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Re: San Jose RR Museum + GGRM?
Author: Bill Hough
Date: 05-13-2016 - 09:57
"Perhaps I am missing something here but from a long term perspective for both organizations and the preservation of RR history in the area, if a merger hasn’t been seriously considered perhaps it is time to revisit this idea before a move of GGRM to Santa Cruz takes place."
You are not the only person missing something. There seems to be a big disconnect among those who manage certain Bay Area preservation organizations. I simply do not understand several decisions that have recently been made. I think that it is too late for a GGRM-PLA merger.
As others have pointed out, once GGRM move into Niles Canyon, a GGRM-PLA merger would have made lots of sense since both organizations are dedicated to railroad preservation and have overlapping memberships. I have happily patronized several "photo trains" in the Canyon and didn't care if 2472 or one of PLA's tank engines was doing the honors that day. And in 2009, both groups sent locomotives to Hearst to pose with UP 844 as it came through on its way to Stockton.
But, unfortunately, due to what I suspect is a personality clash, GGRM is wasting time and resources moving to Santa Cruz, where their rolling stock will rot in the salt air unless they are very careful. Given the operations by Roaring Camp and SC&MB, one wonders if the market for tourist railroading in that part of the state is saturated. Personally, I'd like 2472 to replace that ugly CF-7 on the Felton-Santa Cruz train.
Meanwhile, the folks in San Jose seem intent on doing their own thing. Despite decades of failure following the County's cancellation of a commitment to a rail museum at the fairgrounds, we're no closer to a rail museum in San Jose now than we were a decade ago when I attended a SJ parks commission meeting to support a railroad museum near downtown next to the Milpitas line. The logical thing to do would be to reconstruct the SJ roundhouse at Niles, but the SJ group seems to want their museum to be in SC County for political reasons. Personally, I find this attitude to be regrettable.
While all this is going on, the PLA appears to be thriving at Niles Canyon. I’m personally looking forward to the completion of the 9010 restoration and hope that the PLA will bring back the photo train.
You are not the only person missing something. There seems to be a big disconnect among those who manage certain Bay Area preservation organizations. I simply do not understand several decisions that have recently been made. I think that it is too late for a GGRM-PLA merger.
As others have pointed out, once GGRM move into Niles Canyon, a GGRM-PLA merger would have made lots of sense since both organizations are dedicated to railroad preservation and have overlapping memberships. I have happily patronized several "photo trains" in the Canyon and didn't care if 2472 or one of PLA's tank engines was doing the honors that day. And in 2009, both groups sent locomotives to Hearst to pose with UP 844 as it came through on its way to Stockton.
But, unfortunately, due to what I suspect is a personality clash, GGRM is wasting time and resources moving to Santa Cruz, where their rolling stock will rot in the salt air unless they are very careful. Given the operations by Roaring Camp and SC&MB, one wonders if the market for tourist railroading in that part of the state is saturated. Personally, I'd like 2472 to replace that ugly CF-7 on the Felton-Santa Cruz train.
Meanwhile, the folks in San Jose seem intent on doing their own thing. Despite decades of failure following the County's cancellation of a commitment to a rail museum at the fairgrounds, we're no closer to a rail museum in San Jose now than we were a decade ago when I attended a SJ parks commission meeting to support a railroad museum near downtown next to the Milpitas line. The logical thing to do would be to reconstruct the SJ roundhouse at Niles, but the SJ group seems to want their museum to be in SC County for political reasons. Personally, I find this attitude to be regrettable.
While all this is going on, the PLA appears to be thriving at Niles Canyon. I’m personally looking forward to the completion of the 9010 restoration and hope that the PLA will bring back the photo train.
