>When you put your time and/or money into keeping these old trains running, THEN you are entitled to your opinions.

I have! I lived in the Reno area years ago, and would often be up at Portola mid-week getting roped into whatever project Hap, Norm, Jim, Hank et al had going on at the time. Having outside railroad experience, it wasn't unusual for me to be running an engine while the local rails worked the ground since they knew where they wanted to respot the equipment. Ever had the 707 hanging onto so many cars you were looking across the loop for hand signals? I didn't just run the 707 and the other engines, I spent a fair share of time fixing them. The only F unit I ever ran was the B at Portola to get it in and out of the shop while doing some work on it.

Weekends were another story. The whole attitude changed at Portola when you had the "weekend warriors" without any real railroad experience. I quit volunteering at Portola and other museums because I got treated like $hit by most of the play-boys. I am not "qualified" to run because I don't have "seniority", but I have been PAID to do almost every craft on the railroad. Take your pick - steam, diesel, tourist, shortline, Class 1, industrial as conductor, engineer, trackman, signal maintainer, mechanic or manager. I have probably already forgotten more about the railroad industry than most of the non-rail weekend warriors will ever know. But I was more than welcome to fix the toys they had broken, I just wasn't qualifed to run them!

So - What happened? Why did it happen? Has the appropriate action (including discipline as required) to prevent it from happening again? Has the entire RAL program been reviewed as a result, especially considering the huge potential for serious injury or worse? Since the alleged damage was on the nose, this suggests that visibility was not a big issue and the same incident may have occured with a Geep or switcher - both of which are just as hard to repair or replace as an F unit.

Don't cry poor. The RAL program has made many, many dollars over the years for FRRS. A portion of every dollar should have been set aside to pay for overhauls for the hours run, and repairs resulting from inexperienced people running the engines. The primary purpose of a historical museum is NOT to provide equipment for volunteers or those with a few bucks to play with.

And - many of those posting here have PROFESSIONAL railroad experience. And don't @#$%& too much about railfans, they are your potential future member/volunteers and RAL customers. These are not toy trains - these are the real thing and if lose respect for that fact that can maim or kill you, regardless if you are a guest, a volunteer or paid employee.

My 2 cents ...