What ever happened to the benevolent Kovalchick family who wanted to see this little RR saved ? How did the situation devolve to this ?
Here's what I can never get my head around, .... there are plenty of reasonably wealthy people and there are plenty of reasonably wealthy people with ridiculously "spendy" hobbies. Why are there no reasonably wealthy people with an interest in historic RR preservation ?
Conversely, there are quite a few people out there interested in steam, railroads, and preservation of historic stuff in general. Why is it this crew never seems to cross the boundaries of tycoonism to take on a "hobby" like this (or any of the other untold projects that fall to passing the hat and much volunteerism) ?????
Or more pointedly, why does this cause seem to see more sharks and erstwhile douchebags (remember the Loop fiasco ?) than it ever does see of good willed honest people who have done well for themselves and want to be somewhat philanthropic ?
Perhaps it is a psychological question ? Do those who learn to make money tend to be shrews, largely shunning the concepts of costly outlays and no real monetary returns, losing touch with idealism and "chicken soup for the soul" kind of thinking ?
And why do steam oil dreamers never break into the field of 8-figure incomes to be "that guy" who genuinely makes a difference ?
These are all philosophical questions and I know this audience tends to be far more literal than philosophical, but does anyone else think about these things, or is it just me ? As this "industry" of historic RR preservation goes from one crisis to the next, I can't help but think there are others who notice this same pattern.