I have been associated with the YWRR since 1988. Started out as a volunteer and worked my way up to a fireman, then engineer of the 19. It has been quite a love affair between that old steam kettle and me, (and my fireman, Bill Ainsworth) and I hate to see her go. But I also agonize with seeing her just sitting in the shop not bringing excitement and joy to railroad enthusiasts ... young and old. Perhaps, with the new move she will bring that to people again.

I've never been to the far NE corner of Oregon. I'm dying to see it and hoping that one day I will be able to occasionally sit at the throttle and hear the 19's whistle echo through the hills, and see the wonder of it all in the eyes of children. The thought makes me smile.

On the other side of the coin, I hate to see Siskiyou County ... Yreka in particular, lose a rich entity of its history, for without the YW the city of Yreka would have been no more significant today than say, Hawkinsville.