Has anyone heard whether the City of Roanoke Council ever got around to approving the sale of the 763 to the Ohio Central???
Last we heard was that some local opposition had developed and the Council was "studying" the issue.
Any recent developments??
Thanks, Ross Rowland

City council agendas and actions are usually online these days:

http://www.roanokeva.gov/DeptApps/CCAgendas.nsf/3cac7f13c72b8ab385256b1b004ec9af/7081b31132220669852572bc004743a6/$FILE/car%2004-16-07.pdf

Apparently, on Monday the Roanoke City Council will discuss donating 763 to the VMT. That would have the effect of removing the discussion from the political realm, and leaving the decision to the Museum.

JAC

Thanks John for that timely update. It will be interesting to see if the opposition is still there when this comes up for consideration at Mondays meeting.
Ross Rowland

Are you planning on attending the meeting? If so, I'm sure RYPN visitors would appreciate your report.

Doug

Just a quick update from the city council meeting a few weeks ago. As John said, the minutes are available online.

"In other action, the council approved the transfer of the Nickel Plate Road locomotive 763 to the Virginia Museum of Transportation, which will allow the museum to sell the antique engine for $125,000. The locomotive has been an exhibit for years.

"This will position us to move forward," museum board President Tom Cox said. The museum, already struggling financially, found itself in deeper trouble after a freak windstorm tore the roof from part of its Norfolk Avenue building. Exhibits were damaged, part of the museum remains closed, and both visitors and revenues have been depressed ever since, Cox said.

The locomotive will be sold to the Ohio Central railroad, a historical short-line railroad, which has the facilities and the means to restore it, Cox said. It has no particular historical importance to the Roanoke region, he said.

The city owned the engine because at the time the then-Norfolk and Western railroad donated it to the transportation museum, the museum was a city entity.

Councilman Bev Fitzpatrick, who is executive director of the museum, was absent from Monday's vote."

Taken from http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/113403
(April 17, 2007)

Update...
On Tuesday the 9th of May 2007 the OC crew started work on the NKP 763 at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Plans are Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday of this week they will be working on and tearing down the brakes and working on the rods bearings. The three day work session is the first of a half dozen trips the OC group will be making to prep the NKP 763 for its move. In the near future the NKP 763 will be moved out of the museum and relocated under the passenger car shed at NS East End shops to make use of the drop table and service area. Anyone knowing the area this is the same car shed that the Research and Test department uses almost under I-581 overpass in downtown Roanoke VA. Our Group is providing all the local equipment to assist in the work needing to be performed on the locomotive to prepare it for movement.

I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on the progress of this event, while I'm currently on Vacation in Okinawa Japan, I'm on the phone and in touch with my fellow preservation and restorationest back home and they are keeping me up on the details. I'll try to post some pictures as well as soon as they are forwarded to show the progress.

Anyone want to make a guesstament on what the restoration will cost provided that the Ultra Sound on the boiler comes out alright?

Just curious.

My hat is off to Jerry Jacobson in this endeavor and I hope that someday, we can see two Nickle Plate Berkshires double heading though Ohio in similar fashion to the old days.

JD Johnson, Morehead and North Fork Railroad Historian

You might know that 763 went to Elizabeth, N.J. for evaluation for the AFT, back when that took place. I have no idea why it was not restored at that time, but perhaps others who frequent the forum could shed more light. I wonder if Mr. Jacobson would use the Berk for hauling freight from time to time?

Do any of you know what route it will take to get to the Ohio Central? I was thinking they'd bring her up the pokey from Roanoke to Bluefield and that way. I'd like to catch it on the way through here in WV.


Scott

An educated guess would be somewhere between $750,000 and $1.5 million assuming most of the work is done "in-house" and the ultrasound does not reveal any major problems.
The reason we didn't restore her in 1973 for the AFT is that the AFT Foundation BOD decided they wanted to go with the Daylight instead (against my advice) only to find very near to the start of the journey that the 4449 was too tall for the Northeast. That's when we scrambled for the 2101 and the "30 day miracle" happened in Baltimore.
I would guess that Tim Spasato and his crew will have her running in 2-3 years unless Jerry Jacobson wants it sooner (bigger crew) in which case that could be substantially shortened.
Ross Rowland

thanks for the update guys. I hope to get to see this lady on her way to her new home.

Pipe dream time...With 759 repaired, might we see three NKP Berks in operable condition in the next ten years? One can certainly dream, if only dream.

Nice pipe dream Richard! Can you imagine pictures of the same quailty we saw of 1225 last week? Maybe 765 on a siding facing east and 759 & 763 blasting through west on the main?!!

MMmmmmm Lima Super Power (Homer's voice)

Ok back to work.....

As stated previously, all week some of the OC Steam crew has been beginning to prep the 763 for the trip to Morgan Run. Here are a few pictures of the work, submitted one of the gentlemen on the O-Gauge Railroading forums...

http://ogaugerr.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a ... 4011068734

(scroll down to the second series of photos for the 763 stuff.)

I know a few of us are sure annoyed that school's keeping us from making the trip!

Don't give JAC any ideas ;)

OR WAIT...what am I saying!

Put the short lived swinging tail 'R' in Nickel Plate Road on one of the tenders, perhaps...With the 763 outfitted with the Mars light and the 765 looking as-built, a whole spectrum of Lima superpower for the NKP could be covered.

1225 could always become a Nickel Plate for a day. Whattaya say, TJ?

KL