Hello all,
With the news that the Chicago Great Western SD40s rostered by the MRL were being retired came the hope that one might be saved.
To that end, a Facebook group has been started, and we are now discussing the logistics of such an effort.
The group was wondering if a list or some description could be compiled so we have an idea of the steps towards preservation.
Any advice would be welcome and is very much needed!
Many thanks!
Ryan
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=gro ... 01915&ap=1

Work with an existing museum, or walk in the footsteps of the fellow saving an F40PH.

I certainly think you are very fortunate given the geographic area relevant to that equipment. You have several major, powerful museums amply capable of doing the heavy lifting... including MNTM and IRM.

Things could be much worse. The history of many railroads is being wiped out, because there are no regionally relevant railroad museums sufficiently capable of preserving what remains.

The first step is to see if Montana Rail Link will cooperate with you. Politely make them aware of exactly which units are in question, let them know you are interested and why, confirm their status, and address the situation of how this asset can be transferred into preservation. The reaction can range from complete indifference to a request for the scrap value (or far more, if someone is greedy) to donation and free shipping of an operable unit. If necessary, get someone out there to stencil "DO NOT SCRAP OR PART OUT" on the locomotive along with relevant contact information. At least three locomotives and several cars have been lost over the years because someone was unaware of verbal or written promises made in other offices.

If MRL won't work with you, play detective and follow it to the scrapper. It's also conceivable that they'll donate the hulk, but demand payment/purchase of the motors, trucks, etc.

Next, once you have established the terms (preferably in writing), decide on your goal. An operable locomotive, which can be leased to a friendly operator to earn some keep? Display only? And where, and why?

Now, find a home that fits these criteria. Anyplace from a short line to a museum to an excursion line to your backyard (assuming VERY forgiving neighbors!).

Then, satisfy any conditions established by MRL or subsequent owners--raise funds, have a place for it to be switched to, truck it out, whatever. Then start fixing it, or painting it, or whatever your plans are.

It would be nice and certainly ideal to preserve significant and representative artifacts from all railroads but when it comes to standardized items like diesels it's reasonable to question how important it is when one SD40 is pretty much like another SD40.

Also, when it comes to CGW I would think making sure the remaining F's are preserved would be more representative of the dieselized CGW than an SD40 which could have served them for at most two years before they were merged out of existence.

Not that I wouldn't like to see it all saved.

Steve

Thank you all!
We are looking to preserve the locomotive in operating condition; we do know that it was stored serviceable before it was put up for sale. We also have contacts at MTM.
Hopefully, in the next weeks, we can make progress towards establishing a relationship with the MRL.
Again, many thanks.

Please keep us updated regularly, and perhaps you could advise how to get involved?

Wes Harris

Do what I did with the group I'm involved with now, offer to help, and brainstorm to come up with solutions, and from there, get results, like support of other organizations.

Hello all,
The recent discussion has moved towards incorporation as a 501(c)3. However, because 409 is up for sale and incorporation can take two to twelve months, it is hardly likely that we can get moving as a non-profit before 409 is cut up.
The alternate proposal has been to operate under a parent non-profit, such as a museum, thus expediting movement to a tax-exempt entity. Does any one have experience with such an operation, and if so, what are your thoughts on the matter?
Thank you.
Ryan

I forgot to mention that we can be found on Facebook. The link is in the original post.
Ryan

Incorporating a 501(c)3 strictly to save one locomotive likely to be donated under the aegis of another non-profit (such as a museum) may be impractical. If the goal is to eventually have an independent museum, fleet, collection, or operation (see the Reading Co. T&H Society for one example), then it's an inevitable step, but for now the focus has to be on the threatened locomotive and finding a way to save it from the scrapper.

How much do they want for it? (You don't have to disclose it here, but you need to know.) Are they open to negotiation or donation? What is their priority--getting the cash, getting it off the property or books, moving while scrap prices are high, or what? Are they willing/able to set it aside while you raise funds or find a home or benefactor? Will a deposit take it off the scrapping line? How much of a deposit, and on what terms? Maybe they can donate it to a museum that's a 501(c)3 and then you can focus on raising money to restore it instead of acquiring it, but only if said museum agrees.

Depending on the above answers, you determine your next move. Can you find a short lone or loco owner willing to buy it for an interim and/or loan the purchase price and/or store it while you raise the necessary money?

I am not a lawyer but...


Don't worry about that. The law allows for the fact that the wheels turn slowly. If your "entity" looks like a charity, wlaks like a charity, quacks like a charity, then in the eyes of the law, it's a charity even before the paperwork lands. So long as you *continue* to look, walk and quack like a charity and actually do complete the paperwork within reasonable time.

For instance, filing your Articles of Incorporation happens as fast as you can send it. Your Articles will recite your purpose, your structure, and the fact that you'll be a 501(c)(3), and it may not recite, but will certainly *imply* many more things. You want these to be consistent.

You do need to make sure you understand what you're doing, so you don't blunder yourself into a corner. To achieve that, I recommend a couple evenings going through Anthony Mancuso's book How to form a nonprofit corporation http://amzn.to/ih35df, or his California version http://amzn.to/iiW9DD if applicable. [affiliate links]. And then once you've done that, do a "dry run" through IRS's Form 1023 (Form) (Instructions).

You have 27 months to file your Form 1023, and you should know what yours will say before you incorporate, but try to defer filing it until IRS sorts out their electronic-filing system. That will reduce the filing fee from $850 to $200, so they say. http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0, ... 18,00.html

The wrinkle is that until the paperwork gets settled, some charity-support organizations will be hesitant to work with you, or will require a lot of proof. For instance TechSoup (software/PCs for charities), JustGive for donations, the military surplus, community foundations, donor-advised funds, etc.

Trust me when I say that it's a pain waiting for the 501c(3) paperwork to go through. The group that I'm working with now has been waiting since September. (Otto was right, I do need patience!) A 501c(3) just to preserve a single locomotive? Who's to say that there won't be more equipment after a SD40 CGW is saved? Now, my last question is what is the plan if a CGW SD40 can't be saved? Would taking a SD40 without the dynamic blister and modifying it to look like a CGW SD40 be suitable? There's the two BAR F3As at steamtown that are now in Lackawanna colors, and a ATSF PA-1 in Nickle Plate Road paint, so should that be considered as a fallback plan?

I could see faking / recreating something when there are no originals left or they are unavailable but only when it's really emblematic of the line.

Bill Purdie wanting to create a Southern Ps-4 via kitbashing comes to mind. Or for CGW, rounding up as many F's as you can find, painting them all for CGW regardless of origin, just to recreate the look of some crazy A-A-B-B-A lashup or whatever you come up with, because that's what people probably think of when they think of the diesel era CGW. I guess an SD40 is just not what I think of when it comes to that line. But naturally YMMV.

Steve

On loconotes it was reported that MRL 225 and several other engines are on the move to Schnitzer Steel in Portland, OR. If anyone is interested in saving the 225 it would probably be a good idea to contact Schnitzer Steel.

-Andrew Cornillie

Loconotes post:

The following Montana Rail Link locomotives are billed from Spokane, WA to
Schnitzer Steel in Portland, OR.

MRL 111
MRL 114
MRL 125
MRL 126
MRL 200
MRL 204
MRL 211
MRL 214
MRL 215
MRL 218
MRL 225
MRL 306
MRL 307
MRL 309
MRL 602
MRL 604
MRL 606

Mark Gillings