It might sound rediculous to you, but to a complete outsider, not so much. People do it all the time, damage their own equipment, cars, businesses, and spouses (unfortunately) to collect money in insurance. I hate to see historic equipment damaged and vandalized as much as anyone else, i also hate to see people torch their own cars and houses to collect insurance and kill wives/husbands to collect money. (Robert O. Marshall comes to mind) It happens.
IF the CMSL, or ANY business was having money problems, a restaurant, a deli, a retailer, a service professional (i have no idea if they do, in regard to the CMSL, Im only saying as an example) and needed to drum up a good amount of cash relatively quickly, vandalize or destory some necessary tools/equipment. Insurance company comes, looks, writes a check (i know its not THAT simple, but thats how it usually goes in a nutshell) needed cash in hand, and on top of it, the public sympathy for such a "horrible act" undertaken by cowards on this struggling business, and as the old saying goes, any publicity is good publicity, and low and behold, public is on your side, and business goes up from a previous downturn, and more public awareness and support for your product. And "everyone" is happy, no harm, no foul, right?
Sorry for the negative, and unpopular, view on things, but my Father is a Police arson and forensic's Detective........these things happen WAY more than ANYONE could possibly imagine. Which is why I pay well over a thousand dollars for homeowners insurance and over another grand for car insurance.
As a side, but important note, there is beautiful equipment down there at the CMSL, and i know a lot of people put a lot of time into taking care of it. Which makes vandelism that much more of a kick in the gut.
On the RR, "believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see"
John, aka "JTGSHU" passed away on August 26, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.
