So what's the latest on the 611 progress? Was amazed at the progress on the first page! hoping there's more now!

$3.5 million and it'll be running in 9 months.....

ETA

Not what I meant. If you go to the first page you'll see great progress on her. i'm just wondering what the latest is. Your comment is nother reason why RYPN is almost never my go to cite.

Should we shudder at this statement? Should we feel shame that we do not meet your expectations?

RYPN is almost never an up-to-date news site. With the proliferation of Twitter, Facebook and the internet, most groups do a decent job of publicizing their own efforts.

RYPN as envisioned is supposed to be more of a place where ideas and technical information are shared amongst those in railway preservation. Good examples of threads that exemplify this are:

-The posts about throat sheet engineering
-EDPM Roofs at RMNE
-Canvas Roofs
-Spring Pad Lubricators
-Sources for new trolley poles
-Car Card reproduction
-Best Financial Practices

Even the "news" threads like the "Latest From the Strasburg Railroad Shops" include technical information that's interesting, such as using a CAD milling machine to do precision grinding.

As such, the casual railfan or buff may be disappointed that we don't have the very latest, up-to-date news on the restoration of "Ole' 97" at the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railroad Museum. That does not mean that one cannot learn from these threads.

So to you, RYPN may not be your "go-to" site, but that may place you in the minority of those who come here.

I was lucky enough to go to Ft Eustis for my AIT training, and I can say I would have loved to have seen that base back in the day. Ft Eustis still trains Army MOS 88J (locomotive operator) though this job is done by civilians mostly. The Army still relies on the railroads for most of their bulks moves. I do believe Ft Eustis transportation museum is trying to slowly revive an old Army locomotive and they still have a small fleet of Army passenger cars they still use for training purposes.

So you're banning the guy because he complained about a smart a** response to a question he didn't ask (status of USATC 611, not N&W 611)?

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to try to answer the guy's question rather than concentrate on his legitimate complaint?

My heartiest congratulations to those responsible for driving away yet another poster. Imagine the nerve of that guy asking about the status of a steam locomotive on a railway preservation discussion list!

Apparently the banning had nothing to do with this thread.

So, back on topic, does anyone know anything about the status of USATC 611?

Semi related to the USATC and USATC 611's career at Ft. Eusis, the Army Transportation Museum Foundation is apparently doing some pretty good outreach. They even publish a decent newsletter. If you are interested, I can put you in touch, PM me.

As I understood the situation, the person (brettcog) who was providing the updates was called up from the reserves. He has promised to start providing updates once active work on the locomotive resumes.

I am expecting 'exploratory surgery' on the camboxes will commence within the next several months.

[I do believe Ft Eustis transportation museum is trying to slowly revive an old Army locomotive and they still have a small fleet of Army passenger cars they still use for training purposes.]

I know of no plan to revive any locomotive from the museum and it has been decades since the post had a significant number of passenger cars. For a very long time there has only been one ex-DOT stainless steel car for the rare passenger ride, and usually it can be found inside the enginehouse. I trained there as an active duty railroader (1975) and later as a rail reservist and, when I retired a decade ago, all training was still focused on freight operations. If there was a plan to reactivate a museum locomotive, or if passenger cars had been moved onto the post for training purposes, I would have heard about it through my contacts with the museum.

I tend to have a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, and apparently nobody else saw the humor. So I apologize to all involved. I certainly didn't mean to push anyone toward the door....

ETA

In order for us to see the humor, there has to be some way to tell that it IS humor. Your statement, on the face of it, was totally believable, at least for those of us who have no connection with the installation. I have no way of knowing whether or not they have passenger cars there. Fort Lewis had some of the boxcar style Pullman Troop cars well into the 80's and maybe even the 90's. They were off the rails, but still on site. So it seemed reasonable enough to me...

In an industry where even the most obvious "that will never happen!" joke (i.e. "Union Pacific is going to restore a Big Boy!") can become reality overnight, sarcasm can be tricky...

When I went to AIT there was a small string of 3 to 4 coaches in the main yard, they were pretty beat up and gutted from the looks of it. there was also a fairly nice looking coach inside a fenced siding,looked to be more privately owned since it looked so nice. as far the engine goes, it was just talk I heard so If I am wrong then I apologize.

"Not sure if you saw what went down in the Railfanning section, . . ."

Doggone foamers!

: )