I was assuming that Meghan was alluding to your dealings with the infamous Mr. James Riffin, but maybe I was incorrect as I usually am.

Hello Mr. Evans,

I wasn't going to comment further. However, your post as written appears to suggest that one is waiting for some sort of action from Mr. Riffin. I can assure you that Mr. Riffin is not involved in any manner or form with the NY&GL equipment. He has spent the last couple of years focused on a single project much closer to his Maryland home and taking care of his ailing wife. Screaming "Beetlejuice" will not bring him out from the proverbial grave.

Having said that, when the time comes, it would be appropriate to talk about a couple of Mr. Riffin's cases, as well as the current SL&RG fiasco, because both are highly germane to the discussion at hand. Even discussion of my first (unsuccessful) venture is appropriate to the topic at hand, which is why I will indulge Ms. Meghan at the appropriate time.



I know many people feel the need to "defend" their friends in these types of threads. I too have come to the defense of others in the past when I felt they were attacked inappropriately. This is not one of those threads where people need to defend anyone.

I begin by saying: The principal people behind Operation Toy Train, and the Port Jervis Transportation Museum are good people. Rudy, Caroline and the others have done amazing things in regards to their very impressive Toys for Tots gift drives, and as leaders and volunteers in many successful non-profit organizations in the NY/NJ metro area. By no means do I want to give the impression that this is a personal attack on any of the parties involved. They are good, well-meaning people.

Having said that, I pose the following question: Can good, well meaning people make a honest, yet still horrible, mistake?

Sadly, in the case of the NY&GL equipment from Passaic, the answer to the question is - YES they can. That is precisely what has happened.



Mr. Scranton Yard,

I speak from personal experience, having been involved in nearly a dozen or so of these types of cases. Ms. Meghan is well aware of three. I don't believe she is familiar with the other cases I have been involved with. I've been on both sides of these types of cases and have spent far more hours in a Federal Courthouse than I ever thought I would.

To their credit, OTT and PJTM were aware of one of the underlying NJ State court proceedings. It appears from their public statements that they did try to follow what was happening legally. Their mistake appears to be that neither of those organizations had their OWN attorney review the proceedings and advise them as to what might happen at the conclusion of the State Court case.

If you re-read my original comment Mr. Scranton Yard, you will note that I urged interested parties to seek legal advice from their own attorneys. I said:



I did not advise for, or against, taking any particular course of action. My "advice", to the extent it was proffered, was to direct people to seek advice from a person who attended law school, graduated from law school, and passed the bar exam prior to executing a contract. I went on to say:



I was not proffering legal advice Mr. Scranton Yard. I was simply advising would be buyers of pending litigation that could lead to the loss of their investment in the equipment and significant clouds on their titles.

Indeed, the operative phrase here remains: Caveat emptor

Now everyone, this is a classic case of fear mongering. Jimmy Wilson left his trains in the sandbox at lunch time, went to the bathroom and when he came back someone else took them. At this point is he going to try and get them back? Maybe yes, maybe no, but there are so many “ifs ands or buts” put out by Eric, who knows? But despite what Eric is trying to scare into everyone, possession is still 9/10 of the law, they aren't Jimmys choo choos any more and his train set was ripped up and repossessed.

I am glad to see they made it out of passaic on their own wheels and I look forward to seeing them in preservation.

Dont give into trolls.

That was some interesting colloquy but not really responsive. I was really thinking about the passenger cars and caboose in Boonton, NJ, which Eric promised the town council he would remove, and the two Whitcomb locomotives which seem to have bounced into Bound Brook and then out to the Kutztown Branch before being cut up. Then there are two or three railroads which never seemed to have ever turned a wheel. I think they would all make excellent case studies in preservation.

Fortunately, one can often learn more about someone else by what they do not say. As for what was said, very entertaining.

And here's your chance! http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=45724

https://www.facebook.com/SARHMinc/posts ... 1234212539

"San Antonio Railroad Heritage Museum
August 7, 2021
ATTENTION!!!!
SARHM is excited to announce that we are moving forward with the acquisition of ANOTHER Pullman heavyweight observation car. BUT WAIT, there’s more!!! This isn’t your average observation car!!
This car, the GT 15046, is a Solarium observation car. These are very unique cars. We have a very special plan in mind for this car that we will soon reveal.
More information to come soon!!!
Donations now can be made through our Company Store.
https://companystore.sarhm.org/product/TOYX15046/61...

From a comment: "The interior of the car was gutted out and converted, so none of the original layout remains. Our plan is to repair the car and convert it into a lounge/venue car. We will be installing a square grand piano inside that will be used for the Christmas train rides and other musical performances or events. More than likely the car will be painted into either the MoPac or MKT schemes to reflect the local railroad heritage. We will of course, have a plaque inside the car giving its heritage and original layout design."

Try this for the link:

https://www.facebook.com/SARHMinc/posts ... 1234212539

It's interesting how the center top section of the roof on GTW 15046 is almost completely gone (see the photos here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... aSheet.pdf). Was that section glass originally, thus the "Solarium" designation?

No, the Solarium designation was due to it being an enclosed-end observation car, with end windows, as opposed to an open-platform observation car. The center top section of the roof is the original wooden clerestory roof on the car - the curved edges were added later to "streamline" the car. It's amazing how quickly a car will deteriorate after a decade of inaction.

Indeed. You guys have actually done quite well in getting equipment to homes, close to 100%, right? This one I thought was too far gone for anyone to make a serious offer, the roller bearings likely saved it, because it probably will be able to move by rail without needing cranes etc. involved (i.e. relatively cheaply).

We, too, were concerned about the future for this particular car - it's definitely in the worst shape of all of the equipment we acquired, and the only one we had considered the possibility of scrapping if we couldn't find a home for it. We're very happy with the SARHM's plan to restore the car, and felt that they provided the best chance this car had in terms of preservation. We did receive one other offer on the GTW car from a private individual, but we felt that there was not a sufficient preservation plan in place and declined that offer.

Of the thirteen cars we saved, we're keeping five (three Erie cabooses, a TTX flatcar, and a former CN baggage car). We've otherwise found homes for the following seven pieces:

- GTW Solarium-Obs #590 Wabascon Lake/Medical Car #15046/Rules Car #15046 - San Antonio Railroad Heritage Museum (to be restored to operation)
- GN GP9 #718 - DeAndre Walters/Adirondack Railway (to be restored to operation)
- NP GP9 #317 and SP&S FA-1 #860A - Klarr Locomotive Industries/Inland Northwest Railroad Museum (to be cosmetically restored and displayed)
- C&NW 50' boxcars #32707, #32717, and #32751 - Tioga Transportation Society/Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad (for MoW service)

We just have one piece left that we still need to find a home for - a former Long Island Rail Road P72 commuter coach: https://www.operationtoytrain.org/s/TOYX2939_DataSheet.pdf. This would make a great car for a tourist railroad or something like that if they're able to tackle the floor work that this car needs - it's otherwise very solid, and it's just something we don't have a use for. If anyone wants this car, simply make us an offer with a viable preservation/restoration proposal. We want to make sure this thing doesn't go rot in the weeds for another decade somewhere else. As far as the offer, we're just looking to cover our costs for the brake work and transportation to get the cars out of Passaic and raise a little money to restore the five cars we're keeping - everything we've found homes for already has been deaccessioned for significantly lower than scrap prices. Email me at rgarbely@operationtoytrain.org for more info!

The passenger equipment that was displayed at Port Jervis (now at SMS) has been put up for sale on Ozark Mountain Railcar.

Including ex-Erie E8 833 (@$158k).

Interestingly....the last E unit I looked at, an ex CNW unit with HEP....it had a bad generator on #1 engine....they were asking $70K....and it looked better too....
That Erie E-8 is probably really worth about $50K, as it will undoubtedly come with other issues to be resolved as well....
The cars look pretty good in the pictures, but I'm hearing story's of water damage and broken windows...which, if true, means they are likely over priced as well....