there's a post on the Lost Engine Fourm that the 917 has been bought and will be loaded up and coming to Ohio tomorrow.

Thought it was going to happen on the 30th of June.

Hi All,
Here is the Article from the Roanoke Times on the 917.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/168637

Andrew Martin

ummm... fake smoke? Why does this article make me nervous? I guess it's better than scrapping.

Out of curiosity does anyone know if these parts presently on ebay came from any of the engines in Ronoake?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Locomotive-Steam-Engine-Drive-Wheel-50-dia_W0QQitemZ350075534886QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item350075534886&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

Adam

Mr. Martin, Can you give us any news on the plan for the rest of the engines?

It would be interesting to find out how this seller came into posession of these items...

Hi All,
In regards to the current fate of the equipment that still exists in the scrap yard (3 steam locomotives, two diesels, two tenders, and a flat car) there are still several interested parties (all non-profits) which have been in talks with both NS and local movers in regards to planning and financing an operation to liberate the locomotives from their fate. As their campaign to save the remaining locomotives gears up I am sure that we will hear more from them in the future.

Andrew

As far as I know/remember from seeing the locos firsthand, all the wheels are on the Roanoke "Lost Engines". Ditto the other N&W steamers at Saltville, Abingdon, etc.

As for lost parts elsewhere, you'd be AMAZED what can get lost in the dirt. I've pulled track parts and found what may be a car frame sticking out of the dirt of a dirt road in Arizona. And the man behind the former West Shore RR operations in Penna. actually purchased, on paper, what remained of the assets of the Bellefonte Central RR in central Pa. some years back, and found the entire smokebox front--not just the door, but the entire smokebox front plate--from one of the BCRR's ex-PRR steamers lying in the dirt behind the enginehouse in Coleville!

So, is it possible that these wheels have just been sitting in some scrap yard or back lot for 60 years? Heck, yeah. We're still "finding" whole trolley bodies, aren't we?

I believe that Black Dog is a legitimate architectural salvage dealer. Not surprising at all that they came across some railroad artifacts in their quest for cast iron gates and fencing.

GME

I have been told, but cannot confirm, that a bunch of steam locomotive parts are lying under a parking lot in Louisiana. Perhaps someone else in the area has heard about this and can add more to it.

Slightly OT; the same individual who photographed a pair of ploughing engines in the desert of Tonka, SW of Timbuctoo, in Mali; also photographed this graveyard of ploughing engine parts:



I'm sure many more parts graveyards like this will surface in the years to come; though I am afraid many will then go for scrap.

I'm always fascinated by the "stories" behind the story.

I just got off the phone with a contact currently in Roanoke who has confirmed that the management at the scrap yard had promised any loose parts laying on the ground to Black Dog. According to my source the parts were legitimately purchased from the scrap yard approximately a week ago.

He did confirm that all wheels that were taken were NOT from the Lost Engines, and were simply left over from locomotives scrapped years ago. As for the driving rods, several of the Lost Engines are missing the driving rods, and it is possible that this specific one is from one of the locomotives. From what I remember though when I was there, that drive rod was laying on the ground, and as such was most likely fair game for Black Dog.

As for if the parts may sell at their requested price of $3000, all I can say is that there is less than an hour left in the auction, and no bids as of this time.

I'd have to assume the half dozen or so sets of drivers now on display along Norfolk Ave. in Roanoke must have come out of that scrapyard recently as well, when the large piles of scrap went away several years ago. From the looks of them, VSI&M must have cut up a bunch of 4-8-0s over the years.

Don't know if this one of the lost engines but looks like a Ohio Businessman is getting one of them.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/co ... ml?sid=101