While most of us would not think of an a recently operating piece of equipment as a basket case, I would suggest former B&O SW-1 No. 8408 owned by the Wilmington and Western. She came to the W&W in 1982 when the W&W's parent organization, Historic Red Clay Valley, purchased the 10.2 mile railroad. No. 8408, built as B&O No. 208, was a regular on the three-day-per-week service on the branch before it's sale. She continued in service moving freight, passenger, and work trains for the W&W. By the 2000s she was tired and in need of major shop work.

About 4 years ago she was sent to McHugh Locomotive and Crane for a new engine, generator, and rewiring. The more McHugh's crew did the more they found. The old girl was simply worn out. You name a component it was worn out. What has happened is that under the caring and watchful eye of J.C. McHugh the entire locomotive is being rebuilt.

A lot more has been done than I think anyone thought and the work has been spread out over years. The return date has been pushed back a few times but the extra time has allowed McHugh's folks to work on her at a pace that makes the most economic sense and has allowed the W&W to spread the cost out over several years. Also throughout the rebuild J. C. McHugh has been able to donate a portion of work here and a component there plus I think he talked some of his suppliers and subcontractors to help out as well. So this 70 year-old locomotive that was simply used up and worn out will reborn at 75, better than new. With good care No. 8408 will be running long after we've all gone to the big roundhouse in the sky.

Photos courtesy of J. C. McHugh.

Streetcar related: Steamboat Minnehaha

http://www.steamboatminnehaha.org/history/minnehaha.html

National City and Otay car #1.

dave

There's some impressive candidates there, but can I suggest consideration of at least an honorable mention for the Beaver Lawrence Railway Hist. Soc.'s Brookville? After all, I think it's the only one previously officially nominated on this site:
[url]
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4207&p=19276&hilit=brookville+basket#p19276[/url]

While the body is still getting framing and sheet metal work done, it does run and has moved under it's own power, albeit limited to it's own length on shop panel track. The photo attached is a couple years old now, I don't have anything newer as we've been working on various sub-assemblies for the front/back walls and roof.

Nick

I second Tom's nomination of Wilmington & Western's ex B&O SW-1 #8408

....and add Wilmington & Western's ex PRR Doodlebug #4662 to the list of basket cases, if it hasn't been mentioned yet.

It was parked, gutted, burnt, vandalized and left to rot, forlorn, back in the 60's...by the time W&W volunteers got to it it was a shell, and volunteers restored it initially, returning it to service in the early 1980's. A generous grant helped fund its second more thorough restoration, completed in 1991, from Revere Copper & Brass, for which the W&W gave it the honorary name "The Paul Revere"

Hi,

LOTS of great examples.

The PA is one of the best. No trucks, no motors, etc.

The first one I thought of was D&RGW K27 464. I saw her in Durango in 1972 and it was little more than a boiler on a frame with wheels. Knott's Berry Farm did an excellent restoration on it.

I am not sure if it was a basket case, but Eureka and Palisade #4 Eureka is an amazing story. In a roundhouse fire, restored to operation by Dan Markoff.

Doug vV

I nominate Carolina and North Western boxcar 401. It looked in worse shape than the photos of many cars that have been scrapped as "too far gone", before Matt and the Newton Depot crew got to work on it.

Although this project was financed by the citizen of San Francisco rather than by an historic preservation group, it's still an amazing "back from the dead" restoration. Muni 1009, one of seven surviving double-ended PCCs in MuniLand, had suffered from vandalism and fire damage while stored in a poorly secured location. For the proposed "E" line operation, Muni needed more double-ended cars that did not require a conductor. 1009 and 1011 were in terrible shape, but Brookville Rail Car workers were able to rebuild them and they are now in service on the "F" Line.

Appreciate the nomination, but the 662 was restored for VMT by the Roanoke Chapter NRHS Mechanical Dept., not the Museum itself. We are currently working on the Pullman "Lake Pearl" for VMT and our N&W coach # 537.

https://www.facebook.com/roanokenrhs?re ... page_panel

Yosemite Valley Parlor/Obs #330.

http://www.yv330.com/

Although most of the articles are displaying only error pages, what about Boston & Maine Coach No. 1246?

For those unwilling to go to the link provided, this steamboat was operated by the Twin Cities Lines streetcar company on Lake Minnetonka, west of Minneapolis between about 1900 and 1929. It was stripped and sunk in 1931 and subsequently forgotten. When the hulk was raised in the early 1970's, only about 75% of the hull remained.

I GOT ONE FOR YOU, I'm surprised that nobody has yet mentioned the US Army 2-8-0 with Franklin poppet valves that the Texas State Railroad had when I worked there in the late 20th century !!! I think the number was 610, and I've never seen anything nastier on flanged wheels. This had been derailed and layed at the bottom of a canyon for awhile before being donated to us. It was a classic LSO (locomotive shaped object, a variation of the term that violin restorers use for unsalvageable junk, VSO). Not only was it made almost completely from flake rust, but the boiler was PACKED FULL of flake rust and mud. I think the tender was, too.

We were SO VERY HAPPY when we heard that they had somebody who actually WANTED this thing !!! It was all smiles in the shop at Rusk as we tried to patch the engine up just enough to get it out of town. It desperately tried to jump the track when we moved it over from storage into the shop building because of a bent driving axle, stuck driving box wedge, and bent up spring equalizers. The crane was 25 miles away in Palestine, the bosses wanted to tow the LSO over there in spite of my objections, and my brilliant suggestion to move the crane to Rusk instead.

Most of what was wrong we couldn't begin to fix. We put some empty barrels in the cab and filled them with water, in a not very effective attempt to make the engine track right by getting more weight over the driver set that kept jumping off the rail. We fought with the wedge for a couple days, but the bent axle had it jammed tight. Charlie Frieda asked us to think it over on our rest days, and had the weekend crew soak it with turprentine while we thought it over. On Monday morning we got a small bottle jack and stuck it between the bent drivers and the next ones, when we pumped it up, it got the weight off the wedge. It still took a guy on the top drawbolt with a pipe wrench and a six foot cheater, and another guy hammering on the wrench where it stuck into the cheater, as well as two more of us down in the pit wailing on the bottom drawbolt the same way, and a fifth guy tapping on the wedge itself with a hammer. It finally moved when the three hammer guys got their blows to hit exactly together. None of this did any good. They still had to bring the crane to Rusk for loading the LSO onto a flatcar. I knew they would all along, but nobody ever listens to me.

I can't believe they actually fixed it up to run, and made it look nice, too. I think it's the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, I really don't keep up with all the various organizations, BUT, whoever it is deserves a medal. I bet somebody on this list has all the specific details. BRAVO !!!!

QJdriver, I think that S-160 was 611. It did pass through TVRM, but is in MD now.
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/5 ... 434826.jpg