Paul_D_North_Jr... students from nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were trying to restore - or at least preserve them.
They weren't allowed on the property for safety reasons. (Very valid safety reasons!)
Even if they signed a waiver with the school, that wouldn't cover access to the property, or crossing the CSX line carrying the necessary equipment ... which would be considerable for anything meaningful the equipment would need.
This thread (from somewhere else) concerning the Glenmont NY locomotives has been running for years now, so I linked to a relevant point.It's claimed that the Danbury Railway Musuem owns them, that it would be really difficult to get the locomotives out as either way they could be removed from the power plant properties have been severed and the bridge collapsed, and the power plant security is really tight (this I can believe).
Too bad. so I suppose those two units are doomed to become piles of iron oxide unless some "angel" with deep pockets is found.
No point in asking how things got to this point, it's immaterial.
Probably along the same lines as the GG1s in Cooperstown, NY. I'd heard that one might have been headed for the Henry Ford Museum, but apparently that fell through.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
When it comes to railroad equipment - money talks.
Without money - rust wins or expedites the equipment to the scrappers.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Paul_D_North_Jr Now that this jogged my memory, my recollection - and one of the captions/ paragraphs on the webpage I linked - is that students from nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were trying to restore - or at least preserve them. Obviously not much success. And that doesn't answer who owns them, or the other questions you raise. Considering how much else has been lost, it would be a minor tragedy to lose these too. But who will step forward with enough money and time to save them? - PDN. P.S. - I was in the Albany area last weekend, and drove past this site within a mile of it on I-87 NY Thruway twice. Had I known, I could have found a few minutes to at least find and get some current photos of them . . .
Now that this jogged my memory, my recollection - and one of the captions/ paragraphs on the webpage I linked - is that students from nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were trying to restore - or at least preserve them. Obviously not much success. And that doesn't answer who owns them, or the other questions you raise.
Considering how much else has been lost, it would be a minor tragedy to lose these too. But who will step forward with enough money and time to save them?
- PDN.
P.S. - I was in the Albany area last weekend, and drove past this site within a mile of it on I-87 NY Thruway twice. Had I known, I could have found a few minutes to at least find and get some current photos of them . . .
Not any RPI students I'm aware of... I think they were NRHS chapter owned. Were in Niagara-Mohawk facility for a while until it lost rail access. Then in old D&H shops for a while. I saw them there, along with an NdeM Northern that Conrail took a look at for a steam program.
Here's some pix. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7XbTUDyWcGqYyDHK9
Visit was in mid - 1980s, I think.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
What happened to the Mexican steam locomotive?
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70Dude What happened to the Mexican steam locomotive?
I believe that it's now at the New Hope and Ivyland RR. Still in pieces with hopes to restore it some century.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmannI believe that it's now at the New Hope and Ivyland RR. Still in pieces with hopes to restore it some century.
It's all in one piece, and while exposed and surface-rusty would be an easy and straightforward restoration. The locomotive in 'pieces' is, I believe, the large and modern Canadian 4-6-0.
It's ideally sized for reasonable excursion service, and it's a good-looking example of late Alco practice. A problem is that there's a comparatively low fan base of Mexican steam ... so any excursion would likely try 'hiding' the Mexican heritage by painting it in some other scheme. There has been a firestorm of discussion on RyPN about this in past years.
There's also something of a glut of potential 4-8-4s for excursion service, with 576 closest in size.
Overmod zugmann I believe that it's now at the New Hope and Ivyland RR. Still in pieces with hopes to restore it some century. It's all in one piece, and while exposed and surface-rusty would be an easy and straightforward restoration. The locomotive in 'pieces' is, I believe, the large and modern Canadian 4-6-0.
zugmann I believe that it's now at the New Hope and Ivyland RR. Still in pieces with hopes to restore it some century.
When it comes to restoration - the only EASY ONE, was the one that was just completed. Every restoration is a trip of discovery as each piece of the machine is disassembled to assess the condition of its condition and what will be necessary to restore it to operation.
The following is the first of a series of videos on the restoration of the stoker engine on the NC&St.L engine 576 - this is just one small aspect of the work necessary to restore the engine to operation.
Am I the only one who is appalled at someone who presses cast-iron valves out of cylinders dry, no penetrating oil, using a series of hex bolts of presumably greater and greater length as 'pushrods' after shoving the first hex head down into the gland with his press? As we hear the outer valve head and ring clatter onto the floor cuz he took the bolt out first?
Then repeats the cavalier shove on one of the pistons which comes loose with a BANG upsetting all his pathetic little blocking and can clearly be heard ringing as it hits a concrete floor unprotected by any sort of padding?
i almost wish I hadn't seen this on YouTube - actually had a bad dream containing it last night.
OvermodAm I the only one who is appalled at someone who presses cast-iron valves out of cylinders dry, no penetrating oil, using a series of hex bolts of presumably greater and greater length as 'pushrods' after shoving the first hex head down into the gland with his press? As we hear the outer valve head and ring clatter onto the floor cuz he took the bolt out first? Then repeats the cavalier shove on one of the pistons which comes loose with a BANG upsetting all his pathetic little blocking and can clearly be heard ringing as it hits a concrete floor unprotected by any sort of padding? i almost wish I hadn't seen this on YouTube - actually had a bad dream containing it last night.
60+ years of natures own 'loctite' is a formidable opponent. When you know existing components cannot be reused going into the effort, no measures to 'save' those components need be applied.
BaltACDWhen you know existing components cannot be reused going into the effort...
I know nothing of the kind. 576 was put away reasonably cared for, and that includes the ring contact of the valves and pistons. While it was true there was considerable buildup of 'stuff' in the valve cylinder between the heads, that was scarcely NOT an excuse to spray-and-soak a little Blast'r, or at the very least WD-40, into the gaps and passages and let it sit up a bit.
And no excuse to ram a hexhead into where the valve stem goes.
And no excuse not to have blocking under a cast-iron piston so it ... oops! ... flies on the floor with a terrible clatter (something, by the way, which indicates both that the remainder of the bore was free and that a little solvent would most likely let it move a little easy)
This is not some tractor component that has been sitting out in a field since Dust Bowl days; it's a complete stoker engine, and it deserves better treatment from either 'preservationists' or mechanics than it has evidently been getting.
I also expect both cast valve bodies and both pistons to be reused; the four bores will be cut and honed just enough to true them, and new rings machined (it does not appear that our 'mechanic' broke the one he let fall out the bottom unawares, so there's a start...)
From the Reading and Northern Railroad - Passenger 's facebook page:
The Reading and Northern Railroad is proud to announce that it is the new owner of NS F Units 270 and 275. Look here for more details throughout the coming weeks!
(that would be one A unit and one B unit).
Maybe they'll be used on the resurrected Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railroad . . . (see the separate thread about that).
Just saw it in the "News" section. Perfect! They're going to a good home!
Wonder if they'll be repainted, and if so, into what scheme?
At least not far away if NS ever finds a need to borrow (rent) them once in a while . . .
According to the "News" report there's tentative plans to repaint them into Reading and Northern "Tuscan Red" to match the R&N's passenger cars, but as stated, those plans are tentative.
Since Andy Muller's a Reading fan it souldn't surprise me if he paints them in a historic Reading paint scheme. After all, they're his to do with as he wants.
No mention of them on the R&N website at this time.
Perhaps this would work and they could haul coal between passenger runs:
https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=320176
kgbw49Perhaps this would work and they could haul coal between passenger runs: https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=320176
Do the NS units have passenger or freight gearing at present. Passenger gearing tends to raise the minimum continuous speed to levels that make hauling coal or other tonnage movements impractical.
Chris Toth's website (nsdash9.com) indicates that the F's were equipped with 57:20 gearing, good for 90 MPH. They would need to be regeared to make them suitable for most freight service between passenger specials.
The classic Reading paint job was very sharp in my eyes. That would be a good option
CSSHEGEWISCH Chris Toth's website (nsdash9.com) indicates that the F's were equipped with 57:20 gearing, good for 90 MPH. They would need to be regeared to make them suitable for most freight service between passenger specials.
I ran both our F10 (last used in commuter service) and one of our RS18u's (pure freight) this past weekend over the same track, making for a quick, real-time comparison. Given our grades, the RS81u performed much better with it's lower gearing.
If I remember correctly, there was no difference between the Readings passenger and freight cab unit schemes. At any rate, the R&N doesn't need to have those F-units as freight haulers, they have plenty of other locomotives for that.
It's equally unlikely they'll ever run those F-units at 90 mph either.
Here's their locomotive roster for those interested.
https://www.rbmnrr.com/roster
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