Just saw this on Facebook. I'll make the popcorn.
https://cofgsrr.wixsite.com/cgsrr

Disregarding the validity, or lack thereof, of this proposal:

Is anyone still legitimately offering secondhand Chinese steam locos on the world market in 2024?

ADM4-in response to your question, Multipower's website is still active, FWIW:
https://www.multipowerinternational.com/locomotives.html

I hate to be a wet blanket, but the copyright notice for their website is dated 2003-2010.

Best of luck to your group --- SYs are fine locomotives.

On the GoFundMe page: "no longer accepting donations"with only 2 donations in the 20-odd hours (for $20 and $18, both anonymous). If there was a description of acquiring an SY under 'Projects" on the new Web site, it was gone by the time I loaded it about 4:15 on 5/15/24.

At the very, very least, they should indicate precisely where the SY would be obtained, and what spares or other material would come with it. They should also have gotten reasonably binding estimates on moving, shipping, then moving the locomotive to get it to wherever the restoration to service would be taking place.

I really, really don't think this is legitimate. It has every sign of being slapped together by one person over the course of an hour or two.

Looks like a bit of wishful thinking to me....... hoping to prove itself through funding which will not likely materialize. Anybody know of an operating entity called the Central of Georgia Scenic Railroad which I think would be the first question?

Trying to think of what parts of the C of G that would be considered scenic........

The first clue as to the group's legitimacy, or rather lack thereof, is that the line is not actually "abandoned". NS shows absolutely no inclination toward reopening it, but has also declined overtures from potential suitors over the years.

Well... there are some operating railroads and museums that don't have much better of a website so you never know!

I can certainly understand a group consolidating pumps and certain locomotive parts in "good-used" condition. For awhile I followed a company doing just that.

I said "legitimately."

The odds are that if I responded to that website some Asian scammers would be replying.

If they legitimately expected a flood of donations in less than 24 hours, with NO apparent publicity push or media coverage, that is perhaps an indication of the "maturity" level we're discussing here.

It took EIGHTEEN YEARS of fundraising to produce the British A1 Tornado build. The PRR T1 Trust appears to be something on the order of a twenty-year plan.........

And I said "FWIW".

I promise, I'm not really piling on this particular proposal out of spite or malice.......

But the last two "short lines" I have seen formed from Norfolk Southern branches had what I consider to be an unusual precedent:

1) NS leased operating rights, sold the track from the ties up, but retained the right-of-way.
2) NS specifically barred ANY passenger operations over the track in question as a condition of the operating rights agreement.

It should be noted that the one short line operating company in question owns or borrows several pieces of passenger rolling stock (some are stored on the property in exchange for occasional use) used now and then for community-event excursions, promotional outings, "Santa Comes To Town" trains, or the like.

I'm still mystified as to what's going through NS's corporate mind with this unusual arrangement. Anyone closer to NS HQs have a clue?