I know that NS ended its steam program a while ago…but i just wonder if any of you people would know exactly why they ended it? Im guessing the money/insurance factor was a big cause of it? Thanks
The Claytor brothers were no longer in a position to protest, since they had both died. I really believe that sums it up as much as anything.
Insurance prices.I was told that 6 months prior to the public release from a NS official.The crew that was with the 611 on it’s last trip over the Kenova district ,had not even heard the news yet.Reportably, a woman sued the NS over a fall she took in Williamson WVa, when she getting off the train.She got off when and where she was told NOT to get off of it.And fractured her leg bad.I wasn’t working in Williamson at the time,but heard about it in Portsmouth Ohio.Traffic increases may have had a big part to do with it also.
According to a news report the Norfolk Southern ended its steam program in 1994 because it needed its track capacity to handle the increased freight traffic, and the increased freight traffic in turn made it necessary to reassign the excursion programs staff to other duties in the company.
The announcement of the end of the steam program was made late in October, 1994. I understand a month earlier some of the passenger cars were damaged in Lynchburg, VA, because of a switching accident; and some of the cars, including a few cars which belonged to railfan organizations, were totaled; fortunately the cars were unoccupied at he time so nobody was injured. However, I don’t know what effect the switching accident in Lynchburg, VA had on the decision to end the NS steam excursion program.
If the NS hadn’t tried to run too many trips each year, it might still be running them. If they’d run a program similar to UP’s, it would have been a lot easier for the railroad to handle, a lot easier on the regular operating personnel (local Trainmasters, etc.) and a lot easier on the equipment. Running fewer trips might also have reduced the insurance costs, because the exposure would have been much less.
IMHO, what killed the NS program was excess, pure and simple.
Old Timer
I don’t think the steam program people were actually employeed by the railroad directly was they ?But the insurance was a big factor.I believe that’s why the CSX stopped their steam run thrus also,and went strictly with Amtrack.
While I wouldn’t call it “excess” there certainly were more trips than practical for a busy railroad.
From what I’ve been able to glean by talking to foks directly and indirectly involved lots of people had simply “burned out” on the program.
Each trip is a major effort at many levels and lots of those folks had to give up weekends to facilitate the trips. Any company’s program simply can’t continue when many of those directly impacted loose interest.
It was a great program but like so many great things, it had run it’s course.