as promised: N&W 1218 pics from last weekend

Chris · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:14 pm

Sorry for the delay in posting these pics, just got back to my office this-morning.

Enjoy!

-C

1218 pics
cshelton@hotmail.com

Chris · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 2:40 pm

hmm...
Too many hits on the site.
sorry to everyone who's trying to access these.
Will try to set up a webshots or something to allow for more bandwidth.
-C

> Sorry for the delay in posting these pics,
> just got back to my office this-morning.

> Enjoy!

> -C

cshelton@hotmail.com

RH · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:01 pm

Well I can see them, nice shots. The old girl is looking pretty good; it's just a shame there is no smoke coming out the stack. The shots of 1218 put me in mind of the thread on UP steam; thank God for UP's steam program. 1218 was NS's 3985 and we all know what happened there. After a decade of sitting in pieces we can just be happy 1218 is restored with some dignity; though I think we all know she will never run again, and that it didn't have to be that way. UP may only support their own steam, but at least they support it.

Al Patterson · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:18 pm

I saw them too. Great shots. Thanks!

Must be too many hits at the same time, not total per month?

> hmm...
> Too many hits on the site.
> sorry to everyone who's trying to access
> these.
> Will try to set up a webshots or something
> to allow for more bandwidth.
> -C

acp19809@yahoo.com

Richard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:34 pm

Very nice photos of the loco in preservation. Just curious, does anyone know if all her innard parts remain with the loco? Are they inside the boiler? How much of her boiler remains intact? Is the loco simply a hollow tube at this point? She looks good. Thank God she's safe and undercover. Kind of hard to accept that she was operable and shut down in mid-rebuild.

glueck@maine.edu

David M. Wilkins · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2003 9:18 pm

Is that the N&W Dynamometer car behind the 1218? Is it just a shell, or does it still contain its testing equipment. Besides the 611 and 1218, which other pieces of equipment did VMT decide to place under cover? What is the condition of those pieces? By the way, the whole project looks great, and a big hats off to VMT for making it happen.

david.wilkins@bardstown.com

Dave Stephenson · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2003 6:53 am

From what I saw, the grates are in the tender, the boiler is essentially empty except for the tube sheets. The rear engine pistons are removed. The cab interior lacks some of the gages. But from the ground, she looks very impressive, which is what counts at this point. Public doesn't care about the details, only the overall impression (which is as awe-inspiring as ever). I'm just glad she survived and is under roof. VMT and NRHS Roanoke will likely continue with the cosmetic restoration as time and $ permit.

BTW, Chris, thanks for the photos. What time were you at VMT? Looks like I'm in one of the pix (back view).

Bob Yarger · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2003 6:57 am

Some interior firebox photos here:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=10&i=9397&t=9397
ryarger@rypn.org

Chris · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:04 am

> Is that the N&W Dynamometer car behind
> the 1218?

Yes, the dyno is behind 1218 and still has all of its parts, although they are kinda spread around right now. When I was a student at Virginia Tech I volunteered on the restoration crew for about 3 years, and the interior of the testing room has been stripped and sanded. The last thing I did there with the other guys was staining the instrument room coupola. Fast forward 4 years, they haven't touched it since I last worked on it besides "cleaning" up the car so it can sit with the doors open. But there are way more pressing things to work on than the inside of the dyno.

>Besides the 611 and 1218, which other pieces of
> equipment did VMT decide to place under
> cover?
Under the cover:
N&W 2-8-0 #6: directly beside 1218.
Virginian 0-8-0 #4
NKP 2-8-4 #763
N&W wood caboose, behind #6
CW & seaboard switcher units (sorry, not a diesel fan)
Virginian electric
N&W RS-3 #300
C&O GP9
N&W GP9 #521: freash coat of tuscan red
the saftey car turned movie room is behind 611
can't remember the rest.

Things OUTSIDE of the cover:
N&W SD45 #1776: yes its been painted.
NKP GP7or9
NKP bay window caboose.
N&W Alco C-636 #1135
PRR GG1
assorted freight cars

I'm sure there is stuff that I'm forgetting to place on this list..

>What is the condition of those pieces?
By far the worst pieces are the old steam engines. (VGN 0-8-0, N&W 2-8-0, NKP 2-8-4)

Everything else looked good, although some pieces needed some touch up work. Overall I was very impressed with the condition of the museum. When I left to move to DC we were still lugging our own tools up to the museum every weekend to get the work done...

cshelton@hotmail.com