Quite often people speculate on what piece of rolling stock that they think should be restored next. What would you consider the best restoration or the biggest surprise to be restored? And this doesn't have to be limited to locomotives either. Does anyone have a "Top Ten" of restorations?

Regards,

Joshua

The Georgetown Loop and locomotive Number 9 of the Colorado & Southern.

See: http://www.homestaydenver.com/CS9

I was up late last night playing with the world band radio, so I am blanking on the specifics, but I'll do the best I can. In no particular order

-The Rogers 2-4-2 that was restored in New Zeland after spending years in a flood wall.

-Anything that spent time in the Barry scrapyards, extra points if it was missing major parts such as cylinders, drivers, rods, etc.

-Seeing the William Mason run again at the B&O museum

-The Chicago and West Towns streetcar restoration at IRM

-Speaking of IRM, the C&NW commuter train. I never thought riding to work would look so good.

- A couple of the more recent coach restorations at Mid-Continent, including the one with Miller hook couplers.

-CP 4-6-4 2816, after sitting for years at Steamtown, many of them without a front truck, she is now a good corporate ambassador.

-Including corporate ambassadors, the UP steam, executive, and heritigate diesel fleet.

-SP 4449, after all these years, still quite the stunning locomotive.

-L&N 152. Even though I no longer live in Kentucky, the KRM still holds a special place in my heart at the place where I first became involved in historic railway preservation.

I would like to say our project, but hands down you would have to say the effort to recreate the WW&F Railway in Maine.

David, Thanks for including the IRM in your votes. On a par with the West Towns car, and complete and running, is Chicago Surface Lines 3142, taking a stripped body to an accurate complete car in over a decade of work, including sourcing motors from Alexandria Egypt. This car was recently used by LGB for a large scale trolley model, although the model is of New Orleans, and only painted to represent a Chicago Car.

A similar effort on the now fine looking North Shore Electroliner set which has run intermittently after the exterior was completed. Alas, the expense of motor reconditioning has limited it to slow moves for switching only. But that was a massive effort to undo the Liberty Liner conversion.

I expect a wide spectrum of votes on this topic since in many cases, only someone involved in the effort can or could appreciate the hopeless cases at starting. So, everyone may have a top vote getter in their experience, and that is not less valid than 'spectator' votes.


Bob Kutella

Seeing David's list got me thinking a little bit. Both L&N 4-6-2 #152 at KRM and SLSF 2-10-0 #1630 at IRM were restored to service by their respective museums. But the Pacific has a tender off of an L&N 4-8-2 (even though the ex-GM&O tender that it ended its regular L&N service with is still on hand) whereas IRM restored the "cut down, clear vision" tender on its Russian Decapod to look like it did when it was on service on the Frisco. The question is, although both locomotives are beautiful, does IRM get "more points" for its restoration of the 2-10-0's tender and does KRM "lose some points" for its keeping a "long distance" tender even though the 4-6-2 is now restricted just to the museums own trackage? Just wondering.

Les

P.S. GO BEARS!!!

I'm trying to think of exactly how to qualify the success of some of the potential nominees. For example, I would definitely call both 4449 and 261 prime examples of success--not only running, but running often and all over. Ditto the longevity of the UP steam/heritage diesel program and the long run of Southern/NS steam.

Perhaps the best standard I would rate with, however, is the "Wotthe..... no way in h***!" factor, in which a project or event comes to fruition that in many or most quarters would have only been fantasized about or proposed in a drunken stupor. The K88 restoration in New Zealand falls squarely into that category, as would/will the many locomotive reconstruction projects currently underway in Britain (LNER A1 Pacific, BR "Clan" Pacific, GWR "Saint" 4-6-0, and others). The WW&F in Maine is pretty close, although not quite in that league; ditto Amtrak-certified PRR E8's running so often they almost bore us! Maybe resurrecting the Welsh Highland with African Garretts would rate there, too. If a rumored sheltered collection in the Midwest ever gets a chance to come out into the public eye and the rumors are true, what's in there would definitely fit the "Wottheh***?!?" category.

In my own personal book, however, I'd rate the day in 2002 when two preserved BR "Deltic" 100-mph passenger diesels, both owned by the same group, roared past each other at track speed south of Retford on their home turf of the East Coast Main Line. The one excursion had been planned long in advance; the other had been planned with other motive power which had to be withdrawn, with the other mainline Deltic substituted at the last minute. One would have to imagine two PRR GG1's passing at speed on the Northeast Corridor, or two pairs of AT&SF Alco PA's passing in California, or a Burlington Zephyr passing a CB&Q commuter train between Chicago and Aurora, or a California Zephyr meeting a quartet of WP F-units........

The reopening of the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway by the freight carrier, Carrizo Gorge Railway, who were a bunch of crazy dreaming railfans, pulled off the impossible on the Impossible Railway. You could have gotten long odds and good money from me if we could have bet on that one!

In spite of the Bears loss, my vote goes to Chicago's native son, John Smatlak for his passion for Bamberger RR #127 Bullet Car. The trucks were fabricated from something only similar and the motors going in those trucks are coming from Sydney, Australia. Seats came from somewhere else too. The list goes on, but you get the idea. It's not finished yet, does it still qualify?

The replication, based on sketchy information and photographs, of Jupiter and 119.

dave

My vote would be for TVRM's wheel lathe. This machine was left unprotected in the elements for almost two decades and was a mountain of rust and a pile of loose parts. It almost became 75 tons of scrap metal.

Our 610 was also nothing but a boiler shell on a set of driving wheels (the USATC had just dismantled it when the orders came to get ride of the steamers).

folks,

i will chime in for the traction side of preservation:

Cleveland 1227 running after 20 years of work at the Seashore Trolley Museum

A new state of the art Car Barn at Pennsylvania Trolley Museum protects 35 cars.

Restoration of over 5 miles of track and trolley overhead wire by the Western Railway Museum.

Restoration of threel wooden Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Interurban cars at the Illinois railway Museum.

Heavy rebuilding of three Pacific Electric "Blimps"
at Orange Empire Railway Museum.

Rebuilding of Wheeling 39 from a stripped car body at Seashore Trolley Museum.

Just in case you think I don't appreciate the steam side; the WW&F Museum in Alna, Maine.

Ted Miles

Well, I can't quite believe that this hasn't been mentioned:

The restoration of the Eureka & Palisades 4-4-0 done privately by Dan Markoff. AND, its subsequent running on various narrow gauge lines for the enjoyment of the public!

And come to think of it, the restoration of the Flagg Coal Co. 0-4-0T #75, also done privately by John Gramling and his son Byran. And ITS subsequent running on various standard gauge operations from Pt. Huron on the north down to Florida on the south.

There has been a lot of criticism over the years of privately held pieces of equipment and their subsequent deterioration. Much of this criticism is justified but here are two cases where privately held equipment HAS been restored effectively!

Les

Anyone else want a challenge?

There's a nearly identical wheel lathe in Baltimore up for grabs, equally sitting outside for two decades and ready to become 75 tons or so of scrap. Yours for the scrap metal value.

Contact me or the Baltimore Streetcar Museum for details, photos, etc. Close enough to live rail to ship out on a flat car if needed.

Thank you, Ted. Your check's in the mail.

But I must be honest enough to admit that three interurban cars are still much less work than one major steam locomotive.