Here are some recent photos of the locomotives at the scrap yard in Roanoke, Virginia:

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... 7877-A.jpg

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... 7885-A.jpg

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... 7889-A.jpg

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... 7895-A.jpg

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... 7901-A.jpg

Engines include a N&W 2-8-0 and three N&W M-2 class Twelve-Wheelers; numbers 1118, 1134 and 1151, Also some Baldwin diesels, which I believe are ex-Chesapeake Western. Wonder if they will ever get free of the vines and trees?

Les

thanks for sharing!

How come they are still there, How come the steam locomotives were not scraped? And how come one of the museum's don't saved them?
Len.

Very long, involved story. I suggest you search the archives of this forum for more information, rather than making us re-hash it all over once again, because these locos have been discussed ad nauseaum over the years.

Do an Internet search using the phrase 'Lost Engines of Roanoke". That should take you to a website that provides answers to most of your questions. The engines have recently been donated to the Virginia Transporation Museum in Roanoke.

I like to me informed of such stories, as I do not read through the archives... nor have I been on this board for "umpteen" years. In my opinion, anytime we are reminded of historical events or data we can further our understanding as a whole and as individuals.

Look here:

http://lostengines.railfan.net/

Well I guess it's time for an update on these Ole Girls.

Being a resident of the Roanoke Valley and being involved in various railroad groups in the Roanoke Valley and beyond, I’ve been keeping up with these locomotives for some years now and observing the project from the out side as a fellow preservationist. To clear some recent questions up here we go…

Have the Locomotives been donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation? …
The easy answer is yes the Locomotives and related equipment were donated in whole to the Museum by the executer of the former estate of Sam Golden owner of Virginia Scrap Iron & Metal Co.

BUT there are a couple of problems currently at hand, first TIME. There is a time crunch to move the equipment due to re-development of the area into a “Mega-Bio Medical” research center. The City (Roanoke) and the Museum bought time (about a year) to get the equipment moved out of there current location while the rest of the site has been cleaned up and closed down. At this point the only pieces of equipment to leave were (4) N&W Steam era Hoppers that had been land locked on an old tipple for decades in the scrap yard. The only way these 4 Hoppers were moved is that a deal was made with a local rail fan/ (trucking heavy hauler company) that in trade for moving all the hoppers to the museum he could keep one of them, DEAL! And they were moved. Now all the rest of the equipment still rest untouched with the exception of recently all the boiler jacketing has been removed and disposed of and the removal of Asbestos completed about a year ago. The rest of the site of the former scrap yard has mostly been cleaned up for re-development with reminders of local railroad activity still remaining drivers here and car parts there.

Now the second problem comes into play that most all of us are aware of MONEY. The Museum does not have the funds to move any of the equipment out of the former scrap yard to most of our undestanding, now even though the Museum did accept the equipment as donation, being able to follow through on the removal and transportation of it is posing a problem. Time is running out fast, and money for transportation is not in sight. So long story short the engines are still very much in danger of the torch. Some local rail-preservationist and I have had a relationship with the management and executer of the Scrap yard estate for some time now and additional plans for preservation have been discussed beyond the total donation of the equipment to the Virginia Museum of Transportation pending their failure to compete the deal (This is a reality not knocking the Museum the money just isn’t there), the end of the year is closing in and no good news is coming from the museum due to lack of funds.

Recently the NKP Locomotive 763 was sold to Ohio Central by the Museum and hopes that this might contribute to the movement of the “Lost Equipment” but most of that money has already gone into covering overhead at the museum and not into the exhibits or preservation and restoration, at best maybe life support, sorry this is the truth, and again not a reflection on current museum management but the struggle of the museum to recover from being stagnate for years. With the museum being a corporation and not a state funded museum, despite what the Museum’s name my imply they are not a state museum and they have been in the red for sometime to my and others understanding, leaving no funds to move 4 steam locomotives, 2 diesels, 2 tenders, 1 crane tender and related parts (at least a Gondola full) rods, valve gear, wheels, pony truck, and many other steam parts off the scrap yards property. NS has already said that none of the equipment will be moved over rail, as most all of this stuff has been submerged under countless floods and neglect for over half a century, Nothing Rolls Freely! Last thing that moved were the Chesapeake & Western Baldwin Diesels that were SLID/DRAGGED on the rails by tracked equipment to facilitate a repair to a water main that had ruptured nearby.

Right now the current “Unofficial” word is that the Virginia Museum of Transportation is not going to be able to move the equipment in time due to lack of funds, unless a third party comes forward in the 11th hour other than the Museum and Scrap yard and provides cranes, jacks, trucks and personnel to move all the equipment before the final hour and encroaching development. The Roanoke Chapter NRHS has discussed weather or not they would step forward to try to save at least one of the steamers but due to other commitments of their time and funds, namely the rebuild/restoration (From the ashes of a Virginian Passenger Station) taking on the movement of neglected mainline steam power is a stretch but not out of the question. Also other Local rail preservationists have expressed interest in maybe taking responsibility of one of the locomotives but nothing for sure as of now. Before recently the executer of the estate was not going to let the collection of “Lost Engines” be broken up to different locations or museums, recent talks have yielded new and different views, one of which for example (One of many) are discussions of taking the three N&W M’s and taking all the parts to make one “good” displayable Locomotive and divvying up the rest of the noticeable / usable parts of the M’s to area museums and “Dispose” of the remaining parts to scrap to off set the movement cost. This is just one example of ideas being discussed locally for the equipment, but sooner than later the “Lost Engines” of Roanoke will be moved either whole or in small little pieces to the local recycler! I have and can provide recent pictures of the equipment if requested as I see it weekly. As mentioned before the above talks and deals only involve the equipment in the main scrap yard site and do not include the scrap yards second site that is being cleaned as well that contains an N&W 100/150ton stream crane (Complete, still has coal in the bunker) crane tender, and other items. Recent losses to the torch of the second yard are 4 or 5 riveted bodied single dome tank cars and a N&W Homebuilt express car that was also complete in heavily weathered Tuscan with gold lettering.

The Clock is ticking on the “Lost Engines” I’m not going to paint a pretty picture when it looks like reality is catching up with us, these engines are still very much in danger, and the torches will soon be the reality. Can you imagine these engines avoided the scraper for well over half a century only to be lost to the torch in the 21st century?

If any other organization were to offer to come in and "rescue" a "spare" loco for static display, would one or more of the dupes be available?

Hey, stranger things have happened. Don't ask ME why BC&G 14 ended up in Gaithersburg, Md. We just saw four cabooses sold off for a variety of display purposes from Lansdowne, Md.--and at least one going for display at a local preserved station when someone just stepped up and paid for the caboose and shipping, out of the blue.

thanks for the update. I sure hope some solution can be worked out. It would be a crime to have these engines lost at the last minute.
I'd love to see any pictures you could share.

Thank you for the great update. I last saw the locomotives in 2001. Considering what is there, this is really a treasure trove of railroad equipment, whether for display or restoration. I have said before, and will repeat here, despite the outward appearances, I have seen far worse locomotives in public parks.

Thanks Steve for that very informative update. Has anyone thought to ask the railfan/hauler if he would move the engines for his choice of one? Or Two? I saw in one photo that there seems to be an active rail line just outside of the yard. Would it be possible to lease a piece of ground, lay some temporary rail and drag the locos to that site for storage or a place to work on them to get them roadworthy? Just my 2 cents.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Ed, That active rail in the background is the NS(former N&W) Winston-Salem main line. They will not put in a temporary switch, nor would they block the line for the equipment to loaded on TTX cars, lest the lights start to flicker in central NC due to the interuption of unit coal trains to the powerplants thereabouts. To my knowledge, the Museum has a price to have the equipment moved by the same mover, but money is the issue. And unfortunately, any donations for that project would probably, based on past experience, end up being spent elsewhere. (see comments above on NKP 2-8-4) Also, based on past experience, they are unlikely to be willing to work in partnership with any other organizations on the project.

Not to stray off topic, but wasn't that just to meet a small staff's payroll? ;)

Gaithersburg wanted a display engine and BC&G 14 was available.

Wesley