O.K. I am in the Springfield Ma area. There are a few potential buildings that could be used for a restoration. I will do my part and do some checking.
Do we have someone who can liason with the city? Do we have someone (attorney) who can get insurance and nonprofit status?

I have 27 years experience as a machinest plus excellent connections in this area. I am ready to put in some sweat equity!!!!!!!! Anyone else????

Restore first we can work out a operation later.

P.M. me if interested (serious people only)

When can we get a meeting going?????????

Regards,
Scott K

Three individual, of which I am one, are currently looking at organizing a new, active, preservation task force. This is not only to paint the old girl, but to possibly move her and get some serious metal fabrication done.
If any readers are located in northern New England and want to be involved in planning, being seriously interested, as in on site getting dirty, cut, burned, donating equipment, etc., either PM Leverett Fernald (BML1149), Scott K., or myself.

No, this isn't a promise, but it is a willingness to get back into the fray. There is enough locomotive left to warrant cosmetic rebuilding and placement under cover. No guarantees except for effort expended.

Don't count me out just yet Richard. If I can get the NRHS chapter up and running soon enough, I'll see if we can take a crack at 470. Might be a bit late to that party...

Putting in my two bits worth from far-off Colorado...

Doesn't look too bad to me at all. It's not rusting away into oblivion as the foamers would want you to believe. Is there some rusting away of flat plate surfaces? Yes--but that is all replaceable. Does that water tank need patching? What park engine doesn't need it's tank patched? Is there surface rust? Yep--but in the short term a coat of Rustoleum black would take care of that. Unless that stack has a cap of some sort to keep the rain and snow out, there might be some trouble at the bottom of the smokebox, but any damage can likely be repaired. Haven't seen any pictures of the cab, so I can't comment there other than to say lost jewelery can be replaced. The interior of the boiler remains a dark secret; it's condition woiuld determine final outcomes. But my not-very-practiced eye tells me that locomotive #470 could be a good candidate for restoration to service with no more trouble than any other locomotive pulled out of a park and overhauled. Ballpark estimate? $850K to $1.5M. Do the foamers and the town back there in Maine know what they really have? I wonder. Sad--but beyond my ability to do anything about it, especially from this distance..

Can it be done, though? Well, consider the museum where I volunteer--the Colorado Railroad Museum. We have had ex-Rio Grande Southern #20 at the Strasburg Rail Road shops for perhaps a decade now (Kelly?). We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it is a train!). I have been told that we are into it for about $1.25M, with the final tab projected to be somewhere around $1.5M. Started the restoration with an anonymous $0.5M gift, and we have raised the rest by the usual long slog. No, we don't when the final funding will be raised or the locomotive will be completed, but the dates really don't matter. All that really matters is the #20 will be back in steam after spending nearly 60 years idle. With patience and determination, it CAN be done.

Mike

For a locomotive with rusted and not-rolling wheels, there is some momentum. But unless we can get a free-hand to work without political oversight, we may hit the derail really quickly. Money is going to be a huge factor. I wouldn't look at her running again in my lifetime, and remember, she was pushed to her initial display site while still hot, and steam was being emitted. To me, that say water remaining in the boiler, and in Maine, that could spell serious trouble.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Putting her under a roof and getting her rotten metal (including the entire tender from frame up) is enough to swallow in one serving. Please continue to post your thoughts, ideas, pledges, estates, etc. If a representative group of knowledgeable people can sit down with the city, we may pull this off, otherwise, tragedy may loom in the air.

Didn't Winston Churchill say "if you're going hell, keep going"? Once you're all set with this group, tell me where to send a donation.
Dylan Lambert

I'm delighted to hear that you're giving the locomotive a fighting chance to survive. Hope that you can form a non profit group so you can accept donations to the cause.

Just a couple of questions: What is the situation with the city in regards to a time frame? Do they want something done immediately or are they willing to wait provided that there is interest in saving the engine?

And secondly, if your group is able to gain ownership of the locomotive (a necessary step IMHO), would that require that it be moved off of city property?

I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor. And keep us posted on how things go.

.

Still hoping to hear from some volunteers here in the North East.

All skill levels would be welcomed.

Working at the Trolley Museum this weekend. Hope to come in Monday to pile of e-mails.

Scott K

Not to dampen enthusiasm, but allow me to offer these facts. There are at least two parties writing restoration plans for submission to the City of Waterville. I am currently working with one of these groups with several ideas in forefront. First, volunteers can needle scale, paint, polish, when the time comes for those chores. Evaluation of the locomotive for possible restoration will be conducted by a steam locomotive savvy contractor, not by volunteers, no matter how enthused or skill they purport to be. Bear in mind, 470 may not be "fixable" as a running steam locomotive. She may be useful as a static display piece only. Work will be conducted indoors, in a shop facility, not outdoors on a siding. Probably the work will happen in Maine as a condition of the acceptance of a proposal.

You enthusiasm is noted and applauded. At some point we'll know if we have a project of not. This will be a long term project, so don't expect to see her steaming in the Spring. Money is the common old bug-a-boo. Heaps of money will be needed. Donations will be accepted once a committee's proposal is accepted, but not before. It may be the one I am currently talking with, perhaps another. If one committee fails, you must get behind the work of another.

Once the locomotive is "fixed" it takes money to operate her, and a cooperative railroad. That is being discussed as well.

Let's not get tied in knots over speculation. If you have connects to Maine, especially in industry, talk to those people about donations and support.

We aren't going away, but for the time being, there is a great deal to be considered and more to learn from. We can only hope for clear track ahead.

There is no doubt that the City of Waterville RFP caught the preservation community here in Maine by surprise. Now its a scramble to play catch-up. That does not mean that there should be a rush of "Quick solutions". Making a mini-dust bowl or going numb and deaf with the needle guns followed by a coat of paint may buy time but in a few years after the intial interest fades along with that new coat of paint we will be right back where we started.

As Richard mentioned there are plans in in the works as this thread lengthens.

What will be needed more than your creating a sandstorm for a day or discovering exactly how black 50 year old grease can be (which is all good fun) is $$$.

Just a thought, but I picked this up from my boss (and good friend) Meri Viano at the Parent/Professional Advocacy League (the statewide children's mental health advocacy group for the state of Massachusetts, I recently interned there, and will be making up hours I missed over this final school year during vacations); "We're a non-profit! Money ain't cheap for us". Go in with that expectation Scott, and hopefully you can keep you expectation from going overly grandiose. That same idea/concept can apply for every 501c(3) organization.