An update today on the GGRM facebook page:

"<The letter below was included in our December mailing to our members and we wanted to share it with our facebook fans.>

GGRM Members:

I’m writing to provide an update to our progress on relocation to Sonoma County. We appreciate your patience- Until the last several weeks, there has been little that we could report or share. With much hard work and a little luck we now have a clearer picture of our path forward and are happy to share a progress report.

First-
I’m happy to report that we’ve finalized a storage track plan with NWP and the other stakeholders in the area and have begun construction. Our facilities were part of a much larger development in this area involving other track work and the construction of a warehouse. Working through the requirements has taken some time. There is a sketch of our final storage track plan provided to give you an idea of what we will have for near term facilities. Keep in mind that we continue to work on aspects of the site and as we complete additional items we will share them with you as soon as they are firm and we have permission. The illustration also provides some details on construction, the scope of work and the timeline. We anticipate track completion early in the first quarter of 2018.

Second-
Over the past four months, we have been working diligently with NWP and the other railroads involved in relocating the GGRM collection from Niles Canyon to Schellville. On Friday December 8, we officially kicked off that process. For everyone’s information, before any “official request” can be made, there is usually several months (or more) of informal discussion to determine requirements, restrictions and even willingness to help with the project. I’m pleased to report that so far the responses to our requests have been positive. While finalizing the details of the equipment movement are by no means complete, we have a great start and are trying to schedule movement close to the time that our storage yard in Schellville is finished, sometime in the first quarter of 2018. We’ll keep you updated as we finish this.

Third-
We will continue to work on completing the necessary work to move the GGRM collection. We may still need a couple of work sessions to finish equipment preparation. We will publish these as they get closer. We still have a number of safety inspections to complete and may need to address minor issues that will come up as a matter of these inspections. We’ll update you as we finish this necessary work.

Recently, a number of concerns have been relayed to me regarding the lack of information on our relocation. I’d like to take a moment to address those concerns and try to give a picture of what we’ve been doing to prepare for this move.

Any project like our relocation is complicated and has unforeseen challenges. To be blunt: it has taken much longer than anyone thought. Much of what we have done up to now involves getting to know the new host and partner, reviewing what might be possible and working through the mountain of work to get the equipment ready for movement. Much of the work related to relocation was such that we could not publicly disclose activities, or worse- there was nothing meaningful to report.

While this is unfortunate, this is also the stark reality of the situation. Our primary role as board members is to ensure the success and future of the organization. At times this has required us to keep details or arrangements confidential until the time that plans are firm.

Since the organization was founded, much has changed in the world of railroads, real estate, business and volunteerism. These changes have made our job and mission much harder than it was when the organization was founded. There are fewer opportunities to do what we do, fewer places to do it, and now it is much harder to find people to help. When presented with an opportunity like the one we have at NWP, we acted to ensure that we had a place to go and would be able to make best use of the opportunity at hand. What we do is neither easy nor guaranteed. This was true in 1976 and it has only become more true in 2017. We are deeply grateful to the membership for staying with us through the process. We’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2018 and beyond.

After we have s relocated the collection, the GGRM board looks forward to hosting a reception and question and answer session near our new home. At this time, we will be able to answer many of your questions, and share the opportunities ahead of us. Until then we would respectfully ask your patience while we work through the process of moving. While we’ve made great progress to date, we still have significant work ahead.

Sincerely,
David Varley
Vice President and Chief Mechanical Officer"

Well, there's a lot to digest in David's preceding message. It is an intensely changed and
difficult atmosphere that we live in today. I applaud GGRM for what they have been able to do thus far and wish them the best for the future.

The first two GGRM cars are on the move. The ex SP business car "Oakland" and heavyweight club/lounge car "Neil Vodden" was picked up by the UP on Sunday. The Shasta Daylight coach, SP 293 and Lightweight RPO, UP 5901 look to be next. Five cars were positioned on the interchange track but the UP wants to move only two cars at a time. So it looks like we will be seeing a bunch of moves.

UP has apparently declined to move a lot of this equipment on its own wheels for various reasons, so it will be a lot more expensive and take longer. According to facebook posts by a person with GGRM: "UP will not move the 2472, FM 1487, F7's 6378-6380 and the 3 coaches. I just heard they won't move our GP9 3194 now too, something about the wheels, these are going to have to be loaded in depressed center flat car's...2472 it's the lubing and stuff on the way, the FM it's the plain bearings, the F units and coaches it's because of none self alining coupler's [sic]." https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... ater&ifg=1

Would it be completely infeasible that a hospital train, under power by the 2472 or some other engine, would be allowed to operate as a 1-way "excursion" or "demonstration" train?

As I understand it, locomotives without alignment control couplers can be moved on a Class 1 but usually only in a special move, not within a train's consist.

Anything with solid bearings would likely be rejected since RR employees aren't trained to inspect and service them. If the bearings are good, you might try offering to provide any required inspection and servicing in route. Who knows, you might be successful.

If the Geep wheels are out of spec, and there's enough meat left, you can have them re-profiled with a portable lathe provided you can run the traction motors.

As for coach couplers, unless the couplers are worn out of spec and need rebuilt/replaced and they otherwise comply with FRA and AAR requirements, I wouldn't foresee a problem other than they really must on the end of a train, not humped, or used as shoving platforms (don't ask how I know that).

You'll want to arrange to follow each move personally to make sure the railroad doesn't damage anything by being unfamiliar with the equipment.

Sometimes, it depends on who you know and how high up in the organization they are to get a sympathetic ear to get something done.

UP requirements for moving private locos: https://www.up.com/customers/ind-prod/private_locomotives/index.htm

News from the NWP closed facebook group: "2472 will be leaving Niles tomorrow [Saturday 02/29] afternoon/evening, due into Schellville early next week." Schellville is on the ex-NWP. It will be accompanied by FM H-12-44 1487 (ex Army or Navy, can't recall) and SP GP-9 3194. It is apparently a special ferry move (read: more expensive) because UP wouldn't allow non-rotating end cap bearings in regular service.

Steve Coon photo from Wednesday.

What is that cable and turnbuckle apparatus on the 2472?

Howard P.

Someone with more knowledge of steam locomotives than me will need to comment, but it looks like it runs along the top of the locomotive and behind the cab, holding a cover of some sort on the stack (Todd Gross photo):

Looks like they have it rigged for rubbing under overhead wires, like what you'd do for moving something big over the highways with low clearance. I can't imagine UP having any situation where low-hanging wires would interfere with a rail move, so ????

I’ll take a guess.... Looks like it’s security for the stack cap, access hatches and cab roof vents. You wouldn’t use metal cable to guide overhead lines. That’s usually something non-conductive like PVC pipe.

Turns out the cables are also used to hold tarps up there: "the cables and wood brackets on top help secure the tarp(s) to protect it against the elements when back in storage." https://www.facebook.com/ggrailroadmuse ... fy_me_page

The three locomotives are at the interchange with the NWP currently, waiting to be picked up. I am told they are being monitored at all times.

Let's see if this works, but the three engines have arrived at their destination of Schellville (click "not now" to see the video):
https://www.facebook.com/alexander.deca ... 757088837/