Your statement is just as valid today as then, there is still a lot of steam out there to see and ride behind.
Any locomotive or whole operation can be sidelined or even disappear in a short amount of time. The loss of a few critical members, a lawsuit, financial mismanagement, the list is almost endless. Steam operations are by nature money and human energy pits and with only a few exceptions are perpetually on the edge of extinction.
So, which operation haven't you (you all reading this, not just the last post) seen lately or never been to? Have you supported any steam operations with attendance, tickets, donations, or labor?