What a thread, & so nice to hear from Margaret/SP. Its unfortunate that she is not out like she used to be, but glad to she is doing OK. I have helped at Brightside before, and certainly hadn't seen all of this underhanded stuff. Like all railroad museums, there is a mix of steam lovers, diesel fans, caboose fans that care about locomotives, guys that want to build a roundhouse, or folks who think wig-wags are neat but don't care about passenger cars. Maybe sometimes somebody gets a bit too serious, but I would say its not the norm. The managers have a lot of people and goals to keep pointed the right way. Yes, its obvious that the PLA has lent a hand to the GGRM to keep equipment, but when I saw new tracks being laid, I heard that the GGRM had actually hired a track outfit to do it. I don't think it is all a big freebie to the GGRM. Also, if the GGRM kept the cars that they sold, where could they put them? I don't even remember all of the cars, but I think that the 2472 and the F-7 units that came from Texas and the office car are more important to keep and restore than old worn out heavyweights and wood boxcars. Even PLA can't really fix every piece in the collection. How many cars did they sell, 30 or 40? I saw the trains that moved the equipment, and the Feather River WP group got 2 sleepers, a GP or SD 9 and a WP caboose, so maybe what they moved wasn't just a freebie. And PLA got a couple of cars too. I'd say that there was enough cars for other museums interests, and the GGRM still has the few important ones. I'm not working anymore, but previously someone talked about Mr. Manginni and his help. I do remember him from when 2472 trips were run, and he was always nice and enthusiastic. Groups can and do change their personell, and the idea of his inside pull with the Freindly Southern Pacific doesn't mean anything now, from what I saw, the SP managers who helped got sent out by Yellow Peril a long time ago after the merger. That's about enough, and I plan on being able to see 2472 steam up in the next 2 weeks.