Ballots were due to the KRM office by the close of business on December 27, 2011. I sent mine via e-mail, but never received a confirmation that it had been received.

Whether the vote to allow the scrapping goes their way or not, I imagine it will be scrapped. With regard to donation, see above post containing an e-mail from KRM's Executive Director saying they can't donate it, but will sell it for approximate scrap value.

A friend of mine is going to attempt to get a photo of it being scrapped if it comes to that.

Hi,

My brother talked with the executive director Tuesday about Seabreeze. After that conversation, they are going to swap another car for Seabreeze. This will be good till march, so right now Seabreeze is safe. KRM will entertain offers on Seabreeze, but due to their financial situation, the time for donating the car has passed. They want scrap price for the car and a preservation plan. Also, if there is equipment that your group is interested in, please contact them.

Stuart

1. So NOW they want a preservation plan?

2. Can we please start a new thread on the car that they are going to scrap instead?

dave

It has been confirmed to me that the KRM Executive Director may have relented to a degree. The Sea Breeze may be boarded up soon, in an attempt to make it secure. I don't know what the "replacement" car will be.

While encouraging, I wonder why the sudden change of heart? I thought the car was deemed beyond repair, and it couldn't be removed from KRM as it was so weak? What about the hundreds of thousands of dollars it would take to repair it? I thought this particular car HAD to be scrapped to save KRM?

I have been informed that the two other cars that are going to be scrapped at KRM instead of the Sea Breeze are as follows:

USA 9636 a 1950s St. Louis Car Company-built Army Kitchen Car. It was used by KRM in the 1980s as the commissary car on mainline excursions, and was partially disassembled on an aborted attempt to turn it into a HEP car.

US Army Troop Kitchen Car, photos by Mr. Dean Levin in the other RYPN post on KRM. It was the wood shop car for many years.

I have also been informed that Mr. Matthews is no longer on the KRM Board of Directors. This change was recent, but he remains as the paid Executive Director.

Stuart Hale, please contact me via a PM, someone at KRM is interested in talking to you.

David

David and the forum....

Here are a few recent pictures taken of the Army Kitchen car at KRM ( taken Septemer 2011 ) ... the car number is 9636.... and I believe, perhaps this is the car in question, as I did not see another Army Kitchen Car when I walked around, unless I somehow missed seeing it....

Just out of curiousity, how was this car selected, among dozens of other candidates that sit and decay....

Thanks for the information, and perhaps you can clarify if it is in fact the 9636 or 9326, however the car photographed is definitely the 9636


Dean Levin

Dean,

It is the car you photographed. You probably mistook the other car for a WWII troop sleeper. Same design, different window configuration. It was parked partially under the "shed" in your photos.

David

David...

so if I understand you, ( not too sure I do ) ...

it is the blue Army St. Louis Car Co 9636 ( shown in posting from 1/2/2012.... and the car shown below, as the two cars KRM is going to scrap in lieu of the Sea Breeze...

just wanted to clarify


Dean

Mr. Levin,

Yes, you are correct, the two cars pictured, both former U.S. Army kitchen cars (from WWII and the 1950s respectively) were chosen to be scrapped instead of NC&STL 714 Sea Breeze. Why these two particular cars, especially when one has a fairly complete wood shop in it, I have no idea.

OK--so the KRM is going to scrap two WWII troop kitchen cars. How rare are these?
I could not find a list of surviving troop cars. I assume there are quite a few out there?

"OK--so the KRM is going to scrap two WWII troop kitchen cars. How rare are these?
I could not find a list of surviving troop cars. I assume there are quite a few out there?"

The St. Louis Car Co. car (blue car) is Korean-war era and are fairly common, though not that many have the original kitchen equipment (Does this one???). In addition to the group that Amtrak acquired and rebuilt to baggage cars there were a fairly large number of others retained by the military that have since began to be sold off or donated. The earlier cars are not all that common.

As troop kitchens they really are of less value to most collections, which would prefer, at least, a troop sleeper. Some of the early kitchen cars were rebuilt as guard cars and equipped with a generator, which some tourist operations have put to use.

Even with one having a wood working shop... the shop can be moved (not easy but it can be moved) and it would make sense to do so... though at least some here would question if "sense" is really coming into play.

Neither car has its original kitchen equipment in it.

The Korean era car was partially stripped in an abortive attempt to turn it into a HEP car.

In other news, it has been reported to me that KRM members will be boarding up the Sea Breeze in the next couple of weeks. The materials have been procured. They are also looking to covering up portions of the roof which are open, and potentially applying a coat of primer or paint to the car to stop any further surface rust.

David

I hate to be the reviver of long dead threads, but does anyone have any updates on KRM, the Sea Breeze, the two (presumably scrapped) cars, or any other endangered equipment? (Eg the Monon homebuilt caboose?)

Tavor -

There was a recent poster on some other thread, who offered to provide current info on the roster of equipment at KRM. I don't recall what thread it was on, but will look for it after I take the dog for her morning walk. In the meantime, perhaps someone else can find the thread and the name of the poster.



Les

Tavor -

Found the thread:

NC&StL box car/Flying Duchess 0-6-0T from England/KRM

The gentleman that offered to furnish info on KRM is Nickf. Hope you can find out from him, what you are looking for.

BTW, one thing you mentioned in your entry was the homebuilt wood Monon caboose. As stated much earlier in this long thread, that caboose had been offered to the Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society. The MRHTS determined that the caboose was beyond their capabilities to restore. Eventually the caboose ended up at the Monon Connection Museum near Monon, Indiana where the owner planned on rebuilding it for display. Since that time however, MRHTS sent a similar wood Monon caboose to the Monon Connection, although the interior of that caboose remains to be replicated. Whether the addition of this restored Monon wood caboose changes the owners plans to rebuild the Monon caboose from KRM, remains to be seen.

Les