I only wish to say that this man is very selfish and, well, he’s just selfish. How can one man keep so much history for himself and not share it. There are little enough excursion roads operating in the eastern half of this country and he has shut down one of the best. The Ohio Central had been on my “bucket list” to see, watch ride and experience. Thank you Mr. Jacobson.
Selfish? - Hardly. Pretty smart and far-sighted move on Jerry’s part. Sorry Woody.
(Ohio Central and Age of Steam’s RH are separate entities. OCR has been a G&W property since 2008.)
Mr. Jacobson operated many Steam excursions with his fleet of locomotives but was stopped by rapidly rising insurance costs. I guess you should have gotten off your “Bucket” sooner and attended one of these events…
You could always send out some angry e-mails to the insurance industry…
Or you could become independently wealthy and offer to cover the costs of a renewed excursion program…
After the sale of the Ohio Centrai in 2008 Mr. Jacobson has undertaken a multi million dollar project to preserve the history of railroading in Central Ohio. His purpose was to develop a working education center for use in the future preserving what is known today for those in the future. This is not a selfish endeavor but one with a vision, and for that I thank him. The Age of Steam Roundhouse is a well thought out project.
He has on occasion used his Canadian steam locomotive 1293 on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, running excursions on that line. He recently purchased another steam locomotive to restore, if not this one too would find its way to the rust bucket.
Selfish, I think not.
I agree it is wonderful that these beautiful engines are being preserved for all time, but…the number of people who will get the opportunity to experience these giants has been reduced greatly from what it was just a few short (5) years ago. Pretty much knocked me out of the picture. I’d do as well visiting the Smithsonian. Yes, I agree that my own attitude is rather selfish but that won’t affect thousands of other people. I believe Mr. Jacobson’s has. As for the 1293, that’s like throwing a dog a bone.
My original sentiment still stands.
You don’t know me and you know even less about my “bucket”, whereas Mr. Jacobson made no secret of what was happening in his world. Had I the opportunity, I would gladly have paid a premium priced fare to ride the Ohio Central back in the day. He could have passed on his costs to the public like every other business. Ever priced an Amtrak ticket?
Makes you even wonder why anyone would bother restoring and running anything for such ungrateful people.
Nothing is preventing you from buying and operating your own steam locomotives. (well, except maybe lack of funds, but that isn’t Jacobson’s problem). Besides, the guy isn’t a spring chicken and did a lot in his life. Even if he is selfish (which I kind of doubt it), he has a right to be.
I’ve watched the original comment and this Thread grow to become a personal “vent”. Right off the bat; I must confess that I do not know or have ever met Mr. Jacobson. I have followed some of his personal high points as they have been published in these pages. Also, I too, have done some venting around this Forum on several occasions.
“Woody” my chief complaint is the ad hominem attack on Mr. Jacobsen, by yourself. There seems to be no basis for said attack, other than the way you object to Mr. Jacobsen has shared his hobby, possibly his ( avocation(?) with the general public. Seems like sour grapes on your part (IMHO). The analogy could be made of the individual who had a terrific collection of Model Railroad layouts and memorabilia,while that individual refused to share it with anyone and kept it locked up. His stuff, and his privilege! My own sentiment is that you need to lance that boil, and move on. [:-^]
Thank you. I too, am done venting![:'(]
True enough.
Not sure if Amtrak is the best comparison to the Ohio Central’s former Steam excursion program as the former relies heavily on Public subsidies, something that would be hardly be available to Mr. Jacobson…
Mr. Jacobson doesn’t owe you or anyone else a thing. It was his initiative, intelligence and money that allowed him to create the Ohio Central and other lines into what they became at the time of the sale to GW. It was a business, not some toy to provide you with personal pleasure. He owes you nothing. You need to get a handle on reality.
I never said that he owed me anything neither did I imply that. I simply stated that I am disappointed at the whole situation, maybe I even over-stated it some. But you and everyone else who seem to think you know what I “need” are out of line. I thought this was a forum for mature adult railfans who could accept someone’s opinion without resorting to personal attacks on what “I need to do”. If you can’t disagree without insulting a person with inappropriate comments then all I have to say to you is have a nice day.
That is very true as Amtrak is somewhat subsidized by our taxes, although not as much as airlines or any other major transportation industry like trucking or even highways.
I would still be willing to pay a premium fare to ride the old Ohio Central.
I too, am now through venting, and you are quite possibly correct in at least part of your sentiments. My chief complaint now is that my name isn’t “Woody”!! LOL!
I find it interesting and disgusting that there cannot be a real discussion on these forums without a moderator squashing it but this ridiculous personal attack by an ignorant self absorbed moron on one of preservations most prominent figures doesn’t bother them at all.
Wow.
About that mature adult railfan thing…
Fair enough. It appears the premium you’d have to be willing to pay, would be for the skyrocketing cost of liability insurance. Otherwise, you might come off as seeming to be selfish?
woodctr51 would appear to stand for Wood cutter (carpenter? lumberjack?) born in 1951?
FYI- When you hit the reply button, you can then hit the button at the bottom of the other person’s post. It will then show up as a quote, like I’ve done here.
Only if it’s brought to the moderator’s attention. Did you contact anyone?
You are partially correct, and I would add a really good guesser, most folk are pretty much clueless about my user name, I’m actually a disabled/retired cabinet maker. I was not however born in '51, that came about when trying to get yahoo to give me an email account. It was my age at the time. I was born two years after 1951.
I guess I’m the ignorant self absorbed moron you are referring to. Okay, if that’s how you feel, I can accept that, I have broad shoulders. But tell me what am I allowed to “feel” without being called an ignorant self absorbed moron by somebody who has never met me? I am trying very hard to stay civil, yet there are still personal attacks happening. When I said Mr. Jacobson was selfish I didn’t mean it as a personal attack, I think I was “venting” as mentioned earlier, and I am over it. I wish some others were also over it. In addition I will not be one to run to the moderator every time someone tries to “hurt my feelings”. I can fight my own battles. LOL!.
OOOH! Let’s see what kind of flack will be generated now!
Well Woody, I could care less what you do. I think I’ll recommend the exclusion of the public from short lines and enforcement by railroad police, since we are on the subject of foolish self serving comments like yours. This is still America last I checked and railroaders have every right to do as they choose with their property. Also, I checked the Constitution and I couldn’t find anything giving anyone a Right to a “Bucket List”. BTW, I know Jerry and a number of current and past OHCR folks and they are great people without exception. BS comments like yours are a great way to ensure that we railroaders won’t have a friendly wave for you at trackside. My other pet peeve are the “You didn’t paint it the way we like it crowd”. Good thing LC isn’t here or he’d really let you have it…
8 N’ Sand