Frostburg, and a terribly lost wonderful opportunity

[ACY Tom]

Dave ---

Give me a call when you do it, Dave.  I still have my uniforms.

Tom

[daveklepper]

At age 82 and 9000 miles away, what chance is there?   If I live forever and become the wealthiest person on the Earth, I would buy a Concord out of a museum, have it rebuilt with all modern technology and noise suppression, definitely visit the Maryland Scenic, attend a concert or Opera at the Frostberg Hall, and then go on go Colorado to make a down payment for a reconstructed line between Chama and Durango.   The Concord would get me to Kennedy or Dulles, but from then on Levitt and the Bilshaks would have to make the appropriate arrangements.  But I would want Tom-ACY to come out of retirement to be the maitre-de.   My connections with 353 and Mountain View are somewhat stronger than with 120, but still a Branford (Shoreline) trolley museum charter with 120 is still in my memory.  One can always dream.

At least I have streetcar (light rail) line to ride, quite frequently, too!

[Firelock76]

The Western Maryland Scenic's still waiting for you Dave.  It ain't goin' anywhere!

[NorthWest]

Wonderful memories!

 I think we all have stories of the "so close, but yet so far..." category. One of mine involves the NS Heritage Unit making it up here, and being stuck in a meeting...

If you get a chance to go in a couple years, the C&O articulated will be running.

[daveklepper]

I had a project in Forstburg, MD, and did not ride the steam train!   My once in a lifetime opportunity to ride the Western Maryland Scenic Ry behind steam was lost.

I did go to and from the project using the Capitol Limited, connecting to and from NY via Metroliner 1st class, had good meals, used an economy room going and a bedroom returning, justifying the expense of the latter as room to write my report on my laptop while perusing all the data and notes I had taken.  I ate more than one meal in the excellent station restaurant at Frostberg and heard and saw the steam locomotive and its train arrive.

My job was to check out the sound system, approve it for the owners as their representative, instruct the theatre staff on how to use it and use the demountable acoustic "stage-shell" for orchestral and choral concerts, and otherwise insure that my firm's recomendations had been complied with by the contractors.  A rep of the University met me at the Amtrak station and was with me most of the time.

The problem was that the successful sound system contractor was short of help and hired his main competitor to help him, a competitor that had put in a higher bid to the electrical contractor.  And the sound system as installed could not meet specifications.  I could have adopted a hardnose response, to say, gentlemen, fix it, and tell me when to return, and you, the University should bill the contractor for the extra time and travel.  But the opening show was just a few days away. and the University would obviously not be very happy.  So we set to work, found lots of wiring errors, wrong settings, etc.  I had to use all possible budgeted time (and some sack time too) to set matters straight, but the job got done, but without my train ride.  When I arrived at my White Plains office, my partner Gerre Marshall said "David, the University was happy that the project is successful, but they also said that you acted as if you owned the place."   I said, "Well, I had to, to get the job done."  And then described the problems.     But no steam train ride!