Sometime in the future when I get a few minutes I'll post a couple of pics of the 2100 when she was sitting in Hagerstown, Md back in the late 70's. She was none to pretty them with graffiti like "Party Boat" on her. I would have never thought in a million years she would run again. Regardless of her current condition I'm glad she's still around.

Ok, this is why this isn't going to happen. I don't know your position in the Reading Tech, so I'm gonna issue my thoughts as if you're just 'Joe Member'.

A donation of 2100 to the RT would most likely kill one or the other. If the group could get it donated, it's gonna cost a small fortune to get it moved to your museum.... Like 6 figures fortune. If the RT diverted all funds to this, you'd still have a long way to go and work would have to cease on all other projects. Should your whole collection suffer because of one long shot? I don't think that's a reasonable collections policy.

Now, let's say you could get it to PA somehow. Ok, well now it's here. Where will the volunteers come from? I'm not talking about Uncle Bob or the model railroad gang, I mean someone who knows how to work with steel and who knows about not distroying historic fabric. You may have a couple such guys, but if they get into steam, suddenly your diesels aren't getting done. Also keep in mind that as the 'I remember the Reading' crowd begins to age out, volunteers get harder and harder to come by, especially those who have the talents you need. The few young steam fans there are who aren't playing Train Sim or photographing Dash9s will be at places like Strasburg where steam can actually run.

I gotta say I'm not a member of the RT, but as a fellow custodian of history, I think it'd be a big mistake for the RT to even attempt this project while the cars in Hamburg rot away with no attention paid to them. Being a smart custodian of Reading history is far more valuable than some rusty hulk 3,000 miles away.
Russ

Then what becomes of "the rusty hulk"? It isn't right to ignore the 2100 and write her off to history. Spending all the time and money with Diesels isn't what the Reading was entirely about. You make a good argument about spreading the organization too thinly, but for the Reading Society to turn its back on the flagship locomotive of the class doesn't seem to make sense either. Of the four survivors, how many can (or will) be brought up to running capability? It doesn't look like 2101 or 2124 will ever see a fire again. Everybody talks negatively about 2102 running again, and that leaves...?
What the group needs is encouragement to pursue return.

The 2100 doesn't have to be ignored, but if the RT wants a T1, why not offer a partnership with the B&O Museum or Andy Muller or whoever? Maybe the RT starts a fund to cosmetically restore one where it currently sits. If the aim is 'Lets preserve a flagship Reading engine', then there are less expensive ways to go about it. If, however the mentality is that of a 7 year old who just wants the cool toy, then it's doomed to failure.

Wow, touched a nerve, didn’t I? When I see a post from a person saying they or their group is totally beyond reproach (or even the suggestion), I’m always reminded of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, "The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."
I really know nothing about your group or their record. But still, I stand by my comment because I know they’re dead on in a general sense. The RR preservation field is filled with stories of good intending groups who swore they’d provide a good home for some piece of RR history, only for it to later fall into disrepair, all to the soundtrack of whining from said group that they can’t afford to take care of something once they actually got it. Even high-profile museums and organizations have this happen from time to time. To make a promise that ANY museum would “enshrine” a locomotive is inviting those who remember others who fell through with the prior commitments to raise an eyebrow and remember all those who before promised the same thing for the locomotive that is now sitting rusting away somewhere. 2100 sitting cold in the open in Eastern Washington is far more preferable to sitting in the open in Pennsylvania (of course, only if it’s outside in both cases) in the light of what is best for the machine’s future preservation. Sitting in a desert is probably best overall, but where it is right now comes mighty close to that. Unless a group has a building they can put rolling stock into, rail access and cooperation with the rail to move stuff in and out, ALL BETS ARE OFF as to if they can really be called a “good home” to a specific locomotive. But either way, it’s all moot as what little I know of 2100s current owner has led me to believe the engine isn’t going anywhere right now or for a while. And if an engine has to be in limbo without operation, it’s sitting in place that promotes very little rust.
And as for 4449 being a part of Portland, must I remind everyone that 4449 never originally pulled trains that far north (not until the 50s, anyway, if even then) and that the Daylight never ran to Portland originally? Sure, she’s found a great home in the city of the Roses and nobody would disagree that it was the best place for her to wind up considering what’s happened to 4449 since 1974, but she still is housed far from her old stomping grounds. Not nearly as far as 2100 is from her original rails, I agree, but still it’s funny when people gripe about an engine being far from ‘home,’ whatever that means. AMEN!

Take Strasburg's 90 for example. Imagine the bloody screams that would entail if the prospect of it leaving those 4.5 miles of track arose.

Just a reminder, she left Hagerstown in top notch condition:) I know while 2100 was there she made a huge impact on me, being the first big steam I had ever seen!

This thread reminds me of a Bugs Bunny - Yosemite Sam cartoon:
'' Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh No You Don't ! ''
'' Oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Yes We Do !''

All I'm gonna do is re-state what I said above.
If the current owner(s) of 2100 still have plans to make use of her, I'm glad to hear it.
We simply want it to be known, that if and when 2100 becomes available, we would like to bring her home.

But (if the the board of your organization has discussed and approved the effort) they need to tell the owner directly, in private, not by a member expressing wishes to the rest of us on a public forum!

This sort of word of mouth, second or third hand chatter, reaching the owner via the grapevine, could do no end of harm to the group's chances of success.

My opinion, anyway.

So, does Tom Payne still own 2100?

Steve Hunter

In early '86 (I think) I spent an afternoon in the Hagerstown roundhouse photographing the restoration of the 2100. 614 was parked a couple of stalls down, as was the former NYC 0-6-0 then owned by Lansing Vail from Cleveland (part of the Vail family that owned the Cleveland Plain Dealer). Attached is one of the images from that day of a couple of the workers heating up a part of the engine with a torch. You can see the front of the 2100 opened up in the background. Perhaps someone here can ID the two workers.

[quote="sbhunterca"]
But (if the the board of your organization has discussed and approved the effort) they need to tell the owner directly, in private, not by a member expressing wishes to the rest of us on a public forum!
This sort of word of mouth, second or third hand chatter, reaching the owner via the grapevine, could do no end of harm to the group's chances of success.
My opinion, anyway. So, does Tom Payne still own 2100?
Steve Hunter[/quote]

I have spent much of my adult life as a member of said board, helping to develop said organization, 6 terms as its President, 24 years on said board.

This public forum is only one method being used to attempt to contact 2100's current owner(s).

I can understand why the current owner(s) of 2100 do not identify themselves on this public forum.
That way they can avoid the rantings and ravings of others all across the country about what they should do with their private property,
which in my opinion, is what ''could do no end of harm''.

By posting what I did on this public forum, my intent is to convey to 2100's current owner(s)
that the rantings and ravings are not coming from RCT&HS,
and that RCT&HS is willing to discuss the options,
in a calm business-like manner, NOT on the pages of this public forum,
again, if-and-when said owner is ready.

Sermo Nisus.

If you know who the owner is, why not just drop him a letter of interest. It's a lot more professional than posting on an open forum where you then have to deal with hope smashers like me. (haha) If a dialog begins though, be prepared to fly to California and wine & dine him and generally make a fuss over him and go over the loco with a fine tooth comb and make absolutely sure it's right for your group. After all, nothing makes a group look more like a bunch of yahoos than taking on a king sized project with a court jester sized budget.
Russ

Here is a link to an article about the locomotive that has some information regarding the Golden Pacific operation:

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/200908 ... /708029882

PC

For those of you who are Trainorders subscribers, there's a pretty telling video posted with crew members discussing where the water level might be and one of them trying to get the water to bounce in the glass.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/r ... 10,2698918

The water glass on the fireman's side of the 2100 is higher than the water glass on the engineer's side. So it was possible to have the water out of sight one the fireman's side and still be visible in the engineer's glass. At that point you didn't have a lot and you'd better be doing something about the situation pretty dang soon, but it was still at a safe level. Why the glasses weren't the same I'm not sure. But I do know that's how it was set up. The fireman can't see the engineer's glass, so that's why he was "bouncing" the water in his glass. The engineer was also monitoring it of course.

The fact that the water level is being discussed and closely monitored tells you the crew is aware of the situation. Was it low? Yes, it was. Was it low enough to be unsafe? No, there was still water clearly visible in the engineer's glass. Was it low enough to make you nervous? Yeah, it was definitely something that got your attention.

Would the engine have been stopped if the water level continued to drop? Yes, it would have, and in fact they did exactly that during one of the initial test runs.

Now I'm certainly not going to claim that this operation did everything right (uh, yeah...), or that this is how things should be done. But there were several of us on board who knew enough about steam to not expose the crown sheet. (Pretty basic stuff, that...) I wasn't going to let it happen, and while I can't speak for what Jim might have done, I don't think he'd have simply stood by and watched if it reached a critical point either.