Dear Pioneer,
Your comment about the Goddesses being the very model of a loyal and hardworking train was quite well-received as you might imagine. Almost as well-received as the news that your engine still runs! Can’t say why they were so excited about it, but that bit of news got the whole train aflutter. When I asked them about it, all I got was laughter and something about, “not so static after all”. Trains can be loyal, but they can also be very mysterious. They’ve started laughing again as I dictate this.
I’m not an expert on poetry by any means, but I think it’s pretty amazing that 2903 has a poem! I certainly don’t have one and the Goddesses don’t either, as previously mentioned. My letter writer says people who write poems usually do so because they’re moved by something. Not every person can write a book or paint a beautiful picture– just like not every engine can pull a logging train or be a yard switcher – but almost anyone can write even a small poem just like any engine can be appreciated. I think it’s nice!
Speaking of moving people, we’ve been taking passengers again! I figured I’d better not bury the lede this time, since we’re obviously all very excited. Our runs serve a similar purpose to getting your engine turned over once in a while, I imagine. Keeps us in good working order should we be called upon (for Member’s Day or otherwise). That and the passengers just love being able to ride the train that’s been sitting static in plain view for so long, haha. They don’t even seem to mind the occasional noise or lack of air conditioning. Sometimes it’s just about seeing us move, as your Rocket might attest!
Our visitors have been getting a lot of that sort of moving lately as well. Museum members voted this year to charge an admission fee for the museum grounds (25¢ for children and 50¢ for adults) which went into effect in June. In order to make it worth their while, Yard 1 was rearranged so that all the cars which had previously been sitting by themselves are now part of a few complete trains. Each car is getting a description board as well, painted orange so they stand out and visitors can read about their histories while they explore the train.
It’s a different approach, but it means our visitors can support the museum while getting to learn more about us. There’s not always a guide available to answer questions, so the signs serve to get people interested in the stock they’re looking at. And my letter writer tells me that the policy has actually been received favorably. That wasn’t necessarily a guarantee, but it turns out people are happy to support us any way they can!
In a similar show of support, all the electrics got to sing for us on the 4th of July. At 2 o’clock, every electric car with a working horn on the property honked for two whole minutes to celebrate the bicentennial. Apparently people all over the country were celebrating similarly, which sounds very noisy indeed. 200 years is a big birthday. There aren’t even any engines that old! I guess if folks can be moved by us engines just simply doing our job, it follows they’d be moved by such a significant milestone. Did your museum do anything special for the 4th? Our visitors tell us everything in town is red white and blue right now, I expect you’d have a pretty good view of that from where you’re standing!
I hope your summer operations are going as well as ours. It’s been nice to settle in at the end of the day after doing a run and thinking about your letters. Sometimes I’m so tired afterward, I fall asleep thinking about what you’ll write next! …Hmm, the Goddesses are laughing again. Ah, well.
Your friend,
Pilot