>The only exception to your comment, David, regarding Museum longevity: ("The railfan community (myself included) needs to realize that most railroad museums aren't likely to survive another five or ten years at the rate things are going.") might be the Western Railroad Museum (WRM) at Rio Vista Junction operated by the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association (BAERA).

IRM has a much better chance than WRM -- appearances can be oh so deceptive.

>Although railbanking is not as good as owning the railroad in fee simple, it's a lot better than being on somebody else's property.

Actually it's not too much different because any legitimate railroad operator can file a certificate of need and get you kicked off the R/W for his own RR operation. If the stories I've been hearing circulating for the last month or so are true, stay tuned . . .