It's public now, Mt Rainier Scenic (MRSR) is in talks with the Chehalis group (CCRM) to run trains from MRSR on CCRM's tracks.
https://www.chronline.com/stories/chehalis-centralia-railroad-mt-rainier-scenic-railroad-look-to-partner-to-bring-excursion-trains,318093
As a CCRM brakeman, I haven't heard for sure what this means for the train crews. I've heard that maybe this means we don't get to touch the trains in any official capacity, but I have yet to hear anything specific yet.
I guess it makes sense, as CCRM has good track (repaired not long ago from the flood damages) and MRSR has working steam and insurance. Together, there's enough for working steam passenger operations.

I posted the article on Facebook and got a reply from one of the MRSR staff members.

Short version? Yes, it's possible this will happen. Yes, they're hoping to make it work.

No, nothing is final yet, and there's a LOT of things that will have to fall in place before it could happen. Keep your fingers crossed, but it's not a done deal yet.

Hence, what I originally wrote:

I never wrote it was a done deal.
But the fact that they're sharing it with the media, that to me would seem more than just a "what if?" kind of thing...

No paywall: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... cle-trips/

So, June came and went and MRSR should have already been running out of Chehalis. I asked about this and was advised that MRSR is having issues with locomotive 70 and another said they'd been focusing on their rail bike stuff and hadn't done much of anything with the steam and conventional rolling stock.
There's a board meeting on the 13th, so maybe some news will be shared then.
I'd read what it would take for us Chehalis train crew folks to get to take part in running, and it involves a 40-hour set of classes and they're expecting crew to run mor than half the entire weekends of the summer.
I can't take a week off for anything like that and I can't devote most of my off time from my real job to run trains. It is a paying gig through MRSR to run trains, but I never signed on to crew a train for the money.
But as nobody seems to know when MRSR will get 70 and their rolling stock to Chehalis (I'm still being told it's supposed to take place) and we're well into the running season, I have no idea what this will mean.
At this point, if it happens, I'll probably just go as a passenger or on the ground with a camera.

The MRSR idea came and went.
I'm hearing there might be an Oregon short line who wants to run trains for the Chehalis group, but apparently again with their own people.
It was a closed meeting where the rank and file couldn't get any details.

Lee,

I sense a bit of disappointment and animosity in your posts. The second incident on the Chehalis Centralia Railroad was reportedly caused in part by a safety rules violation, thereby putting the final nail in the coffin for the insurance to be dropped on railroad operations. Given that, do you suppose that a new operator wants to go down the same rabbit hole of using your same volunteers and perhaps suffering the same fate? Or, does it make sense that they're requiring a lengthy new training and rules exam session? It also makes perfect sense that they're moving the dial of accountability from part-time volunteer crews to full-time employees who can be held to higher standards. If and when a new operator comes along, be thankful if you are even allowed to volunteer on their operation. No matter whose fault the incidents were, keeping the insurance folks appeased will be most important.

My 2 cents.

Of course you do. I stepped into this situation long after the incident that caused this mess, worked really hard to get onto train crew and almost the moment I was doing well with it, we get shut down. I didn't even know there's been a grade crossing incident for a long time.
And now, two operators have stepped in to offer to run our equipment but only if nobody who'd been running before has a role other than paying passenger or helping out on the platform or in the shop.
There's no way I'm going to go cheerleader mode about all this. I'm just as ticked at the things that got us in this position, make no mistake about that. But even after we hired an FRA guy going through all the enhanced training and got my GCOR card again, it's quite possible that my running days are over. All for something that happened before I even decided to show up.
I'd love to meet the person who wouldn't be personally disappointed (though hardly surprised) at that situation.

I don't see how "your operating days are over." Sure, volunteers may take a backseat to paid crew members, you may be required to go through new training and as with all employers, the new operator may use discretion when going through job applications. Mt Rainier is always looking for new blood.

What’s a GCOR card?

GCOR = General Code of Operating Rules.

Mt. Rainier isn't looking for that kind of blood.

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad receives grant to restore track to operation: Port of Tacoma provides $50,000 for 5.5-mile expansion project: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... operation/