Do the Northwestern Steel & Wire locomotives still exist? I read an article in CTC Board that several hulks sit outside Sterling, IL. <p>Thanks,<br>Gerald <br>



hrrhs@aol.com

There is at least 1 of them and also part of one at the Illinois Railway Museum. The part one is just a cab and the rear two feet of boiler. I believe that it is from one that the museum sent to scrap in exchange for the CB&Q 4963 2-8-2. I don't know how many engines the museum had to send to scrap for the deal, but any locomotives being scraped these days is indeed a shame.<p>Steve<br>

The last I heard was that three of the Northwestern Steel & Wire ex-GTW 0-8-0's were still sitting on a weed grown siding somewhere just outside of Sterling, IL. slowly deteriorating. This is one of those cases where a museum (in this case IRYM), rather than offering the locomotives to other museums where they could be cared for, held out in effort to sell them and make big bucks. I know that at least one previous one WAS sold (to Minnesota) but it was my understanding that all of these engines were GIVEN to IRYM and their present condition (probably no longer saveable) is a black mark on the museum and rail preservation in general. BTW, one of the three surviving 0-8-0's is #8300 (NS&W #30) which was the first GTW 0-8-0.<br>



midlandblb@cs.com

In addition to the photos on parkengines.railfan.net, I also put some more photos of the three engines in Galt on the "More Lost Engines" page of "The Lost Engines of Roanoke". It's true that these engines are in very sad shape. I wouldn't say that they were beyond cosmetic restoration, but there are a few things to keep in mind before anyone considers restoring one to steam:<p>A. They have been sitting outdoors unprotected for nearly two decades.<p>B. Before that Northwestern Steel and Wire ran them pretty hard so they weren't in great shape to begin with.<p>C. How hard would an 0-8-0 be on your track?<p>That said, they do deserve a better fate than what they have now.<p>So what happened to the ones that were traded to the scrapyard for CB&Q 4963? I take it from Steve's post that at least one of them was in fact cut up. What about the rest of them? The scrapyard held on to 4963 for 17 years, were they in any hurry to scrap the 0-8-0's?



More "Lost Engines"
rjenkins@railfan.net

I'm guessing that IRM only has funds/resources to keep one of the 0-8-0s. So how feasible/realistic would it be to convert the remaining 0-8-0's into 2-8-0s? What would the process entail? The frames are cast, which I assume would present a problem. And would there a problem with the weight distribution on the drivers or were these engines originally consolidations to begin with?<p>I'm sure the list of available steam either running or candidates for restoration is short (I'm aware of the 3 extant 4-8-0s in Roanoke, but it seems like the current owner is unwilling to part with them for a reasonable price). Are there any tourist lines or museums like Spencer that would have the need or resources to take on such a project? If you add up all the costs and potential headaches, would it make more financial sense in the long run just to purchase a basically new engine from China?<p>Mike<br>

In answer to the question, all three of these old GTW 0-8-0's at Galt, IL were built as 0-8-0's and were not converted from 2-8-0's. Although this type conversion was fairly common in steam days, I can recall only one 2-8-0 to 0-8-0 conversion that is still around (and obviously not one of these GTW engines.) <br>



midlandblb@cs.com

Actually, Martin Evans of Model Enginner serialized the building of the CNR version of these engines in 3/4" scale, and in the last couple of installments, gave a 2-8-0 conversion. . .<br>



SZuidervee@aol.com

A couple of years ago I sent a letter to Nick Kallas, the fellow in charge of the IRM's steam section, inquiring about the possibility of purchasing one of the 0-8-0s for display at a museum we were building. I had money in hand and was ready to purchase. IRM never did send me a reply, return my calls or anything.<p>We ended up buying the B&O big hook instead. <p><br><br>



bighookx45@aol.com