Re: Customer feedback on oil fuel conversion

I spent several years in Osier working on Ted Norcross’ crew. We took our lunch break about the time the two trains arrived at Osier for the lunch stop. I spent my time checking out the locomotives and the brief switching chores. I was always amazed at the comments and questions from some of the passengers, especially younger adults. Many knew nothing about steam locomotives or asked questions about the locomotives that made you wonder if they were paying attention to what was in front of them. Example: “how do you steer (the locomotive)?” One has to realize the majority of Americans have no reason to understand what makes a locomotive move. Those passengers were there for the ride and the time with families and i believe did not really care what makes the train go. Historical technology has no place is most people’s daily lives.

On all my trips on the Georgetown Loop, I came to the conclusion most of those passengers did not give a thought about what kind of fuel the locomotive was burning. Nowadays they might react negatively if they heard the four letter fuel name “coal”. Good thing the Loop burns oil.

My all time favorite question from a passenger at Osier has to be “at what elevation do deer turn into elk?” I still believe that lady was joking, but her companions had a look of wonder on their faces.
Craig