Re: PC: U25B @ B&O Museum

[Jereav@xxxxxxx]

The U25B in question was sent on a long term loan to a museum down south. 
Unfortunately I can't locate my B&O Museum Roster, or I could relate the 
exact place and date. The museum that received the U25B cosmetically restored 
her. They sent the B&O Museum some photos, and she looks great. Prior to 
coming to the B&O, this engine had a manifold fire which pretty much damaged 
the prime mover beyond economical repair.
The U25B was donated to the Museum at a time during the early 1990s when CSXT 
gave us what it wanted to. CSXT was (still is?) dominated by the Seaboard 
System mentality and that's where most of it's top officials were from at 
that time, so I guess a former L&N unit in Baltimore made some sense to 
them...
The B&O Museum has recently removed any mention of the B&O, C&O and WM from 
it's mission statement. (The mission statement also had a line about 
railroads that operated in Maryland or with which the B&O, etc., operated 
closely with. Well, the PC surely fits that category.) I don't know if that 
means the Museum will accept, say, a Union Pacific locomotive for display. I 
hope not. Perhaps two of the best railroad museums in the 
country-Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum in Strasburg and the California 
State Railroad Museum in Sacramento - both focus on their region and do an 
excellent job. The B&O Museum will be making a mistake, I think, if it tries 
to expand it's collection beyond the Middle Atlantic region. (Thanks, now let 
me climb down from my soapbox!)