On that day, the train crew are paid for their time on duty. A whopping minimum wage. As one of the regular crew up there (I was not there that weekend) I can tell you that that money profits me not at all. It is eaten up in gas to get there, food to stay functional while there, and gas to get home. Nobody is making money off this deal.

I'm not going to go into the details of the annual budget, but I will say that the cost of paying those crews is not even a significant part of the budget, and the return of reliability, reporting, tax and insurance advantages, and the like more than make up for it.

This said there are some members of the crew who refuse payment, or who donate back their pay. And there are some of us who work long before we officially go on the clock, and volunteer in other capacities for many things. I have personally invested over a hundred hours over the years of unpaid time. There are others who make me look like a lightweight on volunteer commitment.

As for the 15, she's a bit dirty, but otherwise she's in excellent shape. Considering how often the 15 is used and that she is now 95 years old, she is in impressive shape.

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.