http://www.secretcityrailroad.com/

A quote from their Facebook page:

"Well we learned a lot. We were assured that our interests were protected when the line was sold a few years back. Lies. We will re-group and go a different direction. Efforts are under way to lease out or sell or put on loan most of the collection that was in Oak Ridge. Some pieces will have to be scrapped since they cannot be moved."

The name of the short line is Heritage Railroad, but they don't seem to have anything to do with railroad heritage. Too bad, SARM have done an admirable job of restoring an SCL SD45 among other things. More weight on the side of owning your own track? Edit: fixed misleading introduction.

I think you will find that nothing has changed since the excursions ended in May. As time passes the people involved with the museum are going to be more vocal about what has happened and what is happening.

It does seem as though someone was being excessively maudlin on facebook yesterday.

Well if you are referring to the answers from SARM I can assure you that everyone is biting their tongue as much as possible. The truth about many things will be told in time..........at the appropriate time. For now I would only add that SARM has done the absolute best it could not to be in the position that it is in now. When other folks outside the organization do not honor their word then things go array.

I think SARM did a nice job of pivoting by securing work for their operable peices at Tennessee Valley and Scenic Lincoln Way around Tell City, IN in light of not having their own thing in Oak Ridge anymore.

As hard as it was to watch the cars leave, it beats any alternatives, and keeps things rolling.

Things always change - there will always be another project. Don't fall in love with your current one, just run it like a business. If it can't be run like a business, start looking for the next one.

what cannot be moved?

Yeah, I'd like to know what is facing the torch as well.

Assuming that someone wasn't being overly dramatic....What pieces are possibly going to be scrapped? They should at least offer them or their parts to another group...

Yes, museums disposing of equipment really ought to offer the equipment up to other museums. That's a best-practice in both ARM and AAM guidelines.

Sooner rather than later, before "the snow flies". Don't know if that's a factor at Oak Ridge but it might be for a destination museum.

I know some museums scrap with the reasoning that "It's too far gone for anyone to save" when the truth is it was too far gone for their skill or priorities. That rings an awful lot like "If we can't have it, no one can".

Just out of interest -
does a full list of equipment exist, the web site seems not to list all owned equipment?

"They should at least offer them or their parts to another group..."

Not all of the artifacts at SARM are owned by SARM. The privately owned pieces must be moved at the owners expense, and therein lies the heart of the problem.

A 501(c)3 can get a class 1 railroad to donate the move of equipment. Private owners do not have that option.

They have an impressive amount of equipment, seems to be in good shape. Unable to locate any "private" equipment but this may or may not be close to what they have"



SOU 34 ACF HW RPO
SOU 543 HW BAGGAGE
SOU 663 ACF 56 SEAT COACH
SOU 664 BUDD 54 SEAT COACH nee COG
SOU 665 (WRRX) BUDD 54 SEAT COACH
CG 692 (WRRX) BUDD TAVERN LOUNGE
SOU 819 (WRRX) BUDD 52 SEAT COACH
SOU 829 BUDD 52 SEAT COACH
SOU 2206 PULL 14/4 STORED
SOU 2459 (WRRX) WINDSOR LOCKS NO INFO
SOU 3164 PULL DINNER?
C&O 1510 BUDD COACH

If Ozark Mountain Railcar can be of assistance in finding some new homes for the equipment please keep us in mind.

There is a lot more equipment than that. There are 3 L&N/NC&StL "Pine" sleepers, nearly a dozen freight cars and cabooses, lots of locomotives, etc. Many are privately owned by members and some are on the ground being rebuilt, after being assured that there was no worry about staying on the railroad. Many have trucks and brakes that prevent them from being moved off the railroad. Some equipment has always been off-site at a second rebuild and display location. There are also a number of cars and locomotives donated by the government for this specific operation and location. It is a very complex issue, but anyone with several hundred thousand dollars who would like to help would be welcome.

There is also equipment from other railroad museums that are on site as SARM rebuilds equipment for other groups.

The equipment used on the excursion train have been leased to several other operations and they are off-site. It is the equipment being rebuilt that may be the most difficult to move.

It is interesting that Energy Solutions, the company that somehow acquired ownership of the railroad without public notice, without bids, without anyone knowing about it, is primarily a scrapper. This is not the first time they somehow got extra work at the plants. Some buildings that were to be saved for the National Park Service somehow were cleaned, and then scrapped by Energy Solutions.

It is also interesting that their website states: Principal commodities: HAZMAT, heavy machinery, re-built railcars. Also, the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum’s “Secret City Excursion/Dinner Train,” carries approximately 4,500 passengers each year.