Gary:

Thanks for the very interesting thoughts.
Yeah, what I was trying to say is that the
UP seems not to want to let steam locomotives
that are not crewed by their own employees run
on their railroad because they (UP managers)
cannot control thebehavior of the crews of those
"foreign" locomotives by the usual means an
employer controls his/her subordinates: cutting
their pay or reassigning them to other duties or
firing them if need be.

I am speaking purely as an outsider, mind you, but
for a long time it has seemed to me that the UP needs
to keep costs down in general, and the steam program
is no exception. Doing what you suggest would cost the
UP more money than they now spend on their steam program,
it seems, for more hours spent working with the crews of
those "foreign" steam locomotives.

I agree: those SP and WP and etc., steam locomotives
are not really "foreign" --- they are family, but the UP
doesn't look at it that way, sad to say.

You make some excellent points. I REALLY like your idea
of making the CSRM technology museum the premier steam
locomotive restoration facility west of the Mississippi. That
would be GREAT! Many groups could take advantage of
such a facility, especially if the crews there were able to do
excellent Form 4 work and could very reliably quarter a
locomotive's drivers, as well as do other specialized work
very well and reliably. You know, you gotta dream BIG in
order to get other people excited about your dreams!

Thanks for the excellent post!

Margaret (SP fan)