Steam & Excursion > Rusting Relics on the Modoc line

Stumbled upon a couple years back on the Modoc Line at Merrill, OR, a line up of rusting relics sleeps on a tucked away siding.

Fred Harrison
Central Point, OR
CORPpower/JSS/EORS

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The sad part is that there are so many rusting relics across America and unfortunately there just isn't enough money nor qualified people to restore all of these locomotives. And once they are restored, even cosmetically, where do they go? Who will be the caretakers of these relics in future years? There are so many folks today who don't know the rail history and then there are many who don't care. There are also many museums that are overloaded with historic relics right now that are not being restored due to the same problems, not enough money and not enough people to work on them. Unfortunately everything cannot be saved, even some relics. Many current museums are slowly finding this out. Many museums are litterly "junk yards" with all kinds of rail equipment awaiting to be restored, and they are rusting away. The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore is a prime example. Look at the condition of the equipment being stored outdoors. They have locomotives and passenger cars in need of care right now as they collect rust. Many of these are "one of a kind" relics that should be inside of a building protected from the elements. But the museum does not have the money to make this happen at the present time.

The lack of money to stabilize equipment collections is nothing new. Museums are full of equipment that has been saved from scrapping, but which can't be properly maintained or preserved, or even stored out of the weather. (Even large museums, like the California State RR Museum.) As the steam era fades farther into history and those with first-hand recollections die off, interest in such relics will diminish too. I'm afraid it's an inevitable downward spiral.

I have to agree with museums looking like a railroad junk yards. The sad thing to me is to see $80 million spent on one grand "Steamtown" park when you consider how many locomotives that could have been restored by awarding grants to museums around the country.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Fred, here's a couple pictures of happier days for that first tender. See also postings such as:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1177088,1177524#msg-1177524

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,1235669,1238249#msg-1238249

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,1132989,1133226#msg-1133226

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I will buy that for a $1.00 !!!

Does this equipment still belong to Fred Kepner or if he's deceased, to his estate? I remember the GN 1246 setting at the old Johns Manville plant south of Klamath Jct on US 97 for years when I drove truck in the 70's.

Butch,,,,,,,,here we go

Thanks for the photos and links! Now you know where somewhere on the West Coast is now.

I believe Fred Kepner still owns these, but I have heard all this second hand.

Fred Harrison
Central Point, OR
CORPpower/JSS/EORS

Guitarman Wrote:
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> The sad part is that there are so many rusting
> relics across America and unfortunately there just
> isn't enough money nor qualified people to restore
> all of these locomotives...

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You're right Guitarman; I came up in the steam era and there are fewer and fewer of use guys that remember the days of steam or how to work on or run those engines. Sadly their future is becoming bleaker with each passing year.

Jim700,
I remember that bump in the first picture from the one and only time I got to ride that train. It is quite a vertical curve! And it looks like the engineer's putting down some sand! What was the grade on that?

{I remember that bump in the first picture from the one and only time I got to ride that train. It is quite a vertical curve! And it looks like the engineer's putting down some sand! What was the grade on that?}


Yeah man!....Where was that?! That grade profile is like something out of a Walt Disney cartoon! WOW! Now that is a "priceless" shot. Was there a helper on the back of that consist?

When and where was that?

Sierra #36 in service on the "Heber Creeper" (aka Wasatch Mountain Railroad) before kepner got ahold of it.

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Lou & RealSteam,

Rather than retype the info may I just refer you to the link immediately above that hump picture ( http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,1132989,1133226#msg-1133226 ). You'll find the info in the 7th post on that thread which Martin started. There was no helper on the rear of the nine car train. I was the regular SP&S fireman on the job and IIRC I took the picture in July 1968 when I took a trip off to do some photography. The photograph was taken with a "normal" lens on my 35mm camera, i.e. the view is not compressed by a telephoto lens even though it gives the appearance of such. Because of the severe break-over there were protection chains between the cars as the knuckles would nearly slip by. As one might imagine, the fireman's attention to the water level in the boiler was very critical at this point of the line. Even with the water above the glass ascending the 4% (and hoping that the "above the glass" amount chosen was sufficient for the break-over but insufficient to blow a cylinder head) the glass would be empty on the short distance of the 8+% immediately north of the summit.

The summit (the site of the day-lighted tunnel) is bisecting the dogleg in the ridge which is right in the middle of the picture about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. In the middle of the horseshoe curve near the right edge of the picture can be seen the shadows cast by the trestle-work of bridge 40.1 where it crosses Oregon State Highway 47. This is the location used for the photo runbys as seen being done in the second picture.

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truxtrax Wrote:
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> Does this equipment still belong to Fred Kepner or
> if he's deceased, to his estate? I remember the GN
> 1246 setting at the old Johns Manville plant south
> of Klamath Jct on US 97 for years when I drove
> truck in the 70's.
>
> Butch,,,,,,,,here we go


They still belong to Kepner, although he is trying to sell some of it - in my opinion - for too high a price. I believe Martin Hansen is handling the selling for Fred Kepner. I remember the 1246 stored at the old Willamson plant north of K. Falls. - Tony J.

Yes Fred still owns the collection. The GN 1246 is for sale for $35,000. We have several folks talking to us about buying her. In todays market, that is below market value for such steamers that need rebuilding. I have handled the purchase and sale of over 2 dozen locomoitves
over the past 20 years and am hired to appraise others for owners and buyers. Various factors affect price. In this case the size (she is too big for most operators) and condition of the engine are the biggest factors.

Martin