The PRR MP54 at strasburg railroad museum is being scrapped. Does anybody know why??

> The PRR MP54 at strasburg railroad museum is
> being scrapped. Does anybody know why??

You mean there was enough left of it to be scrapped? Are you sure it doesn't just *look* like it's in the middle of being scrapped?

My brazen assumption (I know no-theeng...... NO-THEENG.....), based on its condition over the decades of open storage, is that the experts at the RR Museum of Pa. made the determination that acquisition of another MP54 from another source (there were several in nearby Avondale and at the Wilmington & Western in various stages of use or decay, all far better than the one at the RRMPa) would be a more expedient measure than trying to restore a heaping mass of iron oxide.


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

No its definitely being dismantled. We visited during free day yesterday and it was off the turntable near the road, with windows missing and other parts completely stripped. One of the tour guides said it was contaminated with PCBs and had to go.

> You mean there was enough left of it to be
> scrapped? Are you sure it doesn't just
> *look* like it's in the middle of being
> scrapped?

> My brazen assumption (I know no-theeng......
> NO-THEENG.....), based on its condition over
> the decades of open storage, is that the
> experts at the RR Museum of Pa. made the
> determination that acquisition of another
> MP54 from another source (there were several
> in nearby Avondale and at the Wilmington
> & Western in various stages of use or
> decay, all far better than the one at the
> RRMPa) would be a more expedient measure
> than trying to restore a heaping mass of
> iron oxide.

> No its definitely being dismantled. We
> visited during free day yesterday and it was
> off the turntable near the road, with
> windows missing and other parts completely
> stripped. One of the tour guides said it was
> contaminated with PCBs and had to go.

I would suggest that you e-mail them at info@rrmuseumpa.org and ask. The museum will happily respond to a direct inquiry but is unlikely to answer your question on a public forum like this one.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> I would suggest that you e-mail them at
> info@rrmuseumpa.org and ask. The museum will
> happily respond to a direct inquiry but is
> unlikely to answer your question on a public
> forum like this one.

If the issue involves PCB's and a state agency? What are you smoking, Erik, I want some!

Seriously, the Museum might--and indeed, should, if the inquiry is made by a state resident or some media representative--at least reply that they are scrapping the car. If the actual issues involved are indeed PCBs, asbestos, or something else of that ilk, please do not be deluded into thinking that they're going to freely hand out what would amount to an excuse for someone ten miles downwind to claim cancer from exposure to PCBs, asbestos, etc. and go after the "unlimited" coffers of "the commonwealth" through a lawsuit.

I am in no way alleging that the RR Museum of Pa. is involved in some massive coverup conspiracy. I'm perfectly willing to wager that the car had simply deteriorated beyond hope of salvation. It's simply a tragic reflection of the era we live in, where the driver of a bus or streetcar involved in an accident is forced to lock down the vehicle and await transit police to register the vehicle's occupants, lest 175 people try to claim injury for an accident on a bus that holds 50.


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

My only point is that the most efficient way to get an official answer--of whatever nature--is to ask the museum directly.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> My only point is that the most efficient way
> to get an official answer--of whatever
> nature--is to ask the museum directly.

And I'm just pointing out that the "official" answer at times has little or naught to do with reality--as I've found out for myself several times, and not just from rail preservation efforts/stories.

I once heard from a reporter who had asked a well-known rail-preservation site about a grand-scale mishap that had occurred--of which the result of a railroad car or two through a fence, across a sidewalk and street, and into a parked automobile. The reporter alleged that the official of the site in question flatly and consistently denied the incident even happened--in spite of local residents' photos and videos, the freshly-repaired fence, the wheel gouges in the asphalt, and the damaged car!!


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

Having scrapped a few MP-54's in my day, I clearly remember the PCB's were contained in the transformers, under the car. Seems to me it cost about $3000 each, in those days, to have the transformers lawfully removed and disposed of at an approved landfill.

> And I'm just pointing out that the
> "official" answer at times has
> little or naught to do with reality--as I've
> found out for myself several times, and not
> just from rail preservation efforts/stories.

Call me credulous, but I always prefer to start by addressing my question to the organization itself, and only if the response raises some further questions in my mind, proceeding with additional inquiries.

eledbetter@rypn.org

I thought the MP54 cars did not have oil filled transformers? It's been about 20 years since I checked one over close.

Tom