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| Future Preservation Project (Iron Range Ore Cars) https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31588 |
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| Author: | J3a-614 [ Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Future Preservation Project (Iron Range Ore Cars) |
Looks like the former DM&IR has replaced much of its ore car fleet recently: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 5&nseq=147 It is interesting to look at how closely these new cars resemble the old ones: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 7&nseq=149 http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 4&nseq=158 A characteristic of bulk operations (coal, ore, some petroleum products) is the use of large numbers of similar if not identical cars, suggesting a simulation of a coal train or an ore train should be fairly long. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 4&nseq=252 I know it would be financially challenging in any time, and especially today, but has any effort been made to preserve enough ore cars to properly simulate an ore train? I mention this because I don't think we have enough vintage coal cars to couple behind a (dreamed about) resteamed 1218, or even a C&O 2-8-4 or a B&O USRA 2-8-2 for even a short train, much less one that would even give the impression of a train that just runs out of sight because of its length. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 4&nseq=325 About the only heritage railroad I know of that could pull this off would be the narrow-gauge East Broad Top--and for a variety of reasons, these trains are abbreviated, too. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 01&nseq=48 http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 1&nseq=181 Does anyone think this important enough to pursue it, and do they have the resources for it? Like so many things, the time grows short for this: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 4&nseq=278 |
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| Author: | Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:13 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Future Preservation Project (Iron Range Ore Cars) |
As both a prototype and a cautionary tale, I offer up the British Rail "Windcutters": http://homepage.ntlworld.com/foxfield/b ... wagons.htm This page is from a website for the Foxfield Railway, a recreation of a thoroughly industrial coal pit. I will call to your attention the Great Central train set mentioned. In the late 1990s, aware that the ongoing privatization of British Rail meant major "house-cleaning" and a shift from what few 16-ton mineral wagons were left to MGR ("merry-go-round," the colloquial tern for unit trains over there) hoppers/gondolas, a group affiliated with the Great Central Railway took the initiative to raise up the price of a 40-car train. At the time, I recall that the wagons were selling for some absurd price of £100 or £250 apiece--basically the cost of a good photo freight charter. The cost was easily and quickly raised, and the GCR, which is practically an intercity mainline with double track, made room for this train. It's become as much a "feature" of the GCR as the restored hoppers are of the EBT Fall Spectaculars. Now, the downsides: After a dozen years or so, some of the original covenantors of the Windcutters had died or advanced in age, and the trainset was looking shabby and neglected, to the point where the GCR had to threaten to scrap the set to get new blood to come in and paint the cars, renew the bearing oil, etc. The set is still there, though I'm a little hesitant to actually call them "preserved" (just as with the freight cars the Western Maryland Scenic RR has acquired--there's nothing keeping them from scrapping them if times get tough). The other problem is simple: The American cars are MUCH bigger, even the ore jennies. The British wagons held 16 tons and weighed perhaps six to eight tons themselves. The older DMIR ore jennies weigh on the order of 23-24 tons empty, so you're competing for 3-4 times more value with the scrapper. If CN isn't feeling benevolent, this is now a VERY expensive proposition for minimal return. Still, it's a worthwhile endeavor. Perhaps someone could do a fundraiser with the photo freight specialists out there (paging Messrs. Franz and Lerro!)? Convince CN to sell the cars for $250-500 each, run a six-month "Buy a Jenny" campaign, and have the buyers treated to two photo freights using the cars? |
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| Author: | rjenkins [ Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Future Preservation Project (Iron Range Ore Cars) |
Besides raising the money to save the cars from the scrappers, there are a few other things to consider with preserving enough of these classic ore cars to put together a plausible-length train for a photo charter. Where would they be stored? Not only would a long siding be needed, but open-top hoppers have a tendency to deteriorate quickly when left outdoors in a northern climate, while indoor storage for a train like that would be nearly impossible to find. Where would it run? Pretty much the only appropriate and likely venue I can think of would be the North Shore Scenic. I'd have a hard time imagining CN hosting a photo charter like this on Proctor Hill or the lines up to the Iron Range. What would pull it? These cars date back to the steam era, but the chances of a DM&IR Yellowstone running again are about as slim as those of a UP Big Boy, and none of the other remaining DM&IR big steam (a pair of 2-10-2's, an 0-10-2, and a 2-8-2, plus the B&LE 2-10-4 which never ran on the Missabe but several scrapped sisters did) are a whole lot more likely to run again either, and all of them are now well outside of DM&IR territory anyway. Historically, the DM&IR did interchange ore cars with the Northern Pacific in Superior, so at the risk of letting my inner foamer show, I could also mention SP&S 539, formerly NP 1762. She never saw ore service on the NP but most of her W-3 class sisters did as they ran out their last miles on the Lake Superior Division. I'm not holding my breath on that one though. On the other hand, the NP pooled its ore operations with the Soo Line, so the only steam candidate that seems even remotely likely and historically plausible would be Soo Line 1003. What about the classic high-nosed SD's that replaced steam on the DM&IR? A handful of those survive on the Birmingham & Southeastern, and a few others are scattered around the country (most of them sporting chopped noses these days). Even the SD38's and converted tunnel motors are dropping like flies lately. The LSRM/North Shore Scenic have a chop-nosed SD18 and SDM (SD9 rebuild), but as far as I know, these are the only Missabe diesels in preservation. |
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| Author: | J3a-614 [ Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Future Preservation Project (Iron Range Ore Cars) |
Future episodes of "Future Preservation Project:" Trailer Train flats from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1960s: Will we have enough to simulate a TV train or an early intermodal train? Articulated Container Cars: Will we have enough to simulate an early double stack train? 100-ton Hopper Cars: Will we have enough to simulate an early unit train? :-) |
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