Live Steam Railroads on Public Land
Part I (N.E.O.L.S.)
Written by Richard
Dute.
Photo courtesy of the N.E.O.L.S. secretary; Barbara Parkinson
Editors Note:When it comes to
land for a live steam track, the choices are only two: locate your live steam
railroad on private land or public land. There are advantages to each.
One obvious advantage to public land is that you don't need large amounts of
cash to purchase a suitable site for the track. An obvious disadvantage to
public land is a lack of control. There are other advantages and disadvantages.
What follows is a discussion of the pros and cons of operating a live steam
track on land which is owned by the tax payers.
Here are just some of the live steam tracks that run on public
lands:
-
Great Lakes Live
Steamers
-
NorthEastern Ohio Live
Steamers
-
Indiana Live Steamers
-
Largo Central Railroad
-
Houston Area Live
steamers
-
Chula Vista Live
Steamers
-
Long Island Live
Steamers
-
Tradewinds & Atlantic
Railroad
-
Orland, Newville &
Pacific Railroad
-
Maricopa Live Steamers
-
Los Angles Live
Steamers
There are other tracks scattered across the US and in other
countries. All of these railroads had to come to an agreement with local
government as to how the railroad could operate in the "public interest".
Richard Dute, a member of the Northeastern Ohio
Live Steamers Inc., recently told us about N.E.O.L.S.
The N.E.O.L.S. was started in 1969 by myself and 15 other
live steamers. From 1971 thru 1998 we operated on 7 acres of land we leased
from a local industry. We had a well established facility, with approx. 1 mile
of mainline. In 1998 we got a notice the property had been sold ($950,000.00).
Our 7 acres was part of a 30 acre tract.
From fall of 1998 thru 2000 we looked for a new location for
our railroad. The problems encountered were the land was too expensive, too far
away, unusable for our needs or zoning prohibited it. in the beginning we
didn't really think about a public park. We wanted our own property. But, after
two years of looking and finding nothing, we heard about a new county park
being built in the area by the Medina County Park System, Medina, Ohio. Why not
give it a try? Another member and I went to talk to the Park Director. When we
brought up the idea of a railroad in the park he said "no". They had a final
design for that park. We thought well that's that. Then he said " we are
planning another park about 5 miles away, if we would be interested in going
there. maybe something may be worked out. They thought of building this park
with a railroad thyme. Over the 6 months we prepared a presentation to the Park
Board and took them to a private track to see first hand what we wanted to
build in the park. At the end of the 6 months we had an agreement to use
approx, 8+ acres in the park.
Photos curtsey of Northeastern Ohio
Live Steamers web site.
In the spring of 2001 we started to work. We built a full
size station (form B&O drawings) for a club house. Grading and Bridge
construction began, followed by the track. In the fall of 2003 we gave our
first public ride. In 2004 and 2005 we had 5 public runs each year. During 2005
we averaged 1000+ riders each day. In 2004 the Park acquired 12 acres
adjacent to the 8 we were using. And asked us if we would like to expand our
railroad there.
Photo courtesy of the N.E.O.L.S. secretary; Barbara Parkinson
The Park system has said we are an asset to the Park and are
very pleased with our operation. They include us in the planning of their years
activities. We have 1+ mile of mainline, a storage yard, large steaming
bay and service area and several building that are car storage. We are planning
a 3000 feet expansion starting in 2006.
The Medina County Park System, Medina Ohio, has been a great
asset to the N.E.O.L.S. and to the live steam hobby.
Editors Note: As we can see by this example, N.E.O.L.S. had to
face a tough choice when the land they used was sold out from under them.
This is what can happen when you place your railroad on property owned my one
individual or corporation or even on public land. Several railroads have
faced this problem and many more will deal with this in the future. Moving
to public land is not always the answer. In this example, it seems to be
working well. In future articles we will look at other examples and the
problems faced.
Written by Richard
Dute.
Coming Soon: Part II (Largo Central Railroad)
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Are you are
interested in locating a track on public land?
What questions would you ask of the live steamers that have entered into
agreements with local governments for use of public land for live steam tracks?
Here is my question on
"Live Steam" on public land.
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question for Richard Dute? Did you enjoy the article?
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