I'm proud to announce that the Western Railway Museum is the latest to sign onto a project now including 34 railway museums worldwide, the U.S. Navy, Union Pacific, and ZLT GmbH.

As you know, the movement of large historic equipment has become a vexing problem for railway museums, as the mainline railroads become increasingly resistant to special movements.

The folks at Illinois Railway Museum had an idea -- one that would require pulling together museums around the world and from two different branches of industrial preservation, as well as the U.S. Navy and corporate sponsors.

The Navy, you see, controls the mighty blimp hangars of Moffett field, and nothing less could house the project -- a recreation of a Graf Zeppelin.

"It'll be dedicated to moving historic railroad artifacts," said Kick Nallas, director of the project. "By making it out of modern materials and eschewing the passenger accomodations, it has enough disposable lift for a Big Boy or DD40," he said... "or a K-4", he added under his breath. "It mainly uses hydrogen as a lifting gas, for safety. Of course there's no danger in everything catching flames and exploding like a huge helium bomb."

Union Pacific's spokesperson was more direct. "Honestly, it's the only way we think we could ever get our two biggest locomotives back from Kenefick Park in Omaha. Besides, this means we'll never have to move another damn jun -- I mean, we'll never have to risk damage to a precious historic artifact with a high speed movement over modern rails."

The Virginia Musuem of Transportation is thrilled. "The Lost Engines of Roanoke might finally be found - assuming it's capable of lifting them. We really have no idea how heavy the Lost Engines are."

The Western Railway Museum was a skeptical latecomer to the project. "What finally swayed us was the opportunity to fly (quite appropriately, we think) the Boeing LRVs from Manchester, England in a one-shot move. Combined with our existing Boeing #1258, the clown jewel of our collection, this will allow us to create a historically correct operating environment for these cars. Visitors will be passed up by six empty N-Judah cars in a row before their K-Ingleside arrives, then delayed for five minutes while crews futz with couplers. This will provoke nostalgia for San Francisco residents, who miss these cars greatly."

But the Henry Ford Museum was most enthusiastic of all. "It's simply wonderful to hear this announced the day after we sign contracts to move our GG1!"

The competitor to New York Cross Harbor Terminal RR claims that their airship will carry 6 containers or 10 trailers per trip between Jersey City and Long Island. This was a presentation at an early 2007 meeting of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's Goods Movement Task Force.
Maybe their craft could be chartered on weekends, if they ever get the project off the ground?

> Maybe their craft could be chartered on weekends,
> if they ever get the project off the ground?

It's not looking good, the Chinese supplier they hired wasn't actually named "Led Zeppelin" as they originally though, in a tribute to the band, but rather it was called "Lead Zeppelin" and there seem to be some technical difficulties with the lift.

The Mythbusters team has been called in to assist.

The presentation about the New York Harbor airship was actually made. The promoter though it was no more improbable than loading highway vehicles on railroad cars and using a tug boat and barge to get them across. It was cited as an example of how the congestion in the New York area invites unusual solutions. I have not heard what the Securities & Exchange Commisison thinks of any attempt to raise money for the scheme