Bubble Burster Wrote:
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> GPRR does not have a good relationship with OPR.

No offense to "Shortline Sammie" but I don't see the value of running the 2100 with a bunch of commuter cars on a regular basis on the OPR. The occassional 4449 or 700 stint works because they are occassional (once, maybe twice a year) and the engines are otherwise locked up away from the public for the rest of the year.

> GPRR has little or no relationship with PNWR.

P&W has no interest in running public excursions; they stopped running public excursions about a decade ago. If you have a big steam engine and don't mind restricting access to VIPs, you're welcome. Except VIPs don't make steam trains pay for their operating costs.

Running excursions on the A-Line would be nice, but it too is washed out west of Wauna and likely will never get repaired. Why the abandonment filing hasn't been submitted, who knows. Tongue Point isn't getting developed and the track within Astoria is owned by the city for their trolley line.

> POTB washed into a canyon and won't be back for
> two years, if ever.

Eastern part of the POTB is in fine condition at least up to Cochran summit. IMO makes for a nice excursion train route.

> Mount Hood is for sale and unlikely to be starting
> a new operation during that. A new owner wouldn't
> need double deck cars for that anyway.

Would such a large steam engine be able to climb up the Hood River canyon? Existing rolling stock is fine, if you can barely fill up three revenue cars on a train why do you need doublestacks?

Besides, they tried to bring a steam engine to help drum up ridership. Didn't work; the steam engine was too expensive to operate (a much smaller one than the 2100) and ridership didn't go anywhere. I do not think the MH caters to railfans.

> Which leaves what? Rides on the 1.5 mile Peninsula Terminal?

HA!!! Funny! Look at all those chemical plants? Look, there's Les Schwab's Warehouse! Over on your left, a scrapyard!

> Rides on the UP main?

Could be better than Amtrak..? (Wait, UP has that pesky little no non-UP steam engine policy. It takes an act of God for 4449 and 700 to leave the roundhouse.)

> Bilevels on the Willamette Shore? *snicker*

Naah. Metro wants to turn that into a Streetcar line. A steam engine might actually turn public sentiment against the Streetcar, thus prompting Metro to create a law to ban all steam locomotives within Metro's regional borders (thus displacing the 4449, 700, 197, "Peggy", and potential visits by the 844 and 3985.)