Photo from an internet site of Wabash 2-6-0 at MofT:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1310511

One of only two surviving Wabash steamers, the old Mogul deserves better (the engine behind it doesn't look very good either). But hopefully, this is an old photo and perhaps the museum has since addressed the engines condition. An update?

Les

573 and the engine behind her, Frisco 0-6-0 No. 3695 have been moved out of the weed patch and are out in the open now. They don't look any better, but are most likely on the list for restoration.
What is the other Wabash steamer still around?

Wabash 0-6-0 #534, now the property of the Ft. Wayne Railroad Historical Society, the owners of NKP 2-8-4 #765. I don't think that the 534 gets too much of their attention.

Les

I think those 2 locomotives were there when I visited this summer. If that is MoT in St Louis, I must say the saddest thing about that place is that it is so nicely kept, (besides the 2 locomotives that looked like they were in the need attention line), they were quite crowded with tons of little kids families and people of all ages, they have one of the nicest collections of steam locomotives in the country but not a single one of them runs!

The one thing I was wondering is and no one at the museum could tell me if memory is correct they had a little 0-4-4 maybe that had a UT grid on it I was wondering was it ever a candidate for restoration I thought that maybe even having a 0-4-0 or something small running on that little back and forth track in steam would be a huge improvement. Static steam never is the same as operating steam.

Adam

There was some talk years ago of restoring a Baldwin 0-4-0T that was owned by Union Electric. A former MOT Director had a crew strip it down, Hydro it (? Not a good idea) and I think it may have been Ultrasounded at the same time 1522 was years back. I'm a bit hazy on the details but there are two engines there that would be ideal for them to restore for their own use. The UE engine and the MKT 311, a nice little 4-4-0 with a boiler in great condition.
With the economy what it is, and the County Parks Dept. watching it's money carefully, it probably won't happen in the foreseeable future.
This is all my opinion because I don't know how St. Louis County or the MOT would feel about operating steam on the property.

This scenario demonstrates an example of a perfect opportunity where Flagg #75 could be useful. Cost would still be a factor on a limited budget.

Wesley

Regarding the pic at the top of the thread, the locos don't look half as bad as the wooden rolling stock. What are those cars back there falling into the ballast?

Rob

Mot people forget about the Wabash 0-6-0, especially since it spent its later life on the Ft. Wayne and Lake Erie, a Wabash subsidiary. When I was up at Ft. Wayne nearly 10 years ago helping get 2716 ready to return to Kentucky, they were removing the cab and boiler appliances. I don't know how much further they have gotten. Oddly enough, both surviving Wabash steam locomotives are Rhode Island products.

The 573 is indeed now out in the open at MOT. It, and other equipment is being moved to make room for an extension of the museum's demonstration streetcar line. The Frisco 0-6-0 spent its later years at the Scullin Steel Company works in St. Louis. It even sports a pair of unusual Scullin-made tender trucks. While I cannot speak for the museum, I imagine both are at least on the list to get some additional work, especially now that they are out in the open and on public display.

The wooden "cars" is actually a single car, a former Alton & Southern wooden boxcar. While nothing uniquie, as far as I know, it is a shame that it couldn't be saved. However, the museum has at least one other wooden boxcar in its collection. I don't know what happened to car, but I Imagine it is no longer with us.

Slightly off topic, but while the Wabash 573 in St. Louis may be in need of some refurbishment, the engine is well represented in miniature as the prototype of a very popular 1 1/2" scale live steam model.

Alan Maples