Everett Lueck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that if you all will check your timelines
> on this whole fiasco, you will find out that the
> Port Arthur news first ran Ken Stickney's story on
> this on Feb. 13. By that time, the asbestos
> abatement had been done and the site cleared of
> that debris. (Inland did a great job of removing
> the jacket and the asbestos, by the way, without
> cutting a single piece of piping or removing any
> appliances, which shows that they were actually
> hoping that someone would come along to preserve
> the loco.). On Feb. 14, the day scrapping was to
> begin, both the bad weather, soggy ground, and a
> groundswell of local opinion prevented the
> immediate start of the scrapping process. Before
> Jason arrived on the scene on the 16th., there
> were several parties inquiring at city hall
> regarding the locomotive and numerous residents
> very upset about potentially scrapping the engine.
> Jason's arrival, condescending attitude and
> carefully orchestrated media blitz pushed all of
> these people out of the way, and created the local
> backlash that kept the engine in Port Arthur.
>
> No one likes to have and outsider come into their
> house and tell them how to arrange their personal
> furniture, let alone tell them what pieces of
> furniture to sell to the outsider, and at what
> price, especially after being told by the outsider
> that the outsider is better equipped to use and
> take care of their furniture than they are.
Where were those people for the last 20 years when 503 was rusting to pieces? At the time, according to both city administrators and Inland Environmental (the remediation company) Inland already had already had ownership of 503. Had Jason not intervened the 503 would have already been scrapped long before the city council could have gotten their act together. If nothing else in the long term his actions have embarrassed the city and people of Port Arthur into action, action that should have been taken decades ago.
Christopher D. Coleman
[
www.febt.org] Friends of the East Broad Top
[
www.spikesys.com] East Broad Top Homepage
[
www.eastbroadtop.com] East Broad Top Railroad