Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan
Jared
Publishing Details
About This Podcast
Join Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Executive Director Bethan Maher and Superintendent Rowdy Pierce and take a ride into the modern age of steam locomotives, cows, corn and incontinent Santas. This is an unvarnished look at the business of tourist steam railroads like you've never heard before.
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Recent Episodes
Episode 15: Special Pridecast
In this week’s episode of Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan, Rowdy is conspicuously absent, leaving Eric in the hot seat for a special Pridecast focused on LGBTQ+ history in railroading and logging…
S1E14 Episode 14: Playing with the Big Kids
In this week’s episode of Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan, Rowdy and Bethan are back to the usual shenanigans, with a bit less food-centered content than "the talent" prefers. They detail…
S1E13 Episode 13: Radical Transparency
In this week’s episode of Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan, they discuss the “tough stuff,” their take on radical transparency, and a recent situation regarding anonymous complaints to the FRA…
S1E12 Episode 12: Responsible Railfanning
In this week’s episode of Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan, Rowdy and Bethan dive deep into a topic near and dear to them, "Responsible Railfanning." Here's what comprises this episode: 1.)…
Episode 11: MRSR History and Legends. Tea Edition.
In this week’s episode of Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan, Rowdy and Bethan do what they do best - talk - a lot....while "sipping tea."Both self-proclaimed history nerds, they dig into their…
S1E10 Episode 10: Back from D.C.- Railroad Day on the Hill, CRISI & Fuel Prices
In this episode of Off the Rails, Bethan is back from D.C.and both she and Rowdy are barely surviving the latest version of the plague.Bethan recaps the massive undertaking that is Railroad Day on…
S1E9 Episode 9: Unsupervised: Foam with Eric and Rowdy
In this episode of Off the Rails, Bethan is MIA, and the "talent" is upgraded, with Eric Mencis volunteering as Podcast Tribute. Left without supervision, Rowdy and Eric dive into the deep end of the…
S1E8 Episode 8: What Makes a Steam Locomotive Work?
In this episode of Off the Rails, Bethan and Rowdy dig into what it actually takes to make steam work on a railroad, and we do not just mean lighting a match and hoping for the best.Before getting…
Episode 7: Floods, Farewells and Full Steam Ahead
In this episode of Off the Rails, Rowdy and Bethan are back after a longer-than-planned break to share where they’ve been. Recorded before the big Sportsball game, there was a quick detour into…
S1E6 Episode 6: Unpacking the Christmas Madness
In this episode of Off the Rails, you'll hear about how important the Christmas season is for tourist railroads. As Rowdy jumps ship after 5 minutes to get the train consist ready for the season, …
Episode 5 Milepost Zero: Origin Stories and Tourist Railroad Basics.
This week our ringmasters detail their entry to the three-ring circus, known as heritage railroading. Bethan’s accidental journey to Executive Director, Rowdy’s childhood fascination that turned…
Episode 4:Good Vibes on the 1472 Waiver
Can a 1472 waiver spark joy? Rowdy and Bethan turn FRA fine print into a darned good listen—mixing wisdom and Monty Python with their game plan for marketing the madness on social media, YouTube, and…
S1E3 Episode 3: Heritage Rail Alliance 2025 Conference Recap
Fresh off the 2025 Heritage Rail Alliance Conference in Durango, Colorado, Rowdy and Bethan sat down to record before they’d even unpacked. They cover the week’s train trips, seminars, and share a…
S1E2 Episode 2: The impact of politics and a weakening economy on tourism and the rails.
The impact of politics and a weakening economy on tourism and a heritage railroad. Did you know that running our steam engine is significantly less expensive and more environmentally friendly to…
S1E1 The Introduction: The Business of Heritage Railroads
Join Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Superintendent Rowdy Pierce and Executive Director Bethan Maher in this first episode of Off the Rails! Why DO they have a podcast? Listen and you'll learn the…
Frequently Asked Questions
Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan has published 15 episodes since September 2025, covering topics in Business, History.
Off the Rails with Rowdy and Bethan is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 1h 3m.
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