I have long expected to see the last steam locomotive operate in America. Fortunately that event has been postponed for decades beyond my expectations – thanks to the old timers and a few young enthusiasts who keep them going and the attention they garner from fans and the general public.
For now, there is still steam. But where is sufficient enthusiasm going to come from in the future. Will the public be interested in seeing a steam locomotive run. Would more converts be created as the young are brought into the cab to really experience steam in action? Will steam be able to continue?
I maintain that the up close and personal experience of a cab ride is one of the best opportunities there is for perpetuating a love of steam, and that without them, steam fans will be less in number and steam may yet die.
Anytime I have been in a cab of a Locomotive, Diesel or Steam, I ether had to sign a “Liability Release” holding the railroad harmless or have a "Safety Training " certificate from that railroad.
So this now an exclusive club? Not all of us subscribe. I travel extensively in my work, how will they know what hotel to send it to? I buy where I am at at somewhat greater cost because that’s where i am at that day. Of course that cost could be reduced if it had less subscription cards in it, or do you need 6 of them to subscribe?
This is the forum, not the magazine. When you post something here it should be visible to all participants.
OMG we have now become so frightened of every little possible liability. The LA engineer wasn’t distracted by someone in the cab, he wasn’t driving at all, he was text messaging. Someone in the cab would have said, “are you driving or texting, Dude?”. The accident had nothing to do with cab riders. So let’s also limit the use of “company provided electronic devices”. Again cell phones are necessary as a backup to VHF radios in many places. The issue wasn’t that the LA engineer had a phone, he wasn’t driving the train. The rules already forbid use of electronic devices that distract. As for 10 mph tourist railroads, the urging of caution is tantamount to opening the door to the lawyers who will say: “Hey, this group recommended no cab riders and these guys had a cab rider when some fool drove into the side of the train. The engineer must have been distracted to cause the automobile to ignore the RR crossing sign and hit the train.” That is total irresponsibility TRAIN, Thanks!
SO, you have no “home base”? No way to get a heating bill? a phone bill? Insurance bill for your car? no PO Box somewhere?
The forum is offered mostly free because of the publications. Just like the advertising here to help keep it mostly free they have sections for “paying members”
It’s really simple if you want access to “subscriber content”…then subscribe to one of Kalmbach’s magazines. Then you get the magical number to enter as your subscriber number.
I have taken the cab ride at Steamtown National park and had to sign a “hold harmless” waiver. Enjoyed the ride imensely on their Mikado. Look forward to doing it again next summer if they still have it, and I can ride the other steamer they are now routinely using. I hope they don’t do away with cab rides. fascinating.
Galaxy, are you on commission or something? Of course I get bills. I get all kinds of mail and when I am on the road my wife handles payments and such.
My point was that the forums are not subscription sensitive and if you post here and expect others to reply then the material must be visible to them. I buy Trains, Classic trains, and other special issues. There fore I spend more than someone who just subscribes. I’m not complaining that the news update is subscription only but that this forum , which is not, should not have restricted material referenced.
Well back to the actual topic…coming from my experiences as a working employee of a tourist rr sometimes cab rides are far from worth the effort and the “riders” just are hassles…when children hear the horn for the first time and cry the entire trip…and some they are wonders to have in the cab and make my day… but one must look especially at the liabilities for cab riders in steam locomotives…most cabs lack doors or any other restraints between tender and cab…just an example…I personally love cab riders and try to get as many as I can into our loco’s but one has to remember the crew is there to work and if a cab rider could interfere with their job they may decline to have one…but almost every run we do with our steamer there are cab rides available…but there is a minimum age and in some cases a consent form to fill out.
It would be interesting to see the discussion that ensued with the TRAIN group. I am not in favor of riders in small steam engine cabs (our little S-10 was too small for the engineer and two firemen). I do think that the cab ride is a great tool for education. It is also just what some of our visitors request. They ride for 30 minutes, say thanks and their desires are met. I think we can provide a safe environment for the crew, train and riders even with extra folks in the cab. This job is no more demanding nor dangerous than driving a car. We (or should I say most of us) have learned to live with the distractions of driving a car and still make it safely home each day. Engineers and firemen should easily deal with the extra folks and safely control the train. Why can a truck driver have his “worn out tape of Chris LaDoux” running and the engineer can’t listen to the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoons? I think it is unfair. (Extra credit if you recognize the tape reference.)
Cab rides are indeed wonderful things. I have ridden in the cab of the ex-White Pass mikados at Dollywood several times before, and those rides were wonderful.
However, they no longer offer cab rides, and the tender seat was removed. However, they are veru friendly and will allow you to pose anywhere you want around and even on the locomotive. I have a few pictures taken of me on the pilot. My favorite is one taken last month at night. The steam was plentiful and in the photo you can barely see my face.
I also used to ride in the cab of diesels on the Carolina Southern when they were switching. Sometimes I even rode the cab on regular runs. That was alot of fun!
However, when the regular engineer became conductor (to this day I don’t know why) and the old conductor became the engineer, my Carolina Southern cab rides came to an end. I hate to say this because it sounds childish, but the new engineer just dosen’t seem to care for me.
For example, for the past 3 years at the “Round the Forth” festival in Conway when they did train rides the engineer let me, along with other people who asked, ride in the cab of the locomotive. Well this year, when I asked the new engineer if I could he said “I prefer to keep the cabs free of people”, and he said this while helping 2 people onto the locomotive.
Well I figured 2 was the limit, so I thought nothing of it, until I saw him put a group of 5 people into the other locomotive. And then as he passed the car that I was in, he looked at me and gave me a look of pure hate.
Later on in the trip when Myself, my friend, and a few other people were standing in the vestibule with the conductor, the engineer came out of the locomotive (the train was stopped of course) to walk to the other end of the train where the other locomotive was for the return trip. He saw us there
This is unforgivable; every member of the crew on a tourist railroad should consider himself to be in the PR business, If they can’t handle that, they should be asked to leave. That is really what it is all about; they certainly are not in the transportation business.
For now, there is still steam. But where is sufficient enthusiasm going to come from in the future. Will the public be interested in seeing a steam locomotive run. Would more converts be created as the young are brought into the cab to really experience steam in action? Will steam be able to continue?
I maintain that the up close and personal experience of a cab ride is one of the best opportunities there is for perpetuating a love of steam, and that without them, steam may yet die in this land.