Mr. Mitchell, and the forum,

Had an opportunity to make a stop in Sumiton Alabama the other day, and thought I would take a try and see if the locomotive that raised a bit of suspicion was actually still in place... The locomotive in question I believe was PRR E8 5706, which I suspect from reading the forum, was one of the Blue Mountain and Reading PRR E8's that ran a number of years ago.... As it wasn't too far out of the way, I was able to locate the locomotive, along with 4 other full size pieces of equipment on the property, and thought many members of the forum might like to see the current condition, and storage location of this one time excursion engine.....

The engine is in generally semi neglected condition, on a piece of property, not near or connected to live rail... ( so everything was obviously trucked in to this location )....On the property is a small church and a few garages that were made to look like a depot ( although it certainly did not look at all like a depot ) ..... Also on the property is Southern lightweight 10/6 "St John's River" ( now named The EJ Earley ) , a Frisco painted caboose, Southern heavyweight coach # 1076, and a Southern M&W baggage car numbered 900200 ( which had a TVRM repacking date of 1998 ).....It would appear, the equipment, and other antiques are all privately owned....

So....I thought ( once and for all ) many members of the forum would like to see this engine ( and the fact it truly exists ), its present condition, and some of the other cars presently on the property.....

Hope this answers some questions for those that have an interest


Dean Levin

a few more images of PRR 5706

A few more of PRR 5706.....


Dean Levin

I believe the locomotive was converted to some form of a wedding chapel when it was moved to its present location.

Thanks for the update and pictures, Dean. I, for one, have been guilty of believing the lie that once a piece of equipment is restored, it stays that way. These pictures are a cold reminder that many pieces of newly-restored equipment that excited my railfain interest in the '80s have again fallen into disuse, disrepair and disassembly. At least #5706 hasn't been scrapped. Her sister, #5898, while not much better looking cosmetically, is at least still operating on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern tourist railroad.

The stained-glass door is a great touch, isn't it?

I believe the business is called "The Little Wedding Chapel at Union Station", and the address is 7619 Highway 78, Dora, AL 35062 (altho apparently nearer Sumiton, the mailing address is Dora), and the phone # is 205-648-7858. I was unable to find a website for them.

Jim Tatum.

Dean:

Could you post some pictures of the Southern 10-6 for us lightweight passenger car fans?

Topfuel ( and the forum )

Here are a few photographs of ex Southern 10/6 "St Johns River"... now named The EJ Earley... On the name board on the one side of the car, you could faintly make out St John.... so after doing some research, Southern had a 10/6 named St. Johns River, so I am 99.9 percent sure that is the car name... plus on the opposite side you could see a car number faded out as 2016, which I believed corresponded to the St. Johns River....Overall, its not in terrible shape, its missing a section of PS fluting on one side but overall, look "fair" on the outside.... I did not go inside, so I have no idea what is going on inside the car as far as condition, dampness, etc etc...However the windows are still intact.. so who knows ? From the stencil on the end sheet for the coupler inspection, the car appears to have ran beyond 11-1974....

I didn't know it existed, so I was surprised to find this and the other cars....Perhaps someone can comment where they were before they arrived here....As the baggage car ( again ex Southern ) had a TVRM repacking date in 1998....

Hope you find it interesting....


Dean Levin

thanks for the pics Dean. not a big diesel fan, but a hugh Pennsy fan. sad to see that locomotive in it's present condition, but at least it's still around. not sure what to think about that door though.......

a few more photographs


Dean

Dean: Thanks for posting pictures of the sleeper. I always enjoy your threads.

The missing fluting exposes a not commonly known feature of these PS 1949 built ex-SOU 10-6 sleepers. The Southern had a program where they rebuilt these cars by removing the fluting, repaired any rust in the Cor-Ten steel frame, re-siding them with flat stainless steel sheets, and re-applying the fluting to retain the as-built appearance. Sometimes they rebuilt the buffer wings in the vestibule with stainless steel as well. I have never heard or read anything about when this was done or what Southern shop did the work. This rebuild, combined with the stainless steel roof sheets, means that these cars - even today - tend to have minimal structural issues compared to your average "fluting over Cor-Ten" passenger car that was never rebuilt. Of course, this assumes that the windows have not been leaking too bad (or missing completely) in the last 25 years or so, which is often not the case - especially with the PRR-style hinged window sash that the Southern favored.

Thank you VERY much for satisfying our mutual curiosity.

The rust along the bottom of the front of the E8 nose is a common sight to those who have worked with such EMD "bulldog-noses;" the sandbox at that location tends to trap and hold moisture, making rusting a near guarantee if the loco is outside long enough. There isn't an E8 I've worked on (out of a half-dozen or more) that didn't have that issue after enough years.

Now a question: Was this visit made by driving in and checking out the property with people present, or were you able to gain this much access to these pieces with nobody about? (Plead the Fifth to avoid trespassing charges, if you like.......)

The wooden door on the back of the E*A makes me think she is a gutted hulk. True? If so, of negligible value to a possible operator. I too, am not a big Diesel fan, but big Pennsy fan. Is she up for sale? What worth does the unit carry?

Topfuel....

Appreciate that analysis of the Southern lightweight PS sleepers..... Do you know how many were done and at what shop ? ( a Southern shop ? ). Is there a specific way to tell what cars were done by looking at them ? ... Seems as if plenty of these Southern cars survived..... I think I took a look at sister car "French Broad River" while up in Cincinnati last month ( let me know if you care to see a few photographs of this car ) ......

Meanwhile, I attach a few more photographs from Sumiton.... First off, for Richard, I believe you are correct that the inside of PRR 5706 is empty.... In the first photograph, note the AC unit and ductwork leading inside the E unit.....

I also enclose a few photographs of an ex Southern heavyweight coach # 1076 at Sumiton.....Overall, in very restorable condition.....

.....and Mr. Mitchell, I can assure you that no Alabama state laws were violated in obtaining these photographs.....thank you for your concern.......

Dean Levin

Lack of archaic hardware is probably less an obstacle than landlocked status. If I were a tourist line interested in the look of a classic E, I'd prefer the running gear and control systems of today I could buy off the shelf and maintain easily inside it. Plenty of room for a HEP genny, too.

dave