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Re: Whats going on at the Nevada Northern?
Author: Jim700
Date: 02-19-2009 - 14:51
> Drew Jacksich Wrote:
> As an outside observer looking in, it seems to me
> that certain groups get ahold of museum operations
> like this and think of it, not as a public trust,
> but their own personal set of 1:1 scale trains.
> Taco Tim Wrote:
> You are right about that. It's actually pretty
> easy to do, given all of the time and effort they
> put into these operations. When you show up every
> weekend, and put a lot of work into something,
> you'll tend to feel an ownership in it.
>
> Usually that's actually a positive thing, it keeps
> folks interested in the operation and encourages
> them to try and improve things.
>
> Occasionally it goes sideways and they end up
> treating it as "their toy" while excluding
> outsiders. That's when you have a problem.
His "MY TOY" attitude and excluding outsiders by General Manager Harold Mehlig is exactly the reason that the six-year run of the 42-mile round trip Vernonia, South Park & Sunset Steam Railroad operation between Banks and Vernonia, Oregon did not continue in 1970. Many people just assumed that the end came because of the BN merger. That was certainly not the case as the BN was open to continuing the SP&S contract. Having been the treasurer I was well aware that ticket sales alone, even with well-patronized trains, weren't keeping up with expenses partly because of the contract requirement to use SP&S crews. For 1970 the PNWC-NRHS offered to become a partner but Harold couldn't stomach the thought of having to give up his long-held pretty much complete control of his "toy". If he couldn't run it, nobody was going to, and to prove his point he sold the train set of ex-Oregon Electric Railway interurban cars (that we had bought from the Pacific Great Eastern Railway) to the Black Hills Central Railroad without ever consulting the board of directors.
During all the years of operation we augmented the steam-powered train income by operating charter passenger trains several times per year on many routes in Washington, Oregon and California. Those were the days. Even at a $9.95 fare for an all-day SP&S Portland-Bend-Portland trip, including a box lunch, we still made money to support the steamer. Fellow VSP&S member Doug Crites and I were primarily responsible for planning the excursions and we sure enjoyed seeing hundreds of happy people on the trains. One of the highlights for me on these trips was the privilege of guest-firing the McCloud River #25 for Ray Piltz up the hill out of McCloud on our Portland-Wishram-Bend-Lookout-Mt. Shasta-Portland route of the "Mt. Shasta Limited".
> As an outside observer looking in, it seems to me
> that certain groups get ahold of museum operations
> like this and think of it, not as a public trust,
> but their own personal set of 1:1 scale trains.
> Taco Tim Wrote:
> You are right about that. It's actually pretty
> easy to do, given all of the time and effort they
> put into these operations. When you show up every
> weekend, and put a lot of work into something,
> you'll tend to feel an ownership in it.
>
> Usually that's actually a positive thing, it keeps
> folks interested in the operation and encourages
> them to try and improve things.
>
> Occasionally it goes sideways and they end up
> treating it as "their toy" while excluding
> outsiders. That's when you have a problem.
His "MY TOY" attitude and excluding outsiders by General Manager Harold Mehlig is exactly the reason that the six-year run of the 42-mile round trip Vernonia, South Park & Sunset Steam Railroad operation between Banks and Vernonia, Oregon did not continue in 1970. Many people just assumed that the end came because of the BN merger. That was certainly not the case as the BN was open to continuing the SP&S contract. Having been the treasurer I was well aware that ticket sales alone, even with well-patronized trains, weren't keeping up with expenses partly because of the contract requirement to use SP&S crews. For 1970 the PNWC-NRHS offered to become a partner but Harold couldn't stomach the thought of having to give up his long-held pretty much complete control of his "toy". If he couldn't run it, nobody was going to, and to prove his point he sold the train set of ex-Oregon Electric Railway interurban cars (that we had bought from the Pacific Great Eastern Railway) to the Black Hills Central Railroad without ever consulting the board of directors.
During all the years of operation we augmented the steam-powered train income by operating charter passenger trains several times per year on many routes in Washington, Oregon and California. Those were the days. Even at a $9.95 fare for an all-day SP&S Portland-Bend-Portland trip, including a box lunch, we still made money to support the steamer. Fellow VSP&S member Doug Crites and I were primarily responsible for planning the excursions and we sure enjoyed seeing hundreds of happy people on the trains. One of the highlights for me on these trips was the privilege of guest-firing the McCloud River #25 for Ray Piltz up the hill out of McCloud on our Portland-Wishram-Bend-Lookout-Mt. Shasta-Portland route of the "Mt. Shasta Limited".
