Just a good photo of the two former Chesapeake Western Baldwin diesels rusting in the Roanoke scrapyard, along with the N&W steamers.

http://lostengines.railfan.net/cw-1.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org

> Just a good photo of the two former
> Chesapeake Western Baldwin diesels rusting
> in the Roanoke scrapyard, along with the
> N&W steamers.
Has anyone heard anything new on the fate of the Lost Engines?

LL675@aol.com

I don't know that SMS really needs these particular units, but they don't look much worse than some the company has rebuilt in the past.
I've only seen them from a distance, but I'm told that major components are intact and the rust is superficial. Of course they were pretty much worn out when N&W sent them to the scrapyard.
mw

p_michael_warren@yahoo.com

> Has anyone heard anything new on the fate of
> the Lost Engines?

I'll let Andrew give all of the good details so far, but I'll say that they are safe where they are for the time being. We've already had one meeting with the executors of the estate and the meeting went well. It's going to be a long process, but things are moving in the right direction and at a pace that we are equipped to deal with right now. Slow!!

Mike
The Western Virginia Railroad Preservation Soc.

yenko117@yahoo.com

Hi all
Here is a picture of the 662 in opreation.
I will post more in a while on the status of how things are progressing with the Steam and Diesel engines in the Roanoke scrapyard.
Andrew Martin
TWVRPS

CW RR Baldwin # 662
amartin@wlu.edu

Actually, I don't miss the point at all. An historic site as large as Steamtown is a complex operation at best with a high overhead/maintenance budget that probably rivals (or exceeds) salaries. Think about how expensive it is to maintain operation equipment and facilities and you'll understand what I mean really quick Mr. Observer.

By the way, all national parks are taking an substantial budget cut this year. Gettysburg reported that they have a $6M decrease in their budget this FY.

> Frank J. misses the point about Steamtown.
> The place gets a lot of money when you think
> about the number of visitors it gets. They
> have a large percentage of the paid staff
> that is mananagement, much of which appears
> to be superflous. The point is that they are
> not making decisions that are in the best
> interests of the park, the visitors, and
> especially the taxpayer.

The only reason I don't get to Bonsal more often is because it's such a long drive -- close to four hours. Every couple years a few of us from SCRM get together and head up there to see how they've done up there.

There are a few little details about Bonsal that make me grumble sometimes, but they're all just minor philosophical things. For example, I'd take the excursion train all the way to the north end of the runaround track to give the passengers more of a ride instead of pulling just past the south switch. I also wish they were open more than just once a month -- but then I wish WE were open more than TWICE a month, too. They're landlocked, which has to be a real pain for them.

Last I heard, they were using the steamer as their yard goat. Since they don't have a runaround track at the Bonsal end, they leave the train on the main, pull the road engine into the yard, then go out with a yard engine and pull the train into the platform area. Then the road engine comes back out and couples on for the next trip north. So you only get steam up into the depot, the bulk of the trip is diseasle. I've heard a rumour that they're letting the 17 out on the main now, don't know if it's true or not.

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@msmgmt.com