Ross,

Just curious. How much money would it take to get a certian 4-8-4 (614) back to FRA Standards?

Thanks,

JD Johnson, Morehead and North Fork Railroad Historian

As in any restoration or rebuild you don't really know until you tear into it, but a good educated guess would be somewhere between $350,000-$500,000. This assumes a full time crew of 6 good steam mechanics plus 4 full time helpers, some volunteer assistance and 6 to 9 months to accomplish. When we put her to bed in '99 we did our best to preserve/lubricate everything so when the day came to return her to service she'd be in as good a shape as possible.
We're about to do our annual "go over" where we reapply rust preventative, new tarps, spot paint etc. to fend of nature best we can. So far she's stayed in pretty decent shape all things considered.
Hopefully one day soon there will be reason to return her to service?
Ross Rowland

Double that estimate. You will spend nearly $500,000 just in labor over the 9 months for 10 people. Don't forget that personnel costs include such things as payroll tax, benefits, worker's compensation, etc etc etc. Add to that material, contract services, tools & equipment, etc and you are very quickly at the $750,000 -- $1,000,000 mark.

Now my challenge is to get Mr. Cessna's funding formula applied to her rebuild and do it in a shop at my estimated rates! We'll have to work on that!! Ross Rowland