I heard from a friend in Pennsylvania today that he saw an article about the Strasburg Railroad in a newspaper suggesting that it is in financial difficulties, but he had no other deatils for me. Anybody hear anything?<br>

Just a hypothesis, but I think your friend may possibly have confused Strasburg with EBT. There was a spate of articles about nine days ago connected with the EBT Fall Spectacular, in which EBT owner Joe Kovalchick painted a somewhat gloomy portrait of the future. Not to dismiss anything about the EBT's endangered status, but most of us read this as Mr. K's usual spin control when talking to the press, and not real news per se.<p>As for Strasburg, I was there all day two weeks ago, and it seemed to be in its usual thriving condition in every possible way. They had just finished several days of filming for a new Thomas the Tank Engine feature movie, which should contribute nicely to their bottom line for the year. The steam shop continues to do a great deal of outsouring work for other operations like the B&O Museum, which helps spread the cost of capital equipment and expert staff over a broader customer base.<p>As always, maintenance, cleanliness and timekeeping were all impeccable. Loads looked very good for a perfectly ordinary September Saturday. They are the best-run, most businesslike tourist railroad in the East, and I can't imagine they are in any serious difficulty.<br>



eledbetter@rypn.org

Thanks,Erik, you confirmed what I suspected.We've been going to the Strasburg for years and although there was a drop in ridership this summer, it appeared to be in good shape. I agre that it is one of the best run operations around, and I hope it has a long life.I also heard while I was there that the Strasburg Shops are building a replica of Viginia and Truckee RR #1, the 2-6-0 Booth-built "Lyon" for a private client. I saw the frame partially assembled and various parts of the running gear that had already been fabricated. Their work on the "William Mason" for the B&O Museum was great. It was a thrill to see her running in Baltimore last month. <br>