Yes, and that's why so few of them should be undertaken.

I'd be tempted to say that the majority of steam/tourist operations today exist not because of the economic benefit, but because there are those who love the technology enough that they want to preserve it and see it operate, and try and find a place where it can either break even or perhaps earn a little bit of money. Best way to get a small fortune in this business is to burn through a large one. That's why something like Tweetsie Railroad and Rebel Railroad started adding things to do in addition to the train ride, because they saw the writing on the wall.

That said, the economics of restoring an engine in Nashville make some amount of sense. EVERYTHING is already in place except the engine. You've got railroad. You've got a group. You've got passenger service and cars. You've got a large population base nearby (and even more within a 2hr driving distance) to sustain such an operation, including a decent tourism base that brings in new people every year. If I'm looking at donating money and/or time, I can see a return on my investment in my lifetime and a situation that should be relatively secure and sustainable for long-term operation.

Strasburg just got very, VERY lucky that the area transformed itself into a tourist trap with all the outlets and such.

Dave, please edit your post as your reply got put into the quote box so it looks like it was part of my quote. (Simple mistake, these forums don’t play nice sometimes!! Ha)

Sorry but the Nashville engine still makes zero business sense.

The track is not owned by the group restoring the steam engine so the ability to operate can end at any time.

The cars owned by Tennessee Central already operate excursions and they almost always sell out.

Now I’m all for the project. It’s a great project and is great to see happenn. But it doesn’t make any business sense as far as I can tell.

The tracks are owned by the Nashville & Eastern Rail Authority (aka the counties). RJ Corman is just the designated operator. Given what's happening in Watertown, I'd say there is a good amount of local support for tourism, and a tremendous amount of marketing potential being the "hometown engine". It's about as good of a situation as you could hope to have--and it's a high speed run of quite decent mileage to boot and not some 15mph trundling shortline, so you have a good candidate for the proposed use. Barring some meltdown, it should be a stable situation for years to come.

Judging by the schedule on the TCRM page, there are quite a few open weekends for potential steam operation.

I'll admit that they are likely restoring the steam engine because they want to, but it won't be a hangar queen hoping that a Class 1 has a change of heart. That alone is reason for optimism.

Getting somewhat off topic here but the operation of 576 in Nashville probably makes good business sense due to Nashville's larger than average Convention and Tourism base. I also agree that unlike the 'Burg, 576 and her crew of volunteer's really are at the operating mercy of both the TCRM and R.J. Corman. Time will tell if 576 can operate regularly enough to make a go of it but just as is being discussed here any operation and it's "staff" must have eyes wide open to the business that it is. It could easily turn out as the New Georgia Railroad did in Atlanta which was very popular but at the mercy of the State Legislature and CSX and without that one saavy champion was doomed to fail. One thing that one no one will ever know about the NGRR was the economics due to the complexity of State budgeting. I do also applaud NSPS for finding some new and young blood within their 80 or so volunteers.

Back to Tweetsie, he and others of the next generation need to be taught that listening is a skill that is hard when you are young and still lack wisdom, but that in the long run, listening to experienced mentors will give the knowledge needed to discern what is really achievable. It is no easy thing to mentor when someone is a raging fire and you get out a big fire hose. I am guilty of this especially since I have reach the O.F. part of my life and see most things in dollars and cents but am trying to get the younger set to pick some books and read when not listening to some good mentors. Reading is not without challenge either as lots of material is not available either in e-format, which us O.F.'s hate, or just in general circulation.

We're not privy to all the information about agreements between various parties, and without that knowledge we're not in a position to have worthwhile opinions, but knowing a little about the people involved it would surprise me if there wasn't a good amount of critical due diligence done before starting to spend money.

Hey! We're now talking about the business of making these things work instead of how cool it would be! This is the kind of progress we need to make projects work, anybody can do blacksmithing and painting.

The conversation appears to be drifting, folks.

The theme of this post very much lines up with my spirit when I started the thread "should we be annoyed."

Blue Sky ideas aren't anything bad... and I don't understand the quick need to give people "a dose of reality." I was pretty annoyed that the Stone Mountain Thread got moved, there's alot of really interesting conversation happening in that thread including some historic photos and videos of things I never even knew happened. (I would have bet good money that the #750 never operated at Stone Mountain!). As well as a shoutout to all of the steam that still runs in theme parks and historic sites. Very good, on topic conversation.

By the way... check out the "first restoration?" thread if you can chime in on the history of that IC engine... I've been digging up some info and trying to figure out what it did in Johnson City, and also why it was numbered #1894. (I know why it was painted Southern obviously... but why #1894?).

On the bright side, all of this has certainly breathed new life into the railfan board... which usually goes for days without seeing any activity.

Crescent Zephyr, et al:
The Southern Railway had "similar" 0-8-0s numbered 1839 to 1899 including 1894.
Perhaps No. 1894 had been assigned to a town near Clemmons, NC. or someone had a photo of that locomotive in that town...
Be well,
J.David

Thanks.. in my brief search I only found Southern 0-8-0's in the #6500 and around there.

That's very close. The engine (originally Illinois Central) was painted "Southern 1894" when it was on display at Spencer in the early 80s. Per Jim Wrinn, the real 1894 was a Spencer engine.

1894 while on display in Spencer.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125446073 ... 463340491/

The "1894" went to Tanglewood Park in Clemmons in late 1991 in trade for Southern 542, which had been in the park since the mid 50s. 542 was a true Spencer-based engine, so it's obvious why the museum would want it. For those not familiar with the area, it's only about 25 miles as the crow flies between Tanglewood and Spencer.
Kevin

yes... there's alot more history that I found about this engine.. I posted it on Tweetsies post about the engine which has been moved over to railfanning for some reason.

really interesting history of the engine.