I'm certainly not all-knowing, but I haven't heard or seen #557 in Utah. Contrary to what the name might indicate, Wasatch Railroad Contractors is headquartered in Cheyenne, WY.

An online search finally found the engine is in Moses Lake, WA. It was owned by the now deceased Monte Holm to be part of a private museum. The family is selling the equipment rather reluctantly because they do not have time to continue the museum project. WRC is assisting in the sale. Their website reports they have recieved inquiries about the equipment but no firm offers.

John Bohon

250 currently resides on display at Edaville RR in S. Carver, Mass. I think she is many people's favorite locomotive!

You are correct sir, I meant poppet, but it was late and I had an episode of brain flatulence.

EL&WB No. 1 & 2 would be tough nuts to get back in service. First is getting the state to part with them. Second is moving them. (Personnally I feel very strongly that they need to remain where they are and in historical context)

Both locomotives are in a sorry state. No. 1 has no cab and has been nearly completly stripped. Not to mention what the condition of the crown sheet boiler shell etc. are in after so many years of exposure. (The asbestos was not removed until 1995)

Likewise No. 2 lost all woodwork to the fire in 1969 and the steel cab, deck & tender are perforated like swiss cheese. In addition many of the staybolt caps have rotted through allowing water to no-doubt trickle in over the decades and run down the sheets. The frame is cracked in one place and has been crudely repaired in other's. Many of the driver spokes were fractured and repaired while it was in service.

Both stacks were open to the elements until 1998. We had lots of rusty nasty water running out of the long since failed piston rod packing while we were jacking. However we did manage to move the pistons of No. 1 a few inches though it took the better part of 144,000 lbs to do it.

As for the 501.

Yes it would be a canidate. However it too is only for the brave of heart. If I recall correctly several of the repairs performed during its last shopping are now considered un-acceptable such as the patch at the fire door and some of the wrk along the mudring.

In addition there is the botched re-build that was attempted awhile back. One issue involved the removal of an anchor on the belly of the boiler for a longitudinal stay. After the Anchor was removed the stay was simply welded to the belly of the boiler by a very questionable "pressure vessel expert" under very questionable conditions.

Now the $30,000 dollars worth of new tubes will need to be removed to remedy this little issue. In addition, many staybolts were removed by a employee of the "Pressure vessel expert"and the crown sheet nicked badly in a number of places not to mention the major hack job to the boiler shell while this same hired hand removed flexible stays - many of which were sound.

There is also the botched repair around the blow-down valve in the throught sheets.

I will never forget the days we spent sorting through piles of piping and fittings on the roundhouse floor then dry fitting everything in place on the backhead so we could tell what went where, what was missing and what we had. Only to have the "pressure vessel expert's" ranting lunatic employee rip it all out overnight before we could tag it or even complete it.

I could go on but it brings up way to many bitter memories of many days of wasted effort on my part and other fine volunteers. Nothing is worse then spending hours milling out new piston rings or grinding away at tube ends weekend after weekend only to see a project die in such a muddle.

If your brave then by all means have at her.






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One has to wonder what the granting agencies, which put up thousands of dollars to complete serious restoration work, think when the proffered cash is wasted by unqualified "repairs". So many locomotive out there, so little available cash. Good intentions should be backed up by good intelligence and firm commitments regarding how work will be accomplished.
Yeah, I'm preaching to the choir, I know.

Guys,

I have to take this another direction. Since we are talking in the realm of what if...

I would take a long look at a few of the 2-6-2's that Santa Fe left in various parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. It is a well documented fact that Santa Fe generally took good care of their locomotives. Most all of those 2-6-2's were given an extension on life due to WWII and needing all the motive power that was around. If one of these 2-6-2's were restored, it would be able to do 10-60+ mph (1010, I know) pretty easily on any shortline. You could do a small hop on a main line if you needed to without holding up too much traffic. The rigid wheel base on these is short enough to not tear up shortline track. They are not a lot heavier than a lot of four axle switch engines that a shortline would be operating. I think that one of these locomotives meets the criteria perfectly.

Hands down, the best restoration going on is the ATSF 2926.

I haven't read all of the above posts, but if it's been neglected, we should mention the Santa Fe 4-8-4 in Kingman, Arizona. By far, this is the best preserved park locomotive I've seen.

ATSF 3759. She has been vandalized. There are some pieces missing too...

Clem -

I have often thought that the best engine type for nearly every museum/tourist operation is the 2-6-2. Enough power for most applications, and pony and trailing trucks to lead the locomotive into curves running forward or backward. I have often thought that the type that SHOULD have been imported from China was not the 2-8-2 or 2-10-2, but the 2-6-2. I have often thought that when people talk about building new steam for tourist/museum service, they ought not to talk about 4-4-0's or 4-8-4's, but the Prairie type. Use the Milwaukee Road or Chicago Great Western or Wabash (or similar) 2-6-2 as a prototype and build a number of them to keep the costs down. As for the Santa Fe 2-6-2's, I can't disagree with your choice. I myself, think that the AT&SF 1800's are a bit better looking than the engines in the 1000 and 1100 series. But I agree that any of the Santa Fe survivors might make a good restoration candidate. BUT, are any available? Most places don't want to give up "their" locomotives.

Les

Saying one type of wheel arrangement is what every tourist RR needs is like saying everyone needs to own brand X model Y truck from year ABCD without considering a lot of issues that are unique to every situation. 2-6-2s at Grand Canyon or a Rio Grande T-12 on either the C&TS or the D&S is not going to make revenue based on pulling power versus the basic economic factors in play at each railroad. These blanket statements due more to damage our industry than help. With the Nevada Northern the 40 can not pull the load the 93 can which results in a lot fewer spaces for passengers on a given train which in turn limits your total gross revenue potential.

The restorations that will be the most “successful” are the ones that do more than look at the locomotive but they truly address the purpose and the future of their project at the beginning. They will have a core group truly dedicated to the project and not their own agenda. There are a lot of locomotives in southwest United States that could “easily” be restored due to climate of storage and other issues. The real issue is what would we do with Betsy if we had the locomotive going?

Respectfully
Robby Peartree

Unfortunately, egos and not economics fuel who gets Ol' 88 out of the park and a fire in her belly. A lot of good locomotives have limited opportunities to run, and we should support them whenever possible. You never know when it will be the last one.

Well said Robby. I would like to add again that the best engine available for restoration is the one that is actually available. It makes no difference how well maintained or preserved the locomotive is so long as the owner will not part with it.

John Bohon

Who has the expertise to evaluate a steam engine to determine what it would take to restore it to operating condition? I mean someone who is a pro. Are their such people at Steamtown or some other organization?

We have three that are intact as far as I know...
1910 Alco 0-4-0 switcher, AL Marble Co #3, stored in shop
1924 Baldwin 2-8-0,Woodward Iron & Coal Co. #38 cosmetically restored on display
1944 Lima 0-6-0 switcher US Army, Alabama By-Products Corp #4046 stored

Would be nice to know what it would take.
Bill

Wasatch Railroad Contractors S-160 Facts

A few facts for those of you who may have questions. True, Wasatch Railroad Contractors began in Utah as I, John E. Rimmasch company founder was born and raised there. The company actually began over 8 years ago as Wasatch Boiler Repair. The company has since diversified and now offers a wide variety of RR oriented labor services. Among those services, we evaluate and present reasonable estimates for equipment market value. One such project is the Monte Holm Project. Our home office is Cheyenne, WY, however, we do maintain a branch of our company in Provo, Utah.

Mr. Holm was a scrap dealer who lived in Moses Lake, Washington. He passed away a little over one year ago leaving his museum and estate to his two grandsons, one of which still lives in Moses Lake. The boys asked us to aid them in the sale of their grandfather’s locomotive and railroad related items.

A complete history can be found at www. wasatch-rr-contractors.com Search for Monte Holm.

Now back to reality. Remove for a second the fact that my company is helping sell this machine……..I must say, this is a fine locomotive. In fact, I have had three other well known consultants in our industry look at the locomotive and they agree, this locomotive has little wear and is in super condition. I have never seen a locomotive this “new” before. Now, what makes it so special, the fact is, this locomotive is not a “rebuild” from the last days of steam. This locomotive is a perfect tourist locomotive because it has never (hardly) been used. This locomotive needs a form 4, a good was job and some paint and it is on the road……NO JOKE! It is a simple, cheap fast project with good results and long life potential.

OFFERS: We have had a number of INQUIRIES and a few offers, but know that have made it past simple discussion save one exception which I can not speak about. The truth is; the locomotive and train set are still on the market. I would love to find a caring home for them. I am not charging the seller or the buyer a broker’s fee, the cost of the equipment is up front and fair. The equipment can be purchased as a lot or one by one. The owners are very negotiable as am I, even casual inquires are welcome.

I can be contacted via our page listed above, or by phone at 307-286-2833.

By the way, I have enjoyed all of the discussion about our company!

John E. Rimmasch
Wasatch Railroad Contractors

www.wasatch-rr-contractors.com