Although I applaud anyone's effort to preserve and restore a historical locomotive, reality sooner or later creeps in and we realize that this is one HUGE undertaking.
You need someone or some company with deep pockets to be able to afford such a job. That's in addition to so many other worthwhile projects to save historical artifacts. But a project of this size gets put into a category all it's own.
I really hope that the locomotive can be saved, but, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised it it's not.
Rog
'59 Lark VI Regal Hardtop
You need someone or some company with deep pockets to be able to afford such a job. That's in addition to so many other worthwhile projects to save historical artifacts. But a project of this size gets put into a category all it's own.
I really hope that the locomotive can be saved, but, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised it it's not.
Rog
'59 Lark VI Regal Hardtop
.
. I say to those within driving distance of Union, Illinois, come Sunday to the Illinois Railway Museum to the Vintage Transportation Extravaganza. It is a massive car show and it continues to grow. The museum invites the chapters from around the area so we got ordinary cars, orphan cars, import cars, military vehicles, buses, tractors, if its got wheels you name it. Our chapter gets a front row seat right by the depot, BTW. A number of the steam and diesels they have are running around the grounds. The ones that really sit are either in nonoperating condition, or are just too massive to run. The DD40 and probably the Y6 they have are examples of these as the rail they have might split if there pulled to run on the grounds. They have steam loco's sitting out by the barns, waiting for those with alottt of ambition to save one of them. They have barns full of steam and diesel locomotives in various stage of restoration and display, as well as a few passenger car sets(including one fully restored and operating Nebraska Zephyr). Would it be cheaper to repaint and put it on a display track for all to see, yeah, more than likely. But I'm not a fan of having nature living out of these things after a few years of sitting. Particularly for an engine that is in an operable status such as this. I'd say give it to a competent museum with some operating room, and let them tear it down, refresh it, and put it back to together. A little better than a display track, and alot better than having this little piece of history become the bridge beams it rode over. Okay, theres nothing to spectacular about the engine. It doesn't have as many outstanding features as a Shay, but neither does IRM's Southern Pacific's SD9u(rebuilt SD9) or the early Metra BN E unit. But, to the people who come to the museum and ran them themselves, it does bring a little soul. Locomotives like the ALCo are also great in the case when the museum has a dry day(steam locomotives have a tendency to start fires around the track on these days), or in our case, they have been pulled for FRA inspection. Yeah, the locomotive is one massive undertaking. I think I commented that on the other thread, that this is not something thats pulled into a garage and a year to two years later a new locomotive is born. In the case of IRM they have a group of people paid to run the facility, and they have VOLUNTEERS help with the running and restoration of the equipment around the facility. It is a real group undertaking on much of the equipment, with much of the funding coming from donations or admissions or in this case Sunday, a five dollar vehicle admission.
). Whereever this place was stored(hopefully dry, not moldy, and out of the sun), it has held up fairly well. Course the actual slide may say something else.
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