One of the better photos I have seen of one of the "Lost Engines":

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8121206@N0 ... 425158@N25

In this case, N&W class W-2 #917. No photos of the 3 Twelve-Wheelers.

Les

It bears repeating here, I've seen park locomotive in worse condition. Note her asbestos is off the boiler. IIRC, this is the last of the N&W 2-8-0's.

Richard -

This, I believe, is the only surviving W class N&W 2-8-0. I believe there are a couple of G or G-1 class N&W 2-8-0's still around; numbers 6 and 7 I think, and maybe one other one. Perhaps someone can help me here.

Les

Hi
For those who are interested here is a link to some more photos of the Lose Engines and rest of the equipment there in Roanoke.
http://andy.wvrps.org/Lost_Engines/

Andrew Martin

What is the piece of equipment in front of the first steam locomotive in line (photo 034)? Actually it appears to be between that first steamer and the first Baldwin diesel, and possibly on the rails.

Les

Hi Les,
I think it is a Flatcar with a square water tank on one end. A friend and myself are going to ride up there next week to get more photos of the equipment from both sides of the fence if possible so if anyone wants specific photos taken let me know . I will try to get those shots and put them up.

Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but Richard Jenkins has posted an update to his "Lost Engines of Roanoke" website:

http://lostengines.railfan.net

The new comments and pix are great, and when compared to what Richard posted originally (when WAS that anyway?), really give a good idea of the actual current condition of this equipment.

Les

I wonder if the flatcar is the boom tender for N&W #514908 in the other Virginia Metals yard in Roanoke. I hope someone gives it a home; if not, I would at least to preserve it's "steam lizard." :)

I forwarded those images to Hume Kading, who graciously posted them in 2001. My son and I went down to Virginia on a Civil War/Steam locomotive odyssey. Hume stitched two of the cab images from the lead locomotive's back head into a large, detailed image. Are those images archived anywhere on RYPN?

I am amazed at the condition of the Lost Engines of Roanoke! Given the number of years that they have been exposed to the weather they look pretty darn good. What they need is a good sandblasting and liberal coats of primer and finish coat and they will make NICE display pieces. If they were from my home RR I would certainly not think twice about saving one if not all of them.
The Baldwin diesels seem to have suffered more, but given the fact that their carbodys are sheet metal that is to be expected. But still; have often do you have the chance to save a rare diesel from a local rr.
Thanks for the photos and stay on top of this effort!
Kevin Kohls

The best moving plan I heard so far on here was to build an earthen ramp with track and load them on rail flat cars. Then they can be moved to VMT!

My first visit to the scrapyard was in August of 1997, and while I didn't get very many good photos (mostly just a few bits of old iron sticking out of the tangle of vines), I did come away from there with the sense that something should be done for those poor old engines, and the idea for the Lost Engines website was born. It has been pointed out to me once or twice that those engines were never really "lost", but I came up with that name for the website because they really looked like lost engines abandoned deep in the woods, although they're just a few blocks away from downtown Roanoke.

I learned very quickly after that first visit that it was best to go back and visit them in the winter when the leaves were gone, but what really made the difference in this last visit was that a lot of brush-cutting was done as part of the asbestos removal work in the last couple years. That, and actually being able to get into the yard and examine the engines up close.

Obviously those things are in rough shape after all this time exposed to the elements, but for the most part they still seem pretty solid and will probably clean up very nicely. The fact that so many of the "missing" parts are still on the ground nearby is also encouraging. I have always thought that many of the larger pieces (smokestacks for example) could be replicated in fiberglass for static display, which would be much cheaper than new steel castings.

The siding that the engines are on already ends in an earthen ramp, since it was the approch to a coal dock. I theory it would be possible to demolish what's left of the coal dock and use the approach as a loading ramp, but the challenge would be getting those old bearings to roll again after nearly 58 years. Now that the yard has been cleared out, getting a truck and a couple of cranes in there might be a simpler proposition.

There is another flatcar sitting with the steam crane in the other yard, which I would assume was the boom tender for the crane, although that one appears to be just a plain flat. I suppose it's possible the two flats might have been swapped at some point.

I will be adding more photos to the website in a couple of weeks. I shot a couple of rolls of slides in addition to the digital pics, and those are still off being processed.

One idea for moving those steam locomotives that hasen't been proposed would be to hire a company like Hulcher who has large dozers with side booms. If they can walk out a 100 ton grain hopper then it should be no problems to walk out the steam locomotives to a site where they could be more easily transported.
No, I don't know what the layout there is like, but if they can move cars that have gone down an embankment then these should be much easier.
I would bet that the side rods would all have to be removed and the journals cleaned and lubed once they hit rail, but it looks like most of the missing items are actually there.
Roanoke needs to find a home for these engines somewhere, then the funding can begin.
Good luck!

Kevin Kohls

Grease the rails and slide the engines down the track to the trucks!

This is probably the cheapest realistic option to get the stuff out of there. The track that the locos are on is disconnected from NS, and most of the ties are memories. However, I think there would be weight and clearance issues with moving the steamers in one piece over the road. Quite simply, there are either bridges or overpasses in any given direction. If someone comes to the rescue before the adjacent mill trackage is removed, a temporary track into a pit makes sense, and dragging them onto flatcars. There are no rail clearance issues to two or three possible storage sites.

Here are a couple of shots taken earlier this week

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=228055

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=227945