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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine - 0-8-0's
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:14 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm
Posts: 6400
Many years ago, a local NRHS chapter sponsored a "visit" to NWS&W. I remember that day going into the building where they did their locomotive repairs. There were a number of other "artifacts" laying around including steam locomotive headlights from roads other than the GTW. Wonder if any of THIS stuff was saved by IRM, or anyone else. Perhaps the building still exists. Or has the old steel plant been levelled to the ground. Just what does exist of NWS&W in Sterling today? Any buildings? Equipment?

Les


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine - Recent Scrapping
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:30 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:14 pm
Posts: 613
Location: Essex, Connecticut, USA
FYI: Not to worry: the 5 locomotives that were traded for 4963 were well stripped before they were moved from Galt back towards Sterling for scrapping at the Ehrman-Howell yard just down the tracks from NWS&W. I have never seen any photos of them being moved or scrapped, but trust me, they are no more. The one unfortunate aspect of the deal was that the scrapper got the first 5 locos closest to the C&NW, one of which had a brand new (ugly) tender and had had a fair amount of mechanical work done on it recently (new tires, etc.) and one of the worst of show was 8374 which we had stripped for parts and contemplated scrapping while it was still at Sterling! Even NWS&W had given up on "74" as the crown brasses had totally worn out so the axels were worn into the driving boxes. J.David


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine - 0-8-0's
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:57 pm 

Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2004 4:18 pm
Posts: 540
Location: Illinois
Quite a bit of Northwestern Steel and Wire is left in Sterling. Part of it is run by another operator - one that appears to get coiled steel shipped in and then processes this steel instead of making steel on site.

Chris.


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine - 0-8-0's
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 5:27 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm
Posts: 6400
Chris:

Thanks for the info. Does the new company have any rail equipment of their own? Do they do their own in-plant switching with their own locomotives?

Les


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine - 0-8-0's
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:29 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:26 am
Posts: 4642
Location: Maine
Check out Ziel's "Twilight of Steam". NWS&W cut up Burlington, Nicel Plate, and GTW locos by the hundreds. What was interesting was the way the company utilized locomotives it had accepted for scrap as stationary boilers as well as switchers. NW used ex-"Q" 2-10-4's (less the drivers, trucks, etc., for boilers). The gondolas were also "junk" pressed into service. I think the layers upon layers of asbestos dust must make their yard a hazardous waste site today. Still, I'd love to go in with a spade and a metal detector. Ziel show headlights, number plates, etc., etc., ad nauseum, laying on the ground.

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"It's only impossible until it's done." -Nelson Mandela


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire 0-8-0
PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:02 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:18 am
Posts: 279
From the December 2004 issue of Railfan & Railroad, from my "Surviving KCS Steam" write up:

The only other piece of “real” KCS steam equipment probably has the strangest story of all. I’ve written about it before in this column - it’s the Vanderbilt tender once used behind Northwestern Steel & Wire 0-8-0 No. 25, now sitting at Galt, Illinois and owned by the Illinois Railway Museum. After my column about NWS&W 0-8-0s came out in the December 2004 R&R, I was contacted by Dr. Nicholas S. Muff of Sedro-Woolley, Washington - a noted authority on everything KCS. It turns out that the rusty tender at Galt has a very interesting history. It was built for use with Kansas City Southern 2-8-8-0 No. 759, one of ten Alco-built G-2 class mallets that the railroad purchased in 1924. The tenders delivered with these locomotives were equipped with Economy tender trucks (which were popular with the KCS) with the rear truck moved slightly farther forward than normal to allow the engines to use existing turntables. Also, they were at one time fitted with doghouses to shelter the head-end brakeman.
No. 759 served the KCS for many years in heavy freight service. Originally delivered as a compound with slide-valve low pressure cylinders and piston valve high-pressure cylinders, it was rebuilt to simple expansion just before WWII with piston valves all around. It served through WWII, but diesel deliveries in the late 1940s and early 1950s did it in and the 2-8-8-0 was scrapped at Pittsburg in February 1952.
No. 759’s tender was saved and became a piece of work equipment, MOW No. X0759, and was painted red for service as a water car. Many years later it was sold to Northwestern Steel & Wire for scrap and taken to Sterling, Illinois, where it was not cut up but was mated with former Grand Truck 0-8-0 No. 8325 (NWS&W No. 25). When steam was retired the tender was again spared the torch, and wound up in the Galt deadline awaiting an uncertain future.
A few years ago Muff and some of his associates visited Galt expressly to see No. 759’s tender. Clearing away brush and undergrowth from around the right side, they gave it a fresh coat of black paint and re-lettered it for the KCS. After temporarily placing the Flying Crow logo from the Kansas City - New Orleans passenger train on the tender (to imagine what the Vanderbilt tenders for the KCS Pacific’s may have looked like, Muff says) proper “759” lettering went onto its fuel bunker, and numerous photos were taken. Let it be said that KCS fans are some of the most dedicated railfans around!
Fortunately there is good news regarding the equipment at Galt. The last two remaining steam locomotives have been sold to private owners, and the tender itself is slated to be moved to Union; it still wears the KCS lettering on the right side, but is in need of further restoration. It is fortunate that it has been preserved, as it may have the last set of Economy tender trucks in existence (anyone know of any others?).


- Jeff Terry


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire 0-8-0
PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:25 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm
Posts: 6400
Jeff:

Thanks for the info. Answered my question.

Les


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine Under Restoration
PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:10 am 

Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:35 pm
Posts: 4
The 05 was recently uncovered and is still at Galt. She's a beauty and is still in pretty good shape despite her 30 years of sitting in the elements...

Here's a link to my pic on Flickr...
https://flic.kr/p/xdVpBK


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine Under Restoration
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:42 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:26 am
Posts: 4642
Location: Maine
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Stack capped? Restoration worthy? Tender?

If she is cosmetically restored, I hope it's as a GTW locomotive, as she began life.

_________________
"It's only impossible until it's done." -Nelson Mandela


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 Post subject: Re: Northwestern Steel & Wire Engine Under Restoration
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:49 pm 

Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:14 pm
Posts: 5
74 (8374) is owned by my uncle, it has not been scrapped.


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