There seems to be disagreement on that even among the most regular contributors and members.

Anyhow, further discussion of the subject in a separate TO thread with some apparently quite relevant preservation content--provided, of course, the story in the first post is indeed true:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/ ... 10,4560085

Why should anyone here give a rat's ass what's happening over at trainorders? Shoulden't this be in railfanning if anything?

I might add that this same kind of behavior has not been limited strictly to Ed and the UP Steam Program. There are numerous steam groups that refuse to post any updates here or over on TO for the same basic reason. I am glad Rick has taken such a forward and proactive approach here and I sincerely hope that Todd can improve the culture over at TO as well with this fundamental change in direction and treatment.

Many of us get all worked up online about our right to free speech at the keyboard, but if you choose to abandon basic principles of being a decent human being in the process in exchange for "exercising your rights", it makes hard for people to take you seriously. Not to mention how it makes our community look to any outsider looking in.
We all can and should do better.

Regarding UP and Ed Dickens, regardless of what has or hasn't happened since he has taken over, their current work with 844 and 4014 appears to be anything but top shelf with proper attention paid to every detail. Looking forward to seeing 844 and 4014 doubleheading next spring to Ogden!

Rob Gardner

I disagree. I think this ruling regarding Ed Dickens is potentially a trendsetter. We really need to do more as a community to squash out the bashing that achieves nothing, even if it means ostracizing someone who doesn't understand when enough is enough.

The bottom line is that Trainorders allows you to vote with your pocketbook. You can choose to be a member or not, no one is holding a gun to your head.

Yes, there were a couple of members who egged on the bashing but I don't want to name names as one should be a realist and not get anyone in hotwater.

Whether any of us like it or not, online discourse--constructive and otherwise--is driving, and will drive, railfanning and rail enthusiasm, and impact the future of rail preservation, just like rail magazines have for decades and "clubs" of anything from gatherings at railfan spots to NRHS conventions have impacted things in the past.

The future of "railfanning", which drives rail preservation and creates our members and volunteers and experts, is online--or there is no future.

TrainOrders, whether you like or hate it, is (or at least was) a major player in this online rail environment in North America. A change in its approach to this admittedly troubling situation that has developed over the years will most likely impact the media environment somewhat for UP and other "big steam", primarily by "weeding out" some juvenile behavior that was allowed to fester. In a sense, for those of you with long enough memories or knowledge, it's akin to the old Railroad Magazine getting rid of its "cheesecake" photos of young women posing on rail equipment, or Trains dumping its "Professional Iconoclast" columnist, the Rush Limbaugh of the rail industry.


I see what you did there............

Its a time of great decision....are we to stay or should we quit.... there's no avoiding this conclusion.....our town is turning into shi.....

in the spirit of prayerful consideration for the folks of trainorders.com, we will now read from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and DUCK!

Sorry, I've digressed, but, l love the movie.

I have a friend in the Steam Program the guy is busting his butt getting the 4014 running and he is ex-Navy retired. He has stated several times to me that the current crew would rather work for Ed than any of the old hands. Why they know they have a person in charge that 1st does not cut corners and 2nd will stand up to Omaha to get them the equipment parts and yes supplies they need. That and Ed will get right there beside them in the shop and do whatever is needed to speed the process along.

I too am very glad that Todd has finally ended the useless bashing of the current UP steam programs leadership.

We steam lovers need all the support we can muster and that behavior sure wasn't helping.

Like it or not the Trainorders site generates substantially greater traffic than does RyPN and that's interesting when you consider it's a paid site, and I know for a fact is monitored by the very Class 1 leadership folks whose support is critical to any future steam operations.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

The funny thing is that they did a terrific job in covering the 4014's move from Pomona to Cheyenne with nothing but praise and positive comments about Ed and his team. I don't know what happened in the short time between that and the start of the bashing.

I've found Trainorders to be a good source for modern day railroading but their steam and excursion section doesn't provide much in the way of actual news. Occasionally an interesting tidbit comes down the line and they do have some good technical info but I've found RYPN to have much more comprehensive and reliable coverage of preservation news.