Nate Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> None of the things you are asking Eric about make
> a bit of difference.
> The railroads he visited had a grade crossing on a
> public road. Doesnt matter if its a bunch of
> foamers playing trains or not. Who cares if its
> Niles Canyon (FRA Regulated) or the Sierra
> Northern. (Also FRA regulated) The railroad
> crosses a road and therefore falls under the FRA
> and regardless of whether that is the case or not,
> the railroads in question should shape up before
> someone gets killed or they get their pants sued
> off for something else.

It makes a difference because it's part of the bigger picture. This thread started when he posted about what he saw on a couple of tourist railroads. So-called "eye witness" accounts are notoriously unreliable and should be questioned for their validity. There may be more to it than what he "saw." Additional facts and circumstances would be helpful, but he's repeatedly refused to answer questions, and instead deflects them, becomes defensive, or says he doesn't know. If he can't tell whether these were real railroads or museum-type operations, maybe he also couldn't tell about the other things.

One thing he mentioned that doesn't seem to have picked up on by others, but in my mind would be more serious a situation than the other issues, is that the train apparently "moved" after portable stairs were placed at a baggage car door to load/unload passengers. Yet because he's declined to provide any details, it's not possible to know why this happened. Did the car move slightly because the air had been released? Did the entire train move because the person operating it caused it to move? Who knows?

As others have pointed out, if he had these concerns, why didn't he make them known to the railroads' managements? Contacting them at the time they happened, or sending a letter or email, has a better chance of resulting in a correction of any problems - if indeed there really are any problems. If his concern really is for safety, posting it here won't solve anything.