Sir Andrew Cook, owner of the 141R 568 located in Switzerland, recently appeared on Bloomberg TV (Europe) with his prized locomotive and restoration story. Mr. Cook is a fascinating man and has a great passion for railroading.

The interview can be found here;

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/choo-cho ... ecasQ.html

It is worth the short watch.

Kindly,

JohnE.

I thought that was pretty funny, as it’s really just an advertisement for the sale of the locomotive.
Must not have been that great an investment for the guy, huh?

I hope it comes to the USA. The 141 locomotives were built just after WWII by several US and Canadian builders for war torn France and became very well received over there. They were among the most modern steam power of their time and were used in Passenger and freight service.

For some time, I have thought it would be great for an international steam museum to be formed in the US with locomotives and rolling stock from France, Germany, England and other countries. If they could operate, so much the better. Of course, US equipment could also be included.

Over the years, beginning with time spent in the US Army in Germany in the late 1960's, I developed an interest in European steam. Many Americans are very provincial regarding rail interests. I found that, in my case, actually experiencing steam in operation over there has broadened my own interests and that many others I talked to feel the same way. Some European engines, such as the French 141 class, French 4-8-2's and German Pacifics, Decapods, and Mikados are very impressive while being light enough to operate virtually anywhere.

Its just a thought and probably won't happen but an International Museum of Steam in the US would be pretty cool, I think.

-JH