Eastern Railroad Discussion > Which is Sadder?

I guess the answer might have to do with whether you are a steam fan or a diesel fan.  I have long observed that it is far easier to save historic equipment through purchase. The difficult part is maintaining the equipment once you own it.  The diesel shots were of four E units most recently owend by New Jersey DOT and MARC. They repose in Cleveland under the aegis of the Midwest Railway Preservation Society as seen on April 16. The Nickle Plate steamsr was lensed at Wellington Ohio on April 19 on the grounds of the Lorain and West Virginia Railway.
My point is not to disparage these organizations, but simply to point out the issue.

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What do you think?

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Sad ... but I enjoy the ones that have survived and have been maintained and restored.

A valid issue.
ALLEN

MARC #60 at least had a brief moment of glory, July 1992 in Brunswick, MD.
PIC BY ME

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I think the E units might be stored for someone else...not 100% sure on that. 

Reporting marks are CTVX if that's a clue ......
 

Bill Miller
Galt, ON

NB1001 Wrote:
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> I guess the answer might have to do with whether
> you are a steam fan or a diesel fan.  I have long
> observed that it is far easier to save historic
> equipment through purchase. The difficult part is
> maintaining the equipment once you own it.  The
> diesel shots were of four E units most recently
> owned by New Jersey DOT and MARC. They repose in
> Cleveland under the aegis of the Midwest Railway
> Preservation Society as seen on April 16. The
> Nickle Plate steamer was leased at Wellington Ohio
> on April 19 on the grounds of the Lorain and West
> Virginia Railway.
> My point is not to disparage these organizations,
> but simply to point out the issue.
First of all the 4 E units were never owned by MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter).  They were owned by two brothers who purchased them from New Jersey DOT and for a short time, the #60 was leased to MARC and the others were in the process of being refurbished, two of them repainted in B&O colors, to be leased to MARC who at the time needed more locomotives as the ridership continued to grow.  The two brothers lost their lease for some unknown reason, and the 4 engines were moved off of CSX out to where they have been stored for years.  Speculation is that since all 4 of those E units did not have Head End Power (HEP) in them, still having their steam boilers, MARC was able to obtain additional ex-Burlington Northern E units with HEP shortly after they terminated the lease of those engines owned by the two brothers.
John in White Marsh, Maryland



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/21 01:32 by ClubCar.

GG1 fans: B&O Museum

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4876 was the G that ran out onto the concourse at Washington Union Ststion,
January 1953 --- a couple of weeks ahead of Eisenhower's inauguration...

The floor of the concourse was designed to collapse under the weight 
of a locomotive, before venturing into the main waiting room of Washington 
Union Station .... now, the concourse space is filled with shops and ticket sales
stations.

More than half of the train's cars ( rear section) had no operative air brakes...
( The culprit car's still-closed angle cock, complete with evidence tag, was on the 
Supervisor's office desk at Wilmington's GG1 Shop --  as a paper weight.).

4876 would be a great candidate for 5-stripe ( cosmetic) restoration ...

​W.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/21 07:42 by wcamp1472.

Never have understood why the GG1 was given to and still at the B&O Museum. It should go to some place more aptly suited for a GG1 such as the RR Museum of Pennsylvania. Or maybe a display at the station in D.C. (just kidding).
CR

It's the same issue since the beginning of time. It takes three basic things to save a piece of railroad equipment. Number one is money to acquire the piece, fund the restoration and house it under cover. Two is paid or volunteer time and strong leadership. Both skilled and unskilled labor will be needed. Three is a stable location to store the piece under cover. If not under cover you'll be spending funds and time to do it all over again, over and over.

You have those three things and you've got a good chance. If not you get what has been posted here. Which is not all bad by the way. You've got to save a piece first for it to even have a chance at being restored. Or maybe providing parts as a donor for another that is being restored.

So if your one who's truly upset about a particular situation at a museum, ask what their plans are for getting covered storage. Odds are they do have plans but not the funds. This is where you can possibly do something to help.

I would also add.  Control of the property in which the items sits.   Outright ownership or a very long term lease

ChrisCampi Wrote:
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> It's the same issue since the beginning of time.
> It takes three basic things to save a piece of
> railroad equipment. Number one is money to acquire
> the piece, fund the restoration and house it under
> cover. Two is paid or volunteer time and strong
> leadership. Both skilled and unskilled labor will
> be needed. Three is a stable location to store the
> piece under cover. If not under cover you'll be
> spending funds and time to do it all over again,
> over and over.
>
> You have those three things and you've got a good
> chance. If not you get what has been posted here.
> Which is not all bad by the way. You've got to
> save a piece first for it to even have a chance at
> being restored. Or maybe providing parts as a
> donor for another that is being restored.
>
> So if your one who's truly upset about a
> particular situation at a museum, ask what their
> plans are for getting covered storage. Odds are
> they do have plans but not the funds. This is
> where you can possibly do something to help.

The National New York Central Museum has a GG1 at Elkhart. My understanding is that Bob Spa (now deceased, who accumulated much of the equipment there) made a trade with a museum in Texas for the NYC Mohawk with another GG1 he had.  But I stand to be corrected. Perhaps others here can confirm or deny.

Many museum collections have equipment (often deterioting in the back forty) that is not related to their mission. Often this is because of free equipment. Sometimes a deal is made with another organization for that equipment. Case in point: The NKP Berk now at the Mad River Museum at Bellevue, Ohio that came from Pennsylvania.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

WM1977 Wrote:
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> Never have understood why the GG1 was given to and
> still at the B&O Museum. It should go to some
> place more aptly suited for a GG1 such as the RR
> Museum of Pennsylvania. Or maybe a display at the
> station in D.C. (just kidding).
> CR



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/21 10:28 by wabash2800.

Flashback! 
NJT #4258 passing Elmora Tower, Elizabeth, NJ, leading a southbound commuter train, headed to Bay Head, NJ, October, 1981.

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