I came across this photo on railpictures today and last I heard this engine was safely tucked inside a roundhouse.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 963&nseq=6

Steve

Poor Girl!

Looks like its home was demolished around it. I had heard that the 643 was going to lose its home. More scuttlebutt is that a couple of years ago a rail group in Meadville, PA was trying to acquire the loco from Glenn.

Another GTW 5629 in the making? Owned by someone with no resources to do anything with the engine? Lots of nice (non-ferrous, $3-per-pound) parts, and no fence. Great. Especially with battery Sawzalls on sale at Home Despot.

Is there a plan?

This one should have gone to Steamtown in 1995; there was a deal to do so that fell apart at the last minute, I recall. A very cool locomotive.

Howard P.
Opinionated, NY

A serious track-squasher, for sure!

Another sad lesson about getting an operating plan in place BEFORE you restore an engine.

It wasn't a roundhouse -- 643 was tucked away in a dilapidated warehouse in McKees Rocks. CSX cut the switch to the siding several years ago. There hasn't been much of a roof over the engine, the tender is still visibly filled with coal -- it's quite the orphan.

Numerous offers and interested parties in purchasing/removing the engine later, the engine sits. The fact that now the building has been brought down may accelerate -- for better or for worse -- this engine's ultimate disposition.

You can spy the auxillary tender nosing out from Google Maps if you nose around some.

"We got a Texas-type down."

KL

Unless the plan was simply to save it from the scrapper. Does anyone know the intent of the buyer (Glenn?) when he purchased it? As for plans, they don't always carry through - perhaps the plan was to save her and later restore her for display if and when funds became available.

Nice pic, and interesting to see her, Hiawatha, it's not my place to speculate. As it was noted above, she's probably a track-squasher.

/Mitch

This loco was fully restored by our Diversified Rail Services crew in 1986-88. It was planned to operate on flue extensions as was allowed by the F.R.A. rules at that time.
Now she would need a new 1472-Day inspection. We made new pistons, valves and dropped and trued all the driver axles and tires. We test fired it, but never was run under her own power. She got all new lagging and jacket. It should have gone to Steamtown in 1995 - the deal fell through just days before it could be finalized.
B&LE #643 is one of only three locomotives I have seen that had NO RUST of any kind any where on the boiler - it was 100% perfect. She's a great horse! I hope Glenn is able to find a way to keep her safe.

She is being readied for shipment to Mount Union for conversion to 3 foot gauge, she is scheduled to go into service in about 3 weeks.

Trying to get ahead of Mr. Mitchell, are we?............................................

Ah, juicy details. Thanks!

What stopped the operation from moving forward after it was restored? Must have been difficult to come so far and not have it move under it's own power, let alone pull some passenger cars.

What was the deal breaker to move to Steamtown?
EDIT: Details /corrections welcome - an old post on TO's states that Glenn Campbell, not the singer, stopped the sale for $45,000.00 to Steamtown and essentially outbid the heirs to the engine attaining ownership himself.

And what was the reason or desire on Steamtown's part to have a restored engine at the park?
EDIT: To have another steam engine (with a unique wheel arrangement to Steamtown) at a good price, apparently.
Was there an intent to run it?

EDIT: Steve Barry noted in the same TO's thread that one of the driver sets was not only blind but wider to assist the engine on sharp curves. He then stated that this would be an issue with current self-guiding switch flanges which rise above the railhead meaning operation would be limited to certain lines.

The weight on the drivers, also noted on TO's was "a shade under that of N&W #611".

/Mitch

At one time (many years ago) 643 had a home inside the Greenville roundhouse along side the B&LE 154 and the URR 0-10-2. I don't know what year she got evicted. Obviously the 154 and Union engine ended up in better homes....

This engine was restored during a time when running mainline steam with enormous engines was still possible (N&W 1218 was restored during the same time period, correct?). No one in their right mind is going to allow this engine to run anywhere (b/c track wrecker). I think that convincing a Class 1 to move this thing on its own wheels will be difficult enough. To be optimistic, I would hope for a cosmetic restoration and to live under a roof at say Scranton or Strasburg. But to HP's point, I too fear this has a GTW 5629 ending in the future.

say ouch!

I don't know what plans are in order but it needs to get to a good operating museum whomever the owner might be.

Thnx to the money saving geeks designing a no guardrail switch frog.

As long as some big developer doesnt come along and 5629 it, I hope they recognize the value and save it.

Self-guarding frogs have been around since the twenties, if not earlier. Not all roads used these things, and not in all yards. Valley Railroad's 2-8-0 #97 used to bump up and over self-guarding frogs in Hartford yard when she ran trips on the New Haven 1966-68. Not good for the frog and not good for the engine.

Is Mr. Jacobson aware of 643? (I hope)

Howard P.

That was my first thought as Mr. J's collection does not yet include a 2-10-4. Wouldn't this look nice residing in a new roundhouse in Ohio? Also, this engine is in far better mechanical shape than the most recent acquisition NKP 763.

Could the wide driver issue be corrected by narrowing the gauge of that axle set?