History and the D&S

I appreciate Dick's referring us to Mr. Ledbetter's thoughtful editorial . I felt his comments regarding poor and erroneous captioning interesting . Most of the contributors to this board could write more accurate captions than those in the two museums .It tells me that railfan/historians like ourselves were not part of the process of creating those museums there at all . Ledbetter's point of the importance of "telling the story" is crucial to all museums . Though Neither the C&TS nor the D&S do that ,I like the Friends' walking tour of Chama yard , with the small white stakes with numbers that correspond to descriptions in the walking tour brochure . It's unobtrusive and it works .
The D&S is a great showcase of narrow-gauge railroading , but there is nothing left of the old casualness and charm of when Conductor Ray Murray would pour coffee for the few passengers in the combine that day on a mixed train . Conversely , Chama is a shadow of the busy terminal it was in the 1950s with 400 locomotive servicings a month . The big difference is how much one operation has changed physically and historically and how little the other operation has changed. That is why authenticity may be Chama's most persuasive calling card as a living museum . The D&S might be the right place for the newcomer to this interest to get his/her first snapshot of a steam train .When they are ready for a last glimpse of a legend ,they should go to Chama .