http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_18515722?s ... ost_viewed



Thanks to another forum member for the tip to this article.

I don't know if these two modernized heavyweight coaches are worth saving or not, but those movement costs are grossly inflated. If you're paying more than $20,000.00 (including cost of a crane at each end) to move a passenger car by highway, then you're not shopping around. And you should be able to do it for much less than $20,000.00 per car if you're only going a fairly short distance - say in the 100 mile range.

Now $20,000.00 per car is still a lot of money, but it's a heck of a lot less than $50,000.00 to $60,000.00 per car.

Having been to this place many times, I can chime in:

The cars, to the best of my recollection, were gutted, with little to no hardware. Great if you're building a restaurant or dinner train; bad if you want to preserve.

The cars were former B&O heavyweights rebuilt with lightweight profile. Many of these kind of rebuilds were saved in the 1970s by several places, among them Railroad Passenger Cars of Baltimore, an enthusiast group that wanted to preserve a trainset for use behind mainline steam. Only 1-2 of these cars survive today, as far as I know; several others succumbed to rot, neglect, and/or sheer disinterest. I don't think these conversions were exactly masterpieces of craftsmanship.

The cars were next to active rail, but as anyone who was ever there will attest, they were really "wedged in" on a small-footprint property between Main Street and the railroad. There wasn't a lot of room for someone to run a crane and load up a trailer unless you loaded them on the railroad on the wheels (yeah, right--with CSX?) or on flatcars.

More photos:

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=2601547 (That sidewalk to the left is the sidewalk to US Rt. 30, a two-lane street in town.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dtisd38/3008416527/ (Looks across Rt. 30)

Sad? Heck, yes, especially to modelers who got their stuff there. Surprising? Sadly, no.

Too bad there was so little notice; I know someone who has been looking for B&O 19F trucks and/or parts from same for a few years. And he has checks that don't bounce...

Howard P.

Have him make some frantic phone calls NOW. The trucks are always the last thing to go. If someone pays my gas, I'm willing to drive up TODAY and negotiate frantically. (I have some use in going to nearby York.)

I'm a little surprised to see this given that there is a depot museum with a PRR-lettered 4-wheel bobber caboose and a RPO sitting directly across the street (US 30). Who owns that? Seems that would have been a good home for at least one of the cars, and more exhibit space for the depot museum. One would think that one or both cars might have been offered to that group.

Then again, even if they were offered one or both cars, the depot museum group may already have more than they can handle.

Or, maybe it was a management thing, as in a case where a HW car was offered to the local "history" museum for free, including the move across town to the museum's display track. The museum executive director refused to accept the donation...didn't even take it to the Board of Directors...because he saw no value in it and had no vision to see future use in the railroad artifacts collection even if there wasn't an immediate use. All he could see was the $20,000 estimate for the sheetmetal work to patch it and paint it to make the car usable...so the car was sold to a private party who got the railroad to move it about 40 miles away and then scrapped it...asbestos and all...

I spent a lot of time (and money) in those coaches over the years. It got so bad that on my trips back from Hagerstown, via Rt 30, I had to leave my wallet in my car! Sad to see the shop and cars go away.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Points to consider:

The cars had already been gutted, as I recall--I think the term I've heard with respect to RBB&B and Verde Canyon RR cars is "bulldozed end to end."

The cars were B&O, but the trackage is all Western Maryland up that way.

I drove by those cars just a month ago and noticed they looked vacant.

Greg Dahbura at Hub Scrap is a young man who is aggressively seeking out old railroad equipment for dismantling. He has found an asbestos contractor who will work with him so he is not afraid to tackle jobs that other scrap dealers shy away from. Greg is a businessman, but he is willing to wheel and deal if you want parts. He worked with me on a trade that allowed us to dispose of a couple of old heavyweight hulks in exchange for a coach, and we were both satisfied with the terms. Contact information is on the website: http://www.hub-scrap.com

Alan Maples
Everett Railroad

Greg is definitely a good guy.

If you want something from the cars, CALL HIM NOW.

Looking at the Hub website, it appears that this company scrapped the two Alco MRS-1s that were part of Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum.

Howard P.

Long story mercifully short, we have confirmed that at least one of these cars has the desired 19F trucks.

A parts rescue mission is in progress.

Im no B&O 19F truck expert but the trucks on both cars looked identical except for the brand of bearings. Same casting numbers and what-not. There certainly were a few scroungers shifting through the ruble while I was there.

Of the four trucks, only two had ID plates/numbers: one was a 20 and one a 19F. Yes, I went there to check, on behalf of someone else. In 120-degree heat-index weather, yes.

I'm leaving it to the maintenance experts, potential buyers, and rivet-counters to tell the difference.

For the record, incidentally, the party in question only seeks specific parts, not entire trucks. If anyone needs other stuff--wheels, brackets, springs-equalizers, etc.--for these B&O-proprietary trucks, contact me by PM ASAP. (Heck, I should have taken a screwdriver to that "WATCH YOUR STEP" sign.....)

I did take a screw driver....and a wrench...and the owner unlike the other vultures hehe. Still wasn't able to get that "Watch your step" sign The bolts were bent sideways in the back and no sawzall in sight. Can someone please explain the difference in the 19F and 20? Now I'm interested.