Want Your Own Steam Locomotive?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jacon12

Maybe we should contact former President Jimmy Carter. Theres a little SAM excursion train that runs from Cordele over to his little town of Plains, Ga. and it might could use a nice steam engine. Isn't he on speaking terms with Fidel? Heck, he might even give him one! [(-D]
Jarrell

Man![:(]
I just was in Cordele yesterday I should have ridden it. Atleast their selling them unlike NYC's subway cars which are dumped 13 miles off the coast of South Carolina

DRew

[oleirish]

Any body know the price a peace for these engines?Guess I can dream and win the lotory.[:P]
JIM

[jacon12]

Stephen, you need to upload your pictures to a host site. I use pbase.com but there are many on the internet. After doing that you open the photo, in the size you want (pbase lets you use 3 sizes), then you copy the address of the page from the explorer bar at the top, come here and type your message. At the appropriate spot in the message you type
Hit the preview button to check before posting.
OH! don't have any spaces either!
Jarrell

[Anonymous]

The locomotives put up for sale by Minaz (Cuban Sugar Ministry) are really shot to pieces, unfortunately Cuba does not have a great Heath and Safety standards, thus some of their 'engineering' is quite unique! I doubt any of the boilers on the locomotives would pass any sort of H&S testing in the UK let alone the States. They would probably be condemned and fit for static display only.

I have previously enquired with Minaz as to how much they were looking for per locomotive, and for the rough ones they wanted something in the region of $120,000 - clearly they do not have any idea about the what the locomotives are worth in their current condition! So anyone wanting to get an loco on the cheap - look else where! You would probably have pay another $120,000 for a new boiler!

Shipping out of Cuba may not be too big a problem, but getting the loco to the dock will be a problem. The roads in Cuba are poor and from my previous visits there are few, if any road vehicles that would be capable of taking a loco from a mill to the dock (fuel prices would be tremendous!) On top of this, removal by rail would also be a huge task seeing as few docks still have rail lines that are accessible. So all in all its pretty much of a non starter!

Since I was last in Cuba, none of the locomotives listed have been sold, but on the positive side, none have been scrapped either. There is no fear of any scrap merchant getting hold of them, seeing as there are no scrap merchants in Cuba - the only fear is of Minaz cutting them up where they rest and selling the scrap to China. Quite ironic seeing as a lot of the locomotives have ex China Rail Steam loco parts on them.

If I could work out how to insert a photo on to this thread I would put a couple of photographs of the engines up for sale on here - any suggestions/requests?!?

Regards,

Stephen.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: egmurphy Posted: Today, 09:15:12
i'm pretty sure that buying a full size locomotive is grounds for divorce in just about any jurisdiction , unless you're incredibly wealthy and running a real railroad could be considered a hobby

too bad , i'd love to own a real narrow guage loco

i wonder if you can buy rolling stock to if you can get a bax car to put behind the loco so when the wife kicks you out of the houst you can remodel the box car into a home [:D]

[Anonymous]

The logistics of obtaining a steam locomotive from Cuba is not a problem if you have the cash. The locomotive can be purchased into another country by an operating railroad, then resold to US owners. Given enough cash for bribes and what not, the deal can be done. The big problem is what to do with a full size locomotive when you get it into the country. Do you, or someone you know, own or have control of a siding large enough for storage and/or maintenance? Do you live in a region that can supply coal at a reasonable cost and in sufficient quantities to fuel the beast? Do you have access to a firm that can run a boiler test? A supply of replacement parts? You just know the locomotives coming from Fidel's Cuba were run into the ground in their last days. The big problem, to me at least, is the care and keeping of the beast once it arrives. Parts, gland packings, gauges ad nausem will need to be available. And where is the machine shop large enough to turn drivers? To machine the steam cylinders? How are you going to repair the old fabricated frames when they fatigue and finally break? None of these problems is insoluble, but they are daunting just the same. And when the dust settles, you will invested many times the original purchase price of the locomotive. In the end, it might be cheaper just to have a new steam locomotive manufactured in China and shipped to the US.

Just the same, it is pleasant to think of heating hot dogs with steam from your very own locomotive. Yes, dreams are allowed.

Tom

[jacon12]

Maybe we should contact former President Jimmy Carter. Theres a little SAM excursion train that runs from Cordele over to his little town of Plains, Ga. and it might could use a nice steam engine. Isn't he on speaking terms with Fidel? Heck, he might even give him one! [(-D]
Jarrell

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: Vic: Nice, but just try, TRY and bring that pup into the US, the ATF and the CIA will haul it out to sea and sink it before they let you bring anything from Cuba bigger than a postcard into the US today. Not to mention possible jail time for doing business with Fidel's government.

Maybe so, but I wonder. We already have a number of cultural exchange programs with Cuba that go ahead under government approval. It wouldn't surprise me to find that a museum or tourist railroad might be able to qualify under some sort of program like that. Although I suspect that a lot of red tape might be involved.

Since most, if not all, were originally produced in the U.S., there may be another possible angle in "re-patriation" of U.S. manufactured goods. [:D]

There was also a rumor floating around recently that someone in Canada was trying to purchase a number of them for shipment to Canada, with the idea of eventually being able to sell them in the U.S., either in the near future or after we normalize relations with Cuba.

I'd sure like to hear that someone could find a way to do it.

Regards

Ed

[pcarrell]

At least you don't ave to worry about doing scenery with these trains! [:)]

[steveblackledge]

I would love to buy one but it would cost an absolute fortune to ship to the UK,

[Anonymous]

In answer to the topic question, YES! However, due to budget and space constraints, I'm afraid I'll have to pass.

[vsmith]

Nice, but just try, TRY and bring that pup into the US, the ATF and the CIA will haul it out to sea and sink it before they let you bring anything from Cuba bigger than a postcard into the US today. Not to mention possible jail time for doing business with Fidel's government.

[egmurphy]

I just hope they wind up in museums or tourist railroads, and not in some scrap dealer's yard under the torch.

I wonder what hoops a museum or tourist railroad here would have to jump through in order to be able to purchase one directly, given our current state of relations/embargo with Cuba?


Regards

Ed

[TrainFreak409]

I would love to get one of them. Build a treadmill for it, so I could run it whenever I wanted. Throw "Come Check Out My Loco" parties, yeah, that be cool.[:p][:D][8D]

~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~

[cheese3]

I dont have room for one but i sure would love one. I don't think the neighbors would like it though.[:D]

[jeffshultz]

I wonder if the Washington Park Zoo Railroad (at the Oregon Zoo) would be interested...

[ndbprr]

Good news is you can buy it cheap.
Bad news is do you know what it is going to cost to get it home?

[tstage]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Brunton

Buying one is a compelling idea, but I don't know how I'd get it into my backyard!

Let alone on my layout...[:D]

Tom

[ereimer]

i'm pretty sure that buying a full size locomotive is grounds for divorce in just about any jurisdiction , unless you're incredibly wealthy and running a real railroad could be considered a hobby

too bad , i'd love to own a real narrow guage loco

[SpaceMouse]

I thought about it and decided I really don't want a full sized loco. I'll stick with HO.

[selector]

Back yard! Mine would be in my garage, with a line running in for it, a switch outside, and another very short line to get it up to the garden. Wife's Lexus will just have to suffer the salt air. [:D]

I have one of those coffee-table picture books about trains, and it has a picture of of a Cuban cane-field locomotive that suffered a boiler explosion. Not a pretty sight. Loco suffered, according to the caption, but the crew was pretty much instantly dispatched.

[twhite]

Ooh, a real-live Baldwin narrow-gauge 2-8-0 in my back yard right next to the pool. Now THAT would be an attention getter. Seriously, I hope that at least SOME of these locos can find caring homes.
Tom [:P][:P]

[Pruitt]

Buying one is a compelling idea, but I don't know how I'd get it into my backyard!

[jacon12]

Cuba is selling theirs!
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/javatour/trains/cubasale.htm
Jarrell