artifacts and rolling stock and they really deserve our support. After years of work, Monson 3 is still not running despite having received her third boiler in a hundred years (on which the clock is already ticking). They have gone into serious financial peril with this project, and all for an engine they don't even own! I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that the future of the group as well as that of their collection rests on the renegotiation of their lease agreement with the Maine NG Museum, as well as the continued support of two-foot fans worldwide.
-Philip Marshall