As promised.....

Dimensions: ca. 28' by 8' wide by 10' high; the top brackets should come off, reducing overall height to ca. 7.5'

Weight of 60 tons is what was cited to the Museum by the haulers/crane operators the last time it was moved, ca. 1980. All controls, motors, etc. have been in indoors storage since its relocation then.

As is, where is.

Sandy -

What's the story on the deck roof on that shipping container?

Wesley

Sigh. I dunno. Ask the BSM guys. It's been sitting up there for years.

(You really should come on by more often, Wes. I paid a "stealth" visit to the Nat Cap Trolley Museum yesterday.)

The deck roof came from half of a permanently-coupled car set which had been used as a diner in Glen Burnie, MD. The PC sets were created from open cars that had been sisters of open car 1164 in the collection. Bits and pieces are stored within the container and inside the freight shed.

The lathe was delivered to BSM approx. 1980 when the Canton Railroad's shops were being relocated/demolished to make way for the I-95 tunnel under the Port of Baltimore. A large excavation of the floor inside the freight shed, now filled in and re-concreted, was to be the indoor site of the wheel lathe.

Dave Crow

I take it the person who spearheaded the donation/use of the lathe moved on well before the machine was ever set up. Too bad.

Not sure what 21 years of sitting has done to the main machine (if anything) but it seems like you may as well wait for the scrap market to pick up before getting rid of it. The best thing would be for another group/organization to take it in. It would be perfect for a narrow gauge outfit, or somebody who has a lot of wheels to reprofile.
Hopefully it can stay out of the scrapper's hands.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

We have a guy who is currently scrapping a lot of junk we have lying around. He is at work right now. The lathe is going away unless someone steps forward (with cash) right now. Hence Sandy's "Last Call" posting. The lathe has been on our property for the last 30 years, the gentlemen who aquired it have all gone to that great trolley barn in the sky.

Was Simmons Machine Tool Company of Albany, NY, contacted as a potential buyer of this machine? SMTC is the current owner of Niles Tool Co. and is always looking for used WL52 machines such as this one. My contact there was Dennis Rymanowsi but it's been awhile since I last spoke with him. A quick check of their website stays that Mr. Walter Fluhr is now in charge of Railroad Machine Tool Parts. Someone should call (518) 462-5431 and see if SMTC has an interest. I hate to see any of these fine machines cut up. There won't be anymore built.

G. Mark
TVRM Wheel Shop Project Director
(can you believe it's been 10 years now since we finished rebuilding our AW90 Heavy Duty 90" Driving Wheel Lathe?)

G. Mark, have you worked with Simmons Machine Tool to source any; parts, service or OEM information to help with your 90" Niles?


I believe the stats on this size Niles are;

52" max. Wheel Dia.
26" Min. wheel Dia.
10' 5" Max. Distance between face Plates

Is there a phone number I can give to an interested party?

Thanks in advance.

John Bohon

Loco112 - Yes I did. We developed a strong working relationship with SMTC during the restoration period of all three wheel machines. We received support with drawings (we did pay a small fee for duplication charges) and technical information. With just the serial number, I was able to obtain Sales Memos which contained all the details of the machine including date of order, purchaser, date of delivery, cost, and any special ordered equipment. We also had to purchase some parts from SMTC which they were able to supply from original patterns or drawings.

G. Mark

I don't mean to be snide about it, but that's part of what I'm trying to avoid here--having "interested" parties bother and tie up the "officials" from their day jobs. We've been through this before, to no avail.

Find out if the interested parties are really serious, and then I'll talk about phone numbers.

I found a new stat on that 54" Niles;

Distance between faceplate;
Minimum ………………….6’ 10"
Maximum …………………10’ 5”

It sounds as though you are bound and determined to scrap the thing Mr. Mitchell so why do you even bother to post the message? I had a serious buyer with money interested but I am now out of this process.

John Bohon

I'll see you and raise you.

Send Me HIS phone number. E-mail LNER4472 --at--verizon daught net, or PM me, or hell, call the Baltimore Streetcar Museum today between 10 AM and 4:30 PM @ 410-837-1164 or 410-547-0264 while we have a work crew in the Library; best to call between 3 and 4:30, when one of the officials usually swings by to get mail, etc.

The parties responsible have day jobs. None of them are "office" jobs with someone to pick up the phone. And in all cases that I know of, random phone calls are particularly inconvenient--think of the guy whose cell phone is ringing while he's wedged under the hood in the middle of a car engine repair or hip-deep in a septic tank repair.

And they are following up on the lead about Niles buying them back.

Did it ever occur to you that both the interested party and myself have the same problems with work as the BSM folks? Why the hell couldn't you have just given the simple answer you just did to start with instead of the pompous, smart ass reply you are known for? I will give him the museum number. Either he calls or he doesn't.

John Bohon