Anderson wanted the museum to make a concrete social statement about railway travel rather than just offer a mechanically oriented display. The museum, he said, should concentrate on the "social aspects — lifestyle, elements of design, furnishings, decor, fashions, menus." He firmly believed that this was a sure way to increase patronage and that the resulting ticket revenue would help offset increased costs. And he felt strongly that the need to preserve equipment of this vintage, fragility, and national importance precluded actual running. What a loss to the nation if the only such set to survive was ever wrecked!

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