Espee 982 in Houston, Texas

Bulby · **Joined:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:45 pm **Posts:** 258

MJV1988 wrote:

Well this is some positive news. Be nice to grab the 975 at IRM as well. She looks terrible and could use a good cosmetic fix.

She's getting a little work and unlike a fair number of "preserved" locomotives she is kept lubricated and moved often enough to keep her bearings from drying out.

It's on the list of locomotives to get more cosmetic work.

Charlie · **Posted:** Fri Feb 19, 2016 5:22 pm

The move of the 975 from Beaumont to IRM on her own wheels is a pretty amazing story in itself. It covers everything from fixing a hot box en route to dumping a few decades worth of grime and rust on the poor soul riding in the cab. Not to mention getting a static display mobile again. Kudos to IRM for saving this locomotive and others destined for the scrap heap.

rock island lines · **Joined:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:20 pm **Posts:** 487

The following message was posted today on the Altamont Press forum, here.

The Go Fund Me page the author refers to is here: https://www.gofundme.com/move-steam-locomotive-sp-982

Quote:

Re: SP 982 in Houston in Danger?
Author: Kenneth Cotton
Date: 03-08-2017 - 19:08

Good Evening Everyone:

My name is Kenneth Cotton, and I am President of the Texas Railway Preservation Association, a non-profit formed to save Southern Pacific 982. We have tried for almost two years to work with the City Of Houston to lease or buy the locomotive from the city, with no success. We have a place to store the locomotive and overhaul her, but the sticking point is the City is not willing to do anything with the locomotive until we have come up with a permanent display site. Despite giving them a comprehensive business plan in regards to the overhaul and operation of the locomotive, plus giving them contact information with FWRHS and ORHF and how they operated and their planning for enginehouse/museum hybrids, the City not only has not followed up on those contacts, but are barely talking at this stage.

We have found another tender, Vanderbilt style,six axle, which has been promised to us.

The locomotive currently sits on land which is about to be sold, but the City has no place to move the locomotive to. The sale is purported to be IMMINENT. Other plans the city has are to place the locomotive in the center of a themed restaurant currently under development.

This is no ghost story folks. We'll keep working on it until either we save the engine, the City ruins her, or makes her totally inaccessible. If you wish to express your support for what we are attempting to do, please go to our Go Fund Me Page and give a donation. If you wish to express your support and/or outrage, here are the folks to send an e-mail to:

tom.davis@houstontx.gov
832-393-1044

andy.icken@houstontx.gov

sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

Thank you for your interest, and your support.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Cotton

President

Texas Railway Preservation Association

PS. This warning was posted earlier in this thread. Be governed accordingly.

Quote:

Randy Hees wrote:

Your friendly moderator is watching, and will have a low tolerance for poor behavior.

Randy

Lincoln Penn · **Joined:** Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm **Posts:** 841

It appears the city is not interested in this locomotive being overhauled and returned to operation.

It sounds like they want it to be displayed, not operating. Perhaps they fear it will be torn apart, then when roadblocks to the plan appear, it will be left in pieces.

They may have an ear the ground and heard enough about other projects relatively close by that have either failed or are simply spinning their wheels, so to speak.

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 770

Lincoln Penn wrote:

It appears the city is not interested in this locomotive being overhauled and returned to operation.

It sounds like they want it to be displayed, not operating. Perhaps they fear it will be torn apart, then when roadblocks to the plan appear, it will be left in pieces.

They may have an ear the ground and heard enough about other projects relatively close by that have either failed or are simply spinning their wheels, so to speak.

The city is well aware that the TRPA will not dissasemble the locomotive until funding was in place for the overhaul. That is NOT the sticking point.

rock island lines · **Joined:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:20 pm **Posts:** 487

Quote:

...here are the folks to send an e-mail to:

tom.davis@houstontx.gov
832-393-1044

andy.icken@houstontx.gov

sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

I looked up these folks online:

Sylvester Turner - Mayor of Houston, Texas

Andy Icken - Chief Development Officer for the City of Houston

Tom Davis - Special Projects Manager for the Chief Development Officer, Mayor's Office of the City of Houston, Texas

I bet Mr. Icken spends all day working with big money developers and city department heads on major projects. He is used to people with major funding and consultants behind them. It looks like Mr. Davis manages the projects.

I'm racking my brain trying to think how this SP 982 preservation group could get the attention of this development department. It helps if you have money or a powerful ally. So where do you find an ally?

I see the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in Houston has a Historic Preservation Office. Maybe an ally could be found there?

Or maybe support could be found in the Parks department? They have a good deal of clout and they tend to be creative thinkers.

Finding an ally to support you is easier said than done, of course.

That's all my tired brain can muster right now. Good luck to the 982 group!

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Thu Mar 09, 2017 12:03 pm

In my opinion, talking about restoration to operation, building a Portland-style facility, is getting way ahead of the game. It's nice to dream but saving the locomotive, even if nothing else happens, should come first.

If saving the 982 is really the goal, then meeting the city's demand that a permanent display site be found would be my first priority. Once it is moved and safe, then you can negotiate things like operation, or a new, Portland or-style roundhouse facility. It seems to be an easily resolved sticking point.

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 770

rock island lines wrote:

Quote:

...here are the folks to send an e-mail to:

tom.davis@houstontx.gov
832-393-1044

andy.icken@houstontx.gov

sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

I looked up these folks online:

Sylvester Turner - Mayor of Houston, Texas

Andy Icken - Chief Development Officer for the City of Houston

Tom Davis - Special Projects Manager for the Chief Development Officer, Mayor's Office of the City of Houston, Texas

I bet Mr. Icken spends all day working with big money developers and city department heads on major projects. He is used to people with major funding and consultants behind them. It looks like Mr. Davis manages the projects.

I'm racking my brain trying to think how this SP 982 preservation group could get the attention of this development department. It helps if you have money or a powerful ally. So where do you find an ally?

I see the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in Houston has a Historic Preservation Office. Maybe an ally could be found there?

Or maybe support could be found in the Parks department? They have a good deal of clout and they tend to be creative thinkers.

Finding an ally to support you is easier said than done, of course.

That's all my tired brain can muster right now. Good luck to the 982 group!

You are correct in saying that Mr. Icken is the "Money Man" Over the past eighteen months, we have requested several times for Mr. Icken to arrange a meeting between a couple of the persons who would be more interested in the project than others. His first request to us was "get a place to overhaul the engine". Task completed. The next was, "get me a business plan so I can show it to them." Task completed. All this is backed up by e-mail and correspondence between the TRPA and his office.

As an aside, we did have a location which we both believed would have suited our purposes. It was adjacent to a Class One main line, with access to any railroad in Houston. Against my advice, and without warning, the City goes to the railroad and asks them to donate the property..the City was promptly handed its head. Their own arrogance wrecked that opportunity, so they shifted the actual location strategy to us because they had screwed up so badly.

The question was asked whether we had a place to run. Without giving anything away or betraying confidences, the railroad (s) I approached were all positive concerning operation.

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 770

wilkinsd wrote:

In my opinion, talking about restoration to operation, building a Portland-style facility, is getting way ahead of the game. It's nice to dream but saving the locomotive, even if nothing else happens, should come first.

If saving the 982 is really the goal, then meeting the city's demand that a permanent display site be found would be my first priority. Once it is moved and safe, then you can negotiate things like operation, or a new, Portland or-style roundhouse facility. It seems to be an easily resolved sticking point.

The Portland style facility was what the City wanted. Our plan was to get the locomotive overhauled, operating, then begin raising money for such a facility once we had a proven machine. It's much easier to raise money that way. The City gave us the illusion they wanted the "home run", to have one donor donate all the money to complete the entire project. When it came time for the city to produce the donors after all their other conditions were met, they came up short.

The City has no place to display the locomotive. They have had two years to assist us in finding one. They have not done so, which is leaving them precious few options. How do you display half a locomotive?

Dave · **Posted:** Thu Mar 09, 2017 7:10 pm

Steamtown has a sectioned one... but I'd hate to see that happen here.

I think we have a mutual friend in the area with a private 2 foot gauge steam line who might have some ideas and connections that could help.

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2634

Txhighballer wrote:

How do you display half a locomotive?

Was it the city's idea to sell the tender?

CREEPING DEATH · **Joined:** Sun Oct 24, 2010 6:22 pm **Posts:** 275

PMC wrote:

Txhighballer wrote:

How do you display half a locomotive?

Was it the city's idea to sell the tender?

The museum it was supposed to go into wasn't large enough for both, so, it went away.
I'm local to this, and optimistic!

CD

QJdriver · **Posted:** Fri Mar 10, 2017 5:32 pm

Best of luck, Brother Cotton, it's a horribly heavy cross you bear.

VIVA T&NO 982 !!!

rock island lines · **Joined:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:20 pm **Posts:** 487

Txhighballer wrote:

...
We have a place to store the locomotive and overhaul her, but the sticking point is the City is not willing to do anything with the locomotive until we have come up with a permanent display site.
...
The locomotive currently sits on land which is about to be sold, but the City has no place to move the locomotive to. The sale is purported to be IMMINENT. Other plans the city has are to place the locomotive in the center of a themed restaurant currently under development.
...
If you wish to express your support and/or outrage, here are the folks to send an e-mail to:
tom.davis@houstontx.gov
andy.icken@houstontx.gov
sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

Txhighballer,

OK, let's say someone wanted to write a letter of support for the TRPA. What should they say?

What do you think of the following rough outline for a letter. What is missing?

- Dear _____,

- I am writing regarding the locomotive, "Southern Pacific 982", owned by the City of Houston and currently stored at ____.

- This loco is a valuable object (add a sentence explaining why). Thus I am concerned about its long-term care and preservation.

- Information I have received says the City of Houston does not have a solid plan for the long-term care and preservation of this object. I have also learned that its current storage location may be in jeopardy due to an imminent land sale.

- I recently became aware of the Texas Railway Preservation Association (TRPA) and of this group's desire to move the locomotive to a secure storage site. After considering the alternatives, I think the TRPA's plan gives the locomotive its best chance for long-term preservation (add one or two sentences explaining why).

- I support the plan put forward by the TRPA.

- (Thanks and closing)

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 770

rock island lines wrote:

Txhighballer wrote:

...
We have a place to store the locomotive and overhaul her, but the sticking point is the City is not willing to do anything with the locomotive until we have come up with a permanent display site.
...
The locomotive currently sits on land which is about to be sold, but the City has no place to move the locomotive to. The sale is purported to be IMMINENT. Other plans the city has are to place the locomotive in the center of a themed restaurant currently under development.
...
If you wish to express your support and/or outrage, here are the folks to send an e-mail to:
tom.davis@houstontx.gov
andy.icken@houstontx.gov
sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

Txhighballer,

OK, let's say someone wanted to write a letter of support for the TRPA. What should they say?

What do you think of the following rough outline for a letter. What is missing?

- Dear _____,

- I am writing regarding the locomotive, "Southern Pacific 982", owned by the City of Houston and currently stored at ____.

- This loco is a valuable object (add a sentence explaining why). Thus I am concerned about its long-term care and preservation.

- Information I have received says the City of Houston does not have a solid plan for the long-term care and preservation of this object. I have also learned that its current storage location may be in jeopardy due to an imminent land sale.

- I recently became aware of the Texas Railway Preservation Association (TRPA) and of this group's desire to move the locomotive to a secure storage site. After considering the alternatives, I think the TRPA's plan gives the locomotive its best chance for long-term preservation (add one or two sentences explaining why).

- I support the plan put forward by the TRPA.

- (Thanks and closing)

I think you are on the right track, but at this time , I would not rather disclose where we are storing the locomotive of fairly obvious reasons. Otherwise, it's good.

I also learned from one of my sources that the land sale is no longer IMMINENT. It is now CONCLUDED, which means the clock is now running in earnest.

Espee 982 in Houston, Texas

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