Re: (erielack) Steamtown 10th Anniversary

[Njricky2_@_aol.com]

I also visited Steamtown this weekend and Chuck makes very good points. The 
museum factor is very much in place and works very well. But the static museum 
cannot stand alone. 

The key is live steam motive power and purists be damned, backed up by deisel 
when necessary. While the roots and focus are steam, desiel evolved from 
steam, thus if it's packaged right, the two work well as they appeared to this 
weekend. 

NPS is very good a marketing national parks but Steamtown is unique within 
the National Park System and NPS doesn't appear to know how to market Steamtown.

People I spoke with at Steamtown are very enthusiastic. They have the 
knowledge and love for what they do but they are not in a position to enact a good 
marketing program without NPS taking the lead.

In the parking lots, I noticed license plates from NY, NJ, MD, DE, NC, VA, 
OH, IL, ON, MA, TX, WV, KY and of course, PA. That tells me that people know 
about Steamtown and went to Scranton to experience the railroad as it once was.

Did they find what they were looking for? Hopefully so. In my opinion, they 
probably found a good part of a static museum with steam playing a minor role. 

Having watched Steamtown grow in Scranton, I think NPS has it reversed. NPS 
has certainly taken care of the "static'" part extremely well, but without 
major steam action (deisels included if and when necesary), Steamtown becomes 
nothing more than a quiet place to contemplate what was.

Late this morning, while I was waiting for the commuter bus (still can't take 
a train from Scranton to New York) to bring me back home to NYC, I couldn't 
help but smile watching people riding in two Lackawanna passenger cars within 
the yard powered by steam and during a thunderstorm. Storm be damned, they were 
riding rails, maybe for the first time.

Something good continues to happen at Steamtown but as was mentioned, what 
about the politicians from the local to state to the federal level? My question 
is simple. Where are they? Why are they not doing what they can do to ensure 
the success of a unique National Park?

With a government that cut Amtrak funding, a government that ignores the 
importance and expansion of commuter rail systems, a government that choses what 
part of our history will be in the forefront, a government that tries to outlaw 
people from smoking but allows increases in industrial polutants, tells me 
that Steamtown is not high on the priority list. And I don't care who is in the 
White House. 

It's been this way for decades but this time around it appears to be heading 
to extremes and the current government is leading the charge.

If we want to see a unique part of the national park system be all that it 
can be, it's time to contact the Scranton area elected people from the local to 
federal levels.

Case in point. A few months ago, Sen. Rick Santorum from PA enquired about 
the status of the Cut-Off.  After years in Washington he finally got around to 
looking for rail votes. The response to him was "Where have you been?" On that 
issue, he hasn't been heard from since and he hasn't spoken a word about 
Steamtown.

Being a favorite son in the White House, what can one say? We know. 

If we want to see Steamtown and other issues be all that they can be, it's 
time to contact the likes of Sen. Santorum and the others. Regardless of what 
state we live in, it's time to let them know that they are not preserving our 
country's roots and that they are not properly planning for our country's 
future.

Rick


	The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
	Sponsored by the ELH&TS
	http://www.elhts.org

------------------------------

End of EL List Daily V3 #1702
*****************************