Recently I was at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis and I got to talking with one of the employees. As most people know, FT demonstrator 103 is headed to the Streamliners at Spencer soon. What I didn't know was that St. Louis worked out a deal with Spencer. Spencer gets to keep 103 for 5 years, and in exchange Spencer repaints St. Louis' UP 6944 Centennial. I only heard this from that one guy, so it may or may not be true. But 6944 was moved near the gates close to 103, and had the museum's reporting marks stenciled on, so hey, who knows.
Then I heard something a little crazier. The same guy told me that N&W Y6a 2156 is going to be at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke for 5 years as a substitute for 611. I'm doubting this one since (a) the only way out is via Union Pacific and Union Pacific would probably never let the thing on its tracks and (b) 2156 is still in its normal spot in the main pavilion with no reporting marks.
For those of you connected with Spencer: Do you know if the deal is true? And for those in Roanoke: Can you confirm or deny what I heard?
And for the MoPac fans: The museum's SL&IMS 4-6-0 is in the F-unit's spot now.
Strange things are indeed happening at St. Louis.
Here are the facts backed up by the curator of collections at St. Louis:
-2156 will be loaned to Roanoke for 5 years in exchange for a 5 year loan of their E8 unit. The museum does not have a set date on the move, and don't appear to be rushing in on moving 2156. The move may likely not happen until fall 2015.
I'm not sure if the GM 103 story is true, but what is fact is that the museum's UP 6900 class diesel is in dire need of new paint.
How recently was the 6900 class locomotive moved? Was 103 moved as well? I haven't been to MOT since early May. I'll go this weekend and report back ASAP. I'll also talk with the curator of collections to see if the 103 story is true.
Lets hope everything is back to normal soon! Things sure as h*ll are getting weird here.
Just trying to find the truth out of this craziness,
S. Connor
Best of luck!
Yes, both stories are true. I went there today and talked to volunteers as well as the museum curator. As of today, the GM 103 has already been moved off museum grounds. The UP 6944 was supposed to go with it, but a problem with the braking system has kept it behind.
As for 2156, yes it will be moved eventually. You must keep in mind that moving such a large locomotive is a huge undertaking. Especially when it will be moved as far as Roanoke. The curator say no date has been set for the shipping of 2156, but I doubt that it will happen this year.
2156 will probably be moved by fall 2015.
Hope this clears things up.
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