As posted on the RailsBC Facebook group. I am not involved with this project, or affiliated with any group that is:


"Hi Folks.

It comes with somewhat mixed feelings about this, but I’m happy to now be able to officially report that the National Railway Historical Society, BC Chapter collection has officially been acquired by the fine folks at the Heber Valley Railway in Heber City Utah. Four of the coaches loaded on TPDX Flats are now ready to head South VIA BNSF. The rest of the collection will follow in the coming months.

For the better part of fifty years the collection of coaches, and more recently the ex VIA FP9 6300, have been dutifully acquired and attended to by founder of the NRHS BC Chapter, Terry Fergusson. For the last 35 or so years the collection of coaches has been held indoors at the old Woodwards Warehouse in New Westminster that has ensured the collection maintain its pristine condition, with the exception of a few coaches that had to be stored outside.

Unfortunately time and politics have taken their toll, and it was time to find a new home for the collection, and the folks at Heber Valley Railway stepped up to the plate to provide that well deserved break and new home for the collection. It is a large collection. Larger than could be properly handled by lesser organizations. 1 Locomotive, 23 Coaches, 2 Steam Generator Cars, and 1 Box Car. Three of the coaches have already been disposed of, purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway to augment their business car fleet for parts. The box car is to be scrapped.

Attached is the draft release from Heber Valley Railway, to be made official immediately. The first of the coaches to leave the property are Coach 803 (Ex CP Colonist Car 2806), Mount Cascade (Ex SP Observation Lounge 2914), 301 (Ex CNoR Combine 7244), and Lake Ontario (Ex CP Sleeper-Buffet Lounge “Lake Ontario”). The fleet is all Road-Worthy, other than the fact all the coaches are equipped with Plate Wheels no longer authorized to be interchanged. As such the coaches have to be carried to destination on appropriate flats. The locomotive can travel on its own and will be the last to go since it’s providing the power to switch cars around the warehouse tracks while the loading process takes place.

In the following few days I’ll post out various photos I’ve taken of the collection being loaded and prepped for movement South. Stay tuned.

Finally, thanks are in order to my longtime friend and associate Terry Fergusson for maintaining this collection and all the lifetime of effort he has put into it. This was his life! It’s sad to see things play out this way, but getting people on board to promote Canadian Heritage in the means required for this collection was/is a very difficult task. Our heritage efforts by government and industry in this country are sadly lacking. And so it goes to those who care at Heber Valley. They have the means to ensure the longevity of this fine collection of railway history. Our thanks and best wishes to them as well.

Cheers"

Terry Furgusson! There is a name I haven't heard in a long time. Not since the old Mount Rainier Scenic RR days.

I had forgotten there was already another thread on this topic, with some more photos and background on how the chapter came to have to sell their equipment:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41195

Perhaps the two threads should be merged.

At least the equipment is staying together, and going to a good home where it will be used.

I am glad the collection is going to a good home where it will receive the TLC it needs and deserves.

When Jerry Jacobson and I started the Pacific Wilderness tourist railway in Victoria, BC in 1999 I tried hard to make a deal with Terry Ferguson on this equipment as it was ideally suited to our proposed operation. It would have saved us moving cars all the way from Ohio.

Sadly, Mr. Ferguson had a totally unrealistic opinion of the commercial fair value of the equipment and so far out in left field as to make any chance of putting together a realistic lease or purchase impossible.

I remember telling him that unless he'd get real this equipment would stay in this ex- beer storage building forever.

Well, 20 years isn't forever but its close. Darn shame it sat in there all those years collecting dust as many of the cars are truly magnificent and need to be in service.

Glad that's finally going to happen.

Hope springs eternal. Ross Rowland

Ive been in there a few times over the years, lots of the cars were still covered in tarps inside the building, I didn't realize they had so many diner cars including the stainless ones. He had no shortage of ideas over the past few years when I talked to him, unfortunately I could not see how he could have made lots of them work but good on him for trying.

It must be quite the expense to get all those cars lifted on flat cars, shipped to the location, unloaded and trucked.... plus the purchase price!

No offense but I think he made the right decision. The equipment stayed together, intact, while said Wilderness operation floundered and scattered to the wind after a little over a year in operations. The dust collecting quipment is going to a good home, in roughly the same condition it was 20 years ago, having been stored indoors.

Win for all.

Junior,
No offence, really.... But he only sold because he was forced to.
A very nice collection, all would agree.

Did you ever ask yourself why it sat in a barn for 20 years.
When all those excellent passenger cars were ideal for dozens of tourist train operations, all across North America..?

Just say'n.

The reason it sat there for so long was Ferguson maintained a TOTALLY unrealistic opinion of its real value. We tried hard to offer him a generous lease or purchase deal and he wouldn't come anywhere near to reality.

My semi educated guess is that he was most likely forced to face up to reality and that's what made this possible? Left to his own fantasy the equipment would have stayed there until he died and then it would have been sold at auction.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

I speak of the option Ross mentioned.

Yes, the owner held on to them, now strong armed into selling now, but had they gone to Pacific Wilderness, they would have been either scattered to the wind or sat derelict until now because that operation lasted less than 2 seasons, as seemingly many operations have done in recent years (20+/-).

Sure, each could have found homes elsewhere, but would they have?.... would they still be used, in good condition, etc.

Regardless of the shoulda coulda woulda, the outcome now is far better now than had they gone to Canada and Pacific Wilderness' operations. At least Jerry's equipment returned to their home base in Ohio.

It was a poorly kept secret in the local Utah railfan community that a F-Unit of some sort would be coming to Heber sometime this year. Just surprised to see its coming from a Canadian line. If the rumors keep adding up, expect this in some Rio Grande tribute scheme eventually.

Could someone explain this to a Brit please? Does it mean they have wheels with separately fitted tyres rather than monobloc wheels?
Thanks in advance.

Michael

I would guess this means that the wheels are fabricated and likely riveted rather than cast solid. Some light rail cars use this arrangement, but they are not interchanged.

'Plate wheels' is short for flat plate wheels, where the web (between hub and rim) is a flat solid section, sometimes with straight ribs on the back (often seen on older streetcar wheels). The solid flat plate has relatively no energy absorbing ability and so is prone to rapid cracking/failure, hence the ban. Modern wheels have the curved, reverse curve, ogee or hollow double-ogee web (plate) that are able to absorb pounding from flat spots or bad track.

I think the wheels MT is referring to are the bolted/riveted component paper wheels that originated in the 1860s with the Allen Paper Wheel Company, the idea being quieter, cushioned ride characteristics. https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi758.htm

Allen (and others) also made similar wheels where the two steel plates were separated by a cast iron spider, no pressed paper filler, and the generic name for this construction was plate wheel. There were also assembled wheels consisting of a cast iron hub and steel tire, both riveted to a single steel plate which would also fit that description. IRM received one of these on the Wisconsin Central wood coach (Pullman, 1906) that was last used in the sixties as a portable depot, which is likely why it retained this obsolete wheel so long. But that sort of plate wheel fell out of favor before WWII, and I'm sure the Canadian coaches have wheels that match Train Detainer's description.

Curious to know the railroads and tensions with all this new rolling stock. With it being a small tourist line hopefully they have intentions of expansion in terms of trackage, departures per day, and attracting more tourists.