The "old" guy sounds like maybe Harold Borovec. He's a true steam legend and one of the nicest and funniest steam engineers you'll ever meet. He made an incredible impression on me back in 2004 when I first rode with those guys and again when I saw him running the 700 during a run on the OPR a few years ago.

I can't speak for any of these steam operations as I haven't kept up on them all that much. But there's a lot of issues associated with operating a railroad that the general public doesn't see and maybe doesn't understand or appreciate. The costs are phenomenal and overwhelming. Imagine trying to keep a fairly long line open that was essentially an abandoned logging railroad. We might ask why don't they just buy a few more cars. Well, obviously money is an issue for any group. And these guys are no different. They were hit very hard back during the massive floods a few years ago and the fact that are they even operating at all is no small miricle. After seeing the flood damage that pretty much wiped out the railroad, I never believed they were be operational again. Somehow they are and I'm sure that not free nor easy.

I don't think this operation gets a lot of support from any local governments and as of a least a few years isn't even allowed to put a sign up on the I-5 that crosses over it and would no doubt bring a lot more revenue to traffic to them.

So again, knowing very little about the Chehalis operation today, I would still tend to cut them a break. I'm sure they are doing what they can under less than ideal circumstances. And nobody is exactly getting rich in this economy. Again, the fact that they are even running at all is a major accomplishment to me. And I congradulate them for that.

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
www.oregonpacificrr.com