The decades-long preservation saga of Colonie takes a dark, but not unexpected turn.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42743

I will copy and paste a post of mine from that thread:

Here is the latest info I have for the units..
might not be correct anymore, but its the latest data the "railfan community" has been able to assemble for my NY alcos page.

Five units at Colonie:

Alco RS3 - ex B&M, nee D&H 4082 (1st 4082)
owned by M&H chapter NRHS

Alco RS3 - Ex Albany Port RR #2 nee D&H 4126.
owned by City of Albany.

Alco S2 - Ex Albany Port RR nee D&H 3011.
owned by City of Albany.

Alco S1 - Ex Long Island RR 417.
owner unknown.

WM 302 - Alco FA-2
owned by Western Maryland Railroad Hisorical Society,
who has been working on it and plans to get it out of Colonie.


Its been unclear for years if the Mohawk & Hudson chapter even exists anymore..they dont have a functional webpage anymore.
they also own Four more historic units stored south of Albany at the powerplant, which have also been rotting into the earth for decades:

another Alco RS3, NYC 8254
NYC S1 Electric
NYC T3a Electric
NYC GE U25B

http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/NY-Alcos/

thats NINE historic locos in the Albany area!
and only one is definately going to be saved at this point..

the scrapping taking place is at Colonie, and is possibly of the two RS3's, the S1 and the S2. (its unclear yet exactly which units are under the torch today)

the scrapping does NOT apply to the units at "the powerplant" south of Albany..the other RS3, S1 Electric, T3a Electric, and U25B.
they are still there untouched...for now.

Scot

Very sad, but as Scot pointed out, not unexpected.

I noticed a posting by Steamtown Observer on the link to RR dot Net, where he talked about the "living dead" NRHS chapters.

NRHS maintains the "at large" membership category for those of us who are not located near a chapter. If you travel around like I do, and try to contact some of the "chapters" using their published directory, it is very difficult to find some of them. No point of contact, no known address, no website.... A lot of them don't even provide a report for the directory.

Makes you wonder if the chapters really exist any more or are just being carried in the directory to make it look impressive.

Let's hope this isn't the end for the NYC electrics, which are the true gems of the rusting hulks around Albany.

It is too bad that the ALCo's were apparently parted out by thieves rather than folks who need the parts.

Rob

The Mohawk & Hudson Chapter is an interesting case. They filed a 2005 Form 990 in July of 2006, so as of now they are up to date with the IRS. That report shows they had over $59,000 in cash, and they placed an insurance value of $192,000 on their railroad equipment. It looks like they generate over $10,000 a year from selling prints from the Alco collection. Also of note is that membership dues taken in has dropped every year for the last 4 years. Assuming there has been no dues increase, the membership has dropped over 50% in those 4 years.

Sadly, except for $2000 in insurance, not a penny of their money has been spent on their equipment. One wonders what "rainy day" they are saving their money for.

turns out today's report of scrapping starting was premature!
no scrapping happening yet..

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 3&start=15

which is good news for now..

although its certaintly not a rumour that all these locos are a mess, and CP wants them removed or cut-up...and that scrapping will likely begin soon.

(sorry about that..I wouldnt have bothered to make this thread here if I had known it wasnt true..I know these locos have been discussed here before, but still..)

the saga continues..when will it ever end?

Scot

Does anyone know who is doing the scrapping or who at CP to contact?

Please contact me off list if you do, either through my profile or e-mail rcizik5519 at earthlink dot net.

Thanks,

Rich C

They may not want outsiders. About 25 years ago, Tri-State N.J. Chapter printed on the index of their magazine that "we do not accept mail-in members. Membership is only open to active members who attend the meetings". This did not make me eager to attend the convention they hosted a few years later.

That may be true, but they need to walk a fine line since most of these groups list their meetings as a benefit to the general public - a statement made to the IRS to justify their 501c3 status. In these days of new IRS scrutiny of non-profits, making it difficult to participate won't sit well when you are also claiming to benefit the general public.

A couple of notes:
1) Alco Historic Photos was/is supposed to be a separate organization. So any money they make will stay within that group.

2) They have no fund raising to speak of since they no longer do the train show in Albany in December.

3) Last I heard from one of its members, they have fewer than 15 members.
4) This group is like a dog with a bone! They have a difficult time giving away any equipment. They knew for the last 15+ years that this day would come and yet, have made no progress in finding new homes for any equipment they have.
5) CP will not scrap anything yet, but the will come when they will be forced to.

I've always read about the NYC electrics, but have never actually seen them. Is it easy/legal (read: NON trespassing) to see these things from a local road, or are they tucked away in some backlot bushes?

This type of behavior really disgusts me!

The purpose of historic preservation is to actually preserve the equipment in question. If an organization doesn't have the means, manpower, or money to at least put forth some type of effort towards preservation, then by all means let them scrap it! I know it sounds harsh, but honestly there are lots of people out there who will complain about everything yet not lift a finger to do anything. And when the situation becomes dire, there's even more complaining and pointless scrambling to try to rectify a situation that has long been a dead issue.

If an organization wants pieces of their equipment to be turned into scrap rather than preserving them - then that is their own fault and there is nothing that an internet forum or any amount of complaining can solve. If this happens enough, maybe people will begin to better appreciate the efforts put forth by those organizations that truly make an effort towards preservation and focus their dollars where they truly count.

There is nothing worse than to watch a piece of railroad history rust away under a pile of brush - neglected and definitely NOT preserved. It's demise only delayed for a few more years. I realize all of this sounds harsh, but its the truth!

I was going to write more, but I'm interested to see what kind of a response I get from this post...

Not knowing anything about the area where the equipment is located I think it is possible to look from the overpass above the tracks. In the film it shows a shot that was filmed from above and it panned down over the line of equipment.
What ever you do, do not trespass. RR's are real touchy about that especially after 9/11.

I will not address the present situation but will relate an experience. I volunteered for about a year on restoring a Baldwin Prairie 2-6-2. Working on the weekends we got everything off the boiler and had it ready for an ultrasound. We disassembled the tender and were making plans for its restoration.
The owner of the engine was a hands-on type person and was there working with us every weekend. Equipment to perform this work was purchased by the owner and this included pricey items such as a plasma welder. The track that was to be used was managed by a group of Texas counties. The line was abandoned by the Class 1 owner, purchased by the State of Texas and then leased to this group. The group in turn leased the operations to a short line RR.
In step the lawyers! Ones working for the state, the group of counties and the short line operator. Got to the point the owner of the engine reached his stopping point. The engine sits today nothing more than the boiler visible.
Why the long story? To show that unless you are one of the parties involved everything is guesswork!

Was asking about the NYC electrics....not the Colonie deadline.

Here are some pics of the elecrics at the powerplant south of Albany:
(its called Glenmont, NY, but I consider it Albany..the units are only 5 miles or so south of downtown Albany)

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... x?id=12278

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... x?id=12277

note those first two photos were taken in 1983!
these units have been sitting in the weeds for over 25 years now!

skipping ahead two decades..more recent photos of the electrics:

http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/sho ... hp?t=14020

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=297775

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=297776

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=297720



and the U25B and RS3:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=312508

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=312506

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=297661

Scot