Hi,
I think of the C&TS, the D&S, the GTL, Knotts, and all other railroad museums more like the Late John Allen's series in Model Railroader entitled "The Art of Model Railroading".
First let me say as Earl and many, many others who have worked on the many operating museums around the country have said, they are working railroads moving tonnage and payloads like they were designed to starting in the the late 1700's and early 1800's and continuing to today.
That said, the museums are (to paraphrase the concepts of John Allen) stages to recreate the experience of the past. Just as there are rivet counters in model railroading, there are those who want exacting correctness down to lettering everywhere. There are those who just want to see movement and can not tell a 15" gauge live steamer from an internal combustion powered 24" gauge C.P. Huntington.
I have frequently been operating a 7.5" gauge steamer and a papa wants to know what powers the steamer (gasoline or battery) even when he sees the fire through the open fire box door.
If the show to be put on is one from the 1960's and SG, then by all means use 50' steel box cars and GP9s and RS3s and U-boats. I love seeing that. It is what I grew up with.
If the show is 1930s NG moving paying tonnage over the mountains, then by all means use 2-8-0s or 2-8-2s or whatever with the correct equipment.
Me, I enjoyed the experience of a concert by John Denver whether I was in the 10th row from the stage or in the bleachers in the back, the feeling, the energy, the overall experience was the same.
Some would feel that not being able to discern Denver's face would reduce the experience. This is the same as saying that having C&TS on a water tower reduces the experience of seeing a steam train in operation. For me, it is a non-issue, for others it is a major issue and both are correct to the individual standing on the position.
However, just as John Allen said that the layout was a stage and reordering the trains to the starting positions was sometimes needed to be done by hand (0-5-0) to get ready for the next show, diesels have their place in a steam show. They are behind the scenes workers that get everything prepared for the next money earning show. This is similar to the wood pellets in the D&S steamers overnight instead of using coal.
If the show to be acted out is to show the work of clearing snow the railroads using 1940's era methods, then by all means use the steamers and steam rotaries. However, if the show is the movement of paying tonnage, then using a couple of diesels to push the steam rotary (or even some sort of jet-engine like snow blower assuming there is anything like that) is a good behind the scenes use of manpower.
Should the White Pass only use steam? I do not think so. Why should the C&TS only use steam? If all the revenue runs are steam, the diesels handle the MOW work, and the C&TS has more in the bank at the end of a season, I'm all for it.
If cost were no object, I'd like to see the "show" be the current east and west bound passenger trains along with one east and one west bound freight so that the riders would experience what it is like to meet steam powered freights out on the line as well. But this is a very, very costly show to put on for little or no extra revenue.
So freight extras are run a few times a season (frequently with MOW and riding box cars in the consists even though this was a rare or non-prototypic consist) as a compromise to cost.
I do not care for static display museums. I have visited the great California RR Museum in Sacramento. However, once seen, the rolling stock displayed never seems to change position. This is the same as the Pennsylvania RR Museum. I prefer the experience of riding the Strasburg RR to looking at dead rolling stock.
The experience of the train moving is very enjoyable to me. Depending on the mood, I can prefer shays, NG, SG, mainline, branch line at different times. I enjoy the Great Smokey Mountain even though it is diesel.
That said, I'll get down off my soap box now.
Doug vV
