I just finished watching a program on npbs ( Nebraska public broadcasting station)-or whatever the name is. It was on UP3985 and a little on UP844. I’d just like to send out a thank you to Steve Lee, his crew, and the railroad for running this great engine. It’s nice to see it running and nice to see liability and the lawyer havent got to it yet!!! Thanks again.
One of the railfans I met here in North Little Rock during the 3985’s stay was told by Steve Lee they are considering stopping the steam excursions for passengers. The 844 and 3985 would still operate for railroad business and trips but not for passenger excursions anymore. We will have to wait and see if this happens.
I really hope they do not do this. Those fan trips are the pride of the union pacific. How many people come out to see it much less ride behind it. It’s will be a sad day in railroad history when this happens!!!
Got to met Lee, and the other engineer, Creighton, I belive his name was, back in 1995, on a fan trip from Houston to Bay City and back.
You will not meet a more serious, sincere, dedicated group of guys.
They dont get paid extra, all are freight engineers and conductors, they do this because they really feel that the historical value of these machines, and the skills they represent should never completly go away.
They let me up in the 3985’s cab for a short while.
After the trip, they invited my wife up in the cab, and signed the givaway UP “newspaper”, and made sure the entire crew, from the volunteers to the ground crew, signed it also, as a memento for my wife.
Lee himself made sure she got it.
These guys are a class act.
They didnt have to do that for Aimee, and they sure didnt have to let me or her up in the cab, at the end of the trip they were all hot and tired, and ready to head home, but they understand that as long as they treat people like me and you, their fans, in such a manner, we will pester the heck out of UP to keep the program going.
We shouldnt let all their hard work and dedication go un apreciated, nor should we keep quite to UP about how we feel.
Ed
With the possibility of UP dropping the public portion of their steam program, along with the rumor that CSX won’t allow any more excursions, the days of the mainline steam excursions may be limited. It’s a shame. While it’s certainly a costly venture for the operators, and can wreak havoc on a busy line, there are plenty of lines that could still support such events. Is this another example of the railroads’ disregard for their public image?
And thats a shame, because every single crossing we passed was packed, and it seemed like the entire population of Bay City turned up at the depot.
These people appaluded the train as it pulled in.
We even had a “rat pack” pacing the train for over two hours.
Look at all the interest they got during the super bowl!
You couldnt get near the 3985 when it was on display, because it was so packed with visitors.
We had people drive down from San Antonio, not for the game, but for the locomotive.
You cant pay a PR firm enough to get that kind of response.
I promise you that when you say “railroad” in Bay City, everyone thinks UP steam!
Ed
Im happy for steve and the UP crew.They can make it work.How bout it csx and ns??
stay safe
Joe
NSs steam program should still be going no question about it. I think with that it’s just a matter of who will fix and run it, and also the railroad doesn’t want steam on their rail, it’s a big cork in a bottle.
NS getting 611 back in the excursion routine is a no brainer from a railfan-non-employee standpoint (mine), but I can also understand the reasons against it. CSX has no steam, has said there will be NO steam on their tracks, and HAS said that at least a few of the excursions (annual) that they have allowed (Such as the Brunswick Railroad Days excursion, which is the main reason people come to the event, and the main source of funding of the museum for the coming winter months) will almost absolutly not be taking place after 2004, and that excursion is just a consist of MARC commuter equiptment, the same equiptment that runs the line on weekdays.
That would be sad
I’ve worked for the railroad, SP & then gobled up by the UP, and haved asked why they don’t run more steam or excurseions (sp) and the answer was “insurance and other expenes” crews delayes to other trains etc. I’ve personally taken trains, the old SP Daylight from Oakland to Lathrop & return & the expenses were very high. No one wants to pay the very high prices to run these trains. I’m talking 1 mil & higher per trip.
Right on. The problem with excursions – steam or otherwise – is primarily insurance[:(]. The second biggest problem is insurance[xx(]. The third biggest problem is lawyers.[V]. There have been problems with delays and the like, but only very rarely for excursions run by the majors (e.g. UP, NS) – and indeed there have been occasions when the steam helped out the dispatcher[8D]. But you get GP mixed up in it, and someone gets hurt, and the first thing the legal eagles do is sue the railroad – and the insurance companies, not being dummies, know that there is a virtually 100 per cent chance of at least one suit per public excursion. So…
Until we, as a country, can manage to straighten out the tort system to eliminate frivolous lawsuits – steam or other excursions are pretty well dead (along with a lot of other good stuff, I might add).[:(!]
Shakespere said it best.“First thing,we kill all the lawers.”[}:)]
I saw the 3985 in Milwaukee…I knew that it could be the only time I could see it so I ditched my cousin’s birthday party to go see it. Ever since I knew who Steve Lee was I wanted to meet that guy (never did yet), he was the first celebrity I could say. All I can say is THANKS.
To bad I was hoping to see it in WY or ID or UT in late May. [:D][:p][:p]
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Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes
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Originally posted by traingeek087
Yes it is if you get any schedule of it comings or goings please advise us. [:D][:D]
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Originally posted by traingeek087
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That is a super memory huh? [:D][:)]
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Originally posted by edblysard
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Any excursion is welcome on our line be it railroad or track speeder, in fact we do alot of excursions with other RR in the area. No penny pinching yamika capped zoot suit sitting in an office in New York is going to tell us how to run our railroad. F#*& insurance companies. [;)]
Can we pretty, pretty please not have yarmulkes mentioned in our bitterness and cynicism? To me at least, that crosses the line of fair comment.
There are people at VMT who have run the numbers on $52 million insurance policies for 1-2 day excursions with steam. They’re not impossible. Much more important is the integrity of your backshop work, operating crew, and arrangements to keep the mainline clear and undamaged for revenue operations. It’s the Mickey Mouse associated with fractured main rods with the commuter rush coming up, or derailments on trackage not meant for long rigid wheelbases with stiff lateral compliance, that cause the difficulties.
I’m not altogether sure why UP’s suspending steam passenger operations is supposed to be disastrous – it’s not like they said they were suspending the trips with 844 and 3985, just that people weren’t going to be riding en masse behind them. My understanding was that many of these trips were chronically underpatronized, even to the point where ‘fare’ revenue didn’t underwrite the marginal cost of providing onboard passenger ops. If you’re supporting the steam trips from corporate sources, why expose yourself to liability from “unnecessary” sources?