Very well said, Mr. Kelly -
Attracting and holding onto talented and enthusiastic young whippersnappers such as yourself is crucial to the survival of a trade - the Care and Feeding of Iron Dinosaurs - that can only be mastered with several years of hands-on experience under the guidance of experts such as Phil, Linn, Earl and Carlos.
Speaking of Carlos, IIRC he commented on this forum two or three years ago about less than optimum wages and - IMHO more important - the lack of respect that the locomotive and shop crews were shown by the then managers of the C&TS. In particular, there had been some kind of celebration (80th birthday of the K-36's?) where several engines were lined up and all the bigwigs had their photos taken, but the men responsible for restoring, maintaining and operating the engines had not been invited. No wonder he's no longer working in Chama ...
*****
On a more general note, it seems to me that those who predict the gradual demise of the smaller operations are probably correct. As in real estate, the most crucial factor is probably Location, Location, Location. Unlike the Nevada Northern, for example, the D&S is well situated in a prime tourist destination; the Loop-de-Loop and the Strasburg are only a few miles from literally millions of potential customers. And in the near future it's going to be pretty difficult to justify government support of operations like the C&TS and the Loop, when schools and hospitals are likely to experience serious financial difficulties.
About fifteen years ago, when still involved with the SCRVRRHS here in Ventura County, I was privileged to sit across from the late Walter Gray of the California State RR Museum during a dinner we hosted in his honor. One of his main concerns was that expressed in so many of the posts in this thread - how to attract enough public interest to justify the continued support of both very large museums such as his and very small endeavors such as ours.
Depending on how much longer I live, will there still be a K-36 charging around Windy Point so that my ashes can be used to sand her flues?
- Russo Loco
