Dear Pioneer,
We’re at the height of the busy season, so I hope you’ll forgive this letter for being on the shorter side. Thank you and your guides for the coal mine postcards! They created quite the afternoon of activity over in the steam shop, I’m told. CE 5 in particular was very complimentary. I think he thought you must have been exaggerating when you said it looked like a real mine, but after he saw the postcards, he was nothing short of impressed. He used to pull coal too (though it was above ground for the electrical plant), so I suppose he must know what he’s talking about. I, on the other wheel, couldn’t tell you what I was looking at, but I can see why it was so popular with your visitors. It’s not often people get to see such large machinery like that, let alone reach out and touch it!
Our visitors often say that one of the best parts of coming here is being able to climb in our cabs and put their hands on just about everything on us static displays as long as the museum says it’s okay. That’s not something you’re usually allowed to do with engines who are in service, and I don’t think our visitors would have as much fun if we were behind glass like in the old days. And you would need a very large pane of glass for our train, besides. Riding a working train is also a kind of interactivity, so even when visitors aren’t allowed to touch, they’re still interacting with us in a way.
Is U-505 proud of the German influence on your museum? I would be! On the topic of German influence, Schwabenfest went off without a hitch at the end of July and was one of our busiest days of the year so far. That’s not too surprising, since the museum wasn’t the only place celebrating. I’m told Union had 10,000 people or better turn out for the weekend festival and since we’re so close by, many of them took the short drive out to see us! The rapid transit cars got quite the workout that day, let me tell you.
There was a similar turnout for the antique Auto Club day in August, although those visitors were here to see cars of a different sort altogether. The automobiles were nice enough, but they’re small and mostly kept to themselves. Venus said automobiles don’t feel the need to make conversation, but antique models tend to be more chatty since they’ve been around so long. I guess regular everyday automobiles don’t talk much at all! Vesta called that “antisocial behavior” and Venus made a tutting sound at her.
Members’ Day is at the end of the month and we’ve been told we’re on track to run that day for at least one trip, possibly more if it goes well. No plans for lunch on Ceres like in ‘72 in case there’s another hitch like last time, but I think we’re all just excited to be moving again! The folks in the shop have been doing some tests and they’re confident we’re going to do fine. They tell me one or two trips up the main line won’t put too much stress on my system and I’ve no cause to doubt them.
CE 5 and Tuskegee 101 have been keeping me informed about Frisco’s progress in the shop and tell me she and Shay will be out that day as well. It will be nice to see them again. I’ve missed them!
Were you nervous before your Denver-to-Chicago sprint? Maybe that’s a silly question to ask. Members’ Day isn’t exactly the Century of Progress. I suppose there’s a beautiful Zephyr trainset to look at in both cases, and that’s what matters – whether it runs or not.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Give everyone in the yard my best!
Your friend,
Pilot