Thanks for your question Ken. And Dick is correct about one of our missions. We think the two functions, public access and locomotive work can co-exist and I believe that is the goal of all of us associated with the ORHC.
Our Docent crew has a list of prior to opening tasks. One of the primary ones is to determine with whatever engine crew is working that particular day what areas of the Heritage Center should not have public access. Once this is determined, it is primarily the Docent task to keep people at a safe distance keeping in mind that this work is in itself one of our exhibits.
The other factor, is the engine crews also know our public hours. They can expect the public to not be around when we are closed. For sixteen hours each week we open our doors to the public;, most of the rest of the hours are workers only.
From my perspective this is just like any other marriage, it takes work but we are all focused on the common goal of preserving these jewels and making them public accessible.
And being a Docent gives one the opportunity to interact with the interested public and the dedicated folk who preserve these jewels. If interested, PM me. Arlen