What is the status of the D&H Sharks?

It's been a long time since I've heard about Shark sightings in Michigan!
I think we've all at one time and place inquired as the the whereabouts and status of the D&H RF-16 Sharks, though I do not remember seeing the subject, at least recently, being discussed on RYPN.

Last I read, they were under lock and key, behind closed doors and sealed from all eyes in Michigan at the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad.

Rumor states that a few too many unruley fans pushed the owners over the edge and since then, the pair of Sharks have been locked up ever since. Not just from public eyes, but the world.

A search on Railpictures will yield a few photos when they looked great in the late 70's and a few more when they were starting to deteriorate in the 80's.

In addition to inquiring about the status of the engines... I've often wondered why the current owners have kept them hidden for decades and even more so, wondered why no railroad magazine editor has sucessfully been able to get a ticket inside and run a story and perhaps share some pictures of the only 2 surviving Sharks in the US.

/Mitch

My understanding is that they are both in the same place they have been for the last few decades, doing the same thing they have for the last few decades. So I guess that is about the extent of the story. I heard that both units have mechanical problems, and with the demise of many export Baldwins since the 1970s there are few sources for replacement parts now other than taking parts off other Baldwins. So they aren't likely to be doing anything different any time soon.

Close enough.



Pretty much true. The reports I heard were that no fewer than EIGHT sets of replica plates were stolen off the Sharks in as little as three months, and as many as nine months of freight operation. One burglary resulted in the loss of numerous Baldwin maintenance manuals, lanterns, switch keys, etc. Given that, do you blame the owner(s)? They're not completely sealed off--I personally know at least three individuals who allege to have seen the elusive "stash" with their very eyes. It apparently helps to be a "professional" railroader/preservationist who doesn't foam at the mouth, who also owns stuff him/herself and is a graduate of the Railroading School of Hard Knocks, and understands that the sharing of private property is a privilege, not a God-granted right just because you like what they have. (See also Ross Rowland, Bennett Levin, the East Broad Top, et al.....)



Because he/they can and want(s) to, and neither want nor need any publicity. Why? Who knows? As one of our supposed co-associates told me they said, "Well, they don't eat much." I believe at least one 608A crankshaft would be needed to make them both operable, and aside from ones already preserved it's possible the nearest one is in Argentina......

Now, I have heard an alleged future preservation plan for the pair, involving eventual donation to a noted rail museum. I've also heard said plan is the proverbial "red herring". I know for a fact that a principal is still active in rail preservation in indirect ways, supposedly buying/shopping for stuff on eBay or train shows. But, frankly, for now I'll respect privacy. Unless, of course, one of you is desperate to get rid of a Baldwin 608A crankshaft.............

Not otherwise mentioned in any discussion of the E&LS are the half-dozen RS-12's (all ex-SAL)...and a collection of Baldwin switchers. No doubt, there are some good candidates for preservation within that group. All it will take is $$$$.

DPK

I would suspect that those fellows in South Jersey have cornered the market on 8-608A cranks.

They're not all ex-SAL. I assembled a roster a while back of what was left up there (I think Jim Boyd reprinted it in his Morning Sun Baldwins book series), and I recall three or four, all ex-Oregon, California & Eastern, being ex-SAL (one for South Carolina RR Museum, one for Georgia/Savannah, one for Florida? Maybe another for North Carolina?). But they have others.

Yes, it would be a nice project. Someone got a pair of roller bearing trucks we can borrow for about five years if we ever get them to let go of those locos?

Are these the only extant "sharks?"

A quick search brought up these images:
1975 - http://www.railroadmichigan.com/shark1205dh.jpg
1978 - http://www.railroadmichigan.com/mign1205.jpg
1988 - http://www.railroadmichigan.com/mign1205a.jpg

It would be nice to see these engines again, but for the present you can see the outside of the building from public roads, if you know which side road to drive down off US-2.

I will share my favorite Michigan Northern sharknose story. Seems parts for these were hard to come by even in the 1970's, and only one air throttle could be made to work. This was a problem when the engine with the throttle wasn't facing forward, and even more of a problem when the trainman whose job it was to run the throttle fell asleep back there after trying for several days to get through the snow north of Cadillac.

Unless you are willing to count a supposed/drunken-rumor couple surviving Baldwin broad-gauge diesels in Argentina that have vaguely similar "shark-profile" features but in no way are true RF-16's (think dogfish as opposed to Great White Sharks) or something hidden in some mine or quarry (wink wink nudge nudge), then yes, the 1216 and 1205 in question--ex-Michigan Northern, exx-D&H, exxx-Monongahela, exxxx-NYC-- are truly THE last Baldwin Sharks.

That #@%$! B-unit was one of the three Castrati-complete with Alco 1500 hp road freight cooling system components.

The sad thing about the entire E&LS business is that as of this late date, no doubt all of their BLW know-how long ago walked out of the shop...never to return.

Well, Southern NJ is a lot closer for many of us.

DPK

Is this the same location with a complete Soo Line train set stored?

Wesley