I think the only reason they happened is because they were off the radar.

When you think about a locomotive with the possibility of asbestos and the cost of breaking it into 3ft pieces, letting it go for a few grand to someone who will truck it off in one piece suddenly becomes much more practical!

Most town governments don't even know folks like us exist. They know what scrap iron is. Case in point Port Arthur TX.

Ben

I really think people generally never had a regard for history. People like us are the exception, not the norm. I've known far too may people over the years who feel there's nothing to learn from history and feel there's no reason to commemorate anything once it's over with.
Heck, I married into an entire family like that. Once something is over, it's done, and you don't look back. Statues? Museums? Holidays dedicated to something that happened in the past? Alien concept for most of them.
My wife has learned to accept I'm a history and museum hound and there's no changing that. But I think deep down, she just doesn't get it at all.
I think generally, most people are all about the new. "What's next?" is all they wonder.
So no, I'm not remotely surprised to hear that steam engines are still being scrapped every now and then.

One of the problems is these little critters don't fit most people's definition of a railroad locomotive; they barely fit mine, I'd call them industrial locomotives, and argue that they fit the collections policy of very few museums.

So, when they come up for scrap, they are viewed more like an old bulldozer, or steam roller. There really are very few institutions dedicated to saving this sort of equipment; most the historic pieces are held by individuals, and unless they are in extraordinary condition, they are hard to get rid of. Most people wouldn't have a clue where to even advertise them. Easier to call a scrap yard. Half a day and it's gone... so quick no one is even likely to notice the fly-by-nite asbestos removal.

Hi, the other day I got off the phone with the Oak Hill mayor's office, they confirmed the locomotive was scrapped around 2012.