Assuming preservation groups could gain legal access with permission to remove materials, there are still opportunities that should be considered at this site.

When viewing the conditon of the equipment in the pictures posted of the Mayfield yard, its easy to write it all off as hopeless. The one thing I see in a rotten wooden coach is a hidden cache of hardware (latches, grab irons, fittings, draft gear, trucks etc) that could be the last piece of the puzzle on a restoration project elswhere in the country.

True, there isn't much glory in coming home with a box (dumpster?)of hardware and worse it would tedious to sort through and catalogue it, but you would end up with stuff that can be bartered for between preservation groups for other needed material.

In an earlier thread the benefits were noted regarding saving the contents of a derelict boxcar from Steamtown. Could Mayfield yard be another source?

Food for thought.

Mike

cottagebound@hotmail.com

> Assuming preservation groups could gain
> legal access with permission to remove
> materials, there are still opportunities
> that should be considered at this site.

Agreed. I found the X-29 boxcars particularly interesting, and if they were closer one would make an excellent stand in for an ex-PRR car acquired by the Georgia Northern, one of 2 GN Ry revenue cars I am aware of that were of PRR heritage.

Has anyone besides me tried to find a good pair of friction bearing trucks lately? There is a 50-ton car here in Albany in desparate need of preservation (ex CofG) but no trucks seem to be available. I cannot convince anyone we should acquire the car if I cannot find trucks for it. We recently acquired what may be the last intact ACL Class O-25 boxcar body, but will have to sacrifice the worst of 4 Class O-27 boxcars we already have in order to preserve the O-25 car. I don't have anything else to sacrifice for the CofG car.

There are a number of salvagable parts there, if they can be accessed. Too bad they are so far away from SW Georgia.



ssyfrett@bellsouth.net

> Assuming preservation groups could gain
> legal access with permission to remove
> materials, there are still opportunities
> that should be considered at this site.

Mike,
This is a good idea, But, Mr. Bauman, whose property in which the Mayfield equipment has resided for the last 50 years, is not the friendliest person on earth. He does not like to have people wandering around his property. If you offer him $$ for his "scrap metal", you may be surprised to find he wants to be one of the wealthiest scrap dealers on earth. I think he knows what kind of valuable artifacts he has there in the woods and he is willing to wait for the big bucks to have it removed.

Bruce


trainhead@mymail.emcyber.com

Add the opportunites the list of 15 or so boxcars a few miles north in Carbondale.

Also, one of the most appealing opportunities in the Baumann yard are the anthracite mine cars and engines. I recall somewhere in there a pile of mine cars about 15 feet hight. All the wood was shot, but who cares? The mines made the car sides of wood so they could be easily replaced. As you mention, it is the metal work that one would want, and it is all still there.

As Frank Perdue put it, "Parts is parts!"

Rob

rdavis@rypn.org

A Happy Easter and Joyous Passover to all....

A few thoughts on the Mayfield collection without getting into the "Aren't Scrap Merchants Odd" debate...

I believe George Bauman, the owner of the scrapyard for so many years has passed on. He was at one time in possession of the Carbondale Roundhouse area and the Lehigh Coal 0-6-0T steamer therein as well as the Mayfield yard.

Some time after his passing, a Father and Son team of John and Bryon Gramling owners a similar tank engine (an 0-4-0T) approached his widow about obtainling parts for their restoration. While they were told the engine would not be parted out, they would be able to purchase the whole engine, which they did so for a reasonable sum. The engine is now in Ashley Indiana under restoration, while the 0-4-0 restored as Flagg Coal #75 is now on exhibit at the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, if I have my facts right.

Long story short, it my not be impossible to get some worthwhile parts from Mayfield. That wooden coach is clearly gone, but trucks and draft gear as well as other components remain. The boxcars seemed relatively decent as well.

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

> A Happy Easter and Joyous Passover to
> all....

> A few thoughts on the Mayfield collection
> without getting into the "Aren't Scrap
> Merchants Odd" debate...

> I believe George Bauman, the owner of the
> scrapyard for so many years has passed on.
> He was at one time in possession of the
> Carbondale Roundhouse area and the Lehigh
> Coal 0-6-0T steamer therein as well as the
> Mayfield yard.

> Some time after his passing, a Father and
> Son team of John and Bryon Gramling owners a
> similar tank engine (an 0-4-0T) approached
> his widow about obtainling parts for their
> restoration. While they were told the engine
> would not be parted out, they would be able
> to purchase the whole engine, which they did
> so for a reasonable sum. The engine is now
> in Ashley Indiana under restoration, while
> the 0-4-0 restored as Flagg Coal #75 is now
> on exhibit at the Michigan State Trust for
> Railway Preservation, if I have my facts
> right.

> Long story short, it my not be impossible to
> get some worthwhile parts from Mayfield.
> That wooden coach is clearly gone, but
> trucks and draft gear as well as other
> components remain. The boxcars seemed
> relatively decent as well.

> Dave Crosby

Dave: Much of the equipment at Mayfield seems to be old NYO&W stuff. Does this also apply to the boxcars? Or does anyone know their heritage if not New York, Ontario & Western?

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, IN)

midlandblb@cs.com

Les,

There are Fruit Grower's reefers at the Mayfield site. At the Carbondale site, the boxcars are from a vairy of roads including Burlington.

I have not been able to ID the other cars in Dave's pictures, mostly for a lack of time when I get up that way.

Rob

> Dave: Much of the equipment at Mayfield
> seems to be old NYO&W stuff. Does this
> also apply to the boxcars? Or does anyone
> know their heritage if not New York, Ontario
> & Western?

> Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad
> Museum/North Judson, IN)


rdavis@rypn.org

Hello Les

Rob is right, there are freight cars from various roads in both places. The standard 40 footers are undetermined, I could not decipher any lettering at all. I wrote B&O on the slide of the X-29 type cars, for some reason, I think I saw shadows of B&0 on the sunlit side of the cars.

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net