I was sitting here doing nothing, and decided to ponder this whole thing, and this is what I came up with based on the current situation. This is for the U.S. only. There might be a couple of the middle to late numbers out of order, but I think I got the top 4-5 right! See if you agree.
Greg's Top 10 Steam Centers in the U.S. Drum Roll Please!!
Honorable Mention: Grand Canyon Railroad (not always steam, but long ride)Doesn't make my top 10 cause they changed an engine from a CB&Q engine.
(10) East Broad Top (short, but potential for more engines & Track)
(9) Steamtown (current steam most of the time, and potential) Politics and lack of success longterm keep it lower on the list.
(8) Cass Scenic Railroad (lots of steam in West Virginia)
(7) Heber Valley Railroad (2 steamers, and diverse lovely scenery)
(6) Strasburg Railroad (the standard for short run steam ops)
(5) Nevada Northern (a throwback railroad with 2 steamers)
(4) Ohio Central..Not much running in 2005, but history of steam and unrealized potential for more in the future...several engines.
(3) Cheyenne, Wyoming. Union Pacific 844 and 3985... Nuff said...They will run in 2005.
(2) Cumbres & Toltec. Diverse scenery, tunnels, 10,000 ft Cumbres Summit,4% grade, and charactor. The only thing keeping it from being number one is lack of success like Durango. Still unrealised potential for historical accuracy, and
room to grow if they can get the patrons.
(1) Durango & Silverton 45 miles of scenic wonder, and no other railroad can sport as many steamers in a given year of operations. You can't knock success. Also they seem to be leaning more toward their rail history, and becoming more fan friendly. Seems to be a class act from track to personel and locomotive upkeep.
Note how my top two are both Narrow Gauge. What makes them number 1 and 2, is the regular operations that these two dish-up. Think about how many engines are serviceable between the two railroads on a given week from Memorial Day through October 15th, and you really have "THE STEAM CENTER" of America within 100 miles. UP is the standard gauge one hands down for longevity!
No worries about who's track they will run on!
Greg Scholl
