The Western Railway Museum wishes to dispose of SPMW 7100, a 120-ton steam wrecking derrick and support car. It is surplus to our collection and does not fit our mission statement.

It is available free to another museum or possibly for sale to another responsible organization or person, as-is, where-is. Several years ago it was estimated that dismantling and trucking it would cost about $40,000.

Movement by rail is not an option.

I am not trying to be smart here, but can you explain how that doesn't fit your "mission statement".

Wes

From WRM's web site http://www.wrm.org/about/mission.htm

A heavy wrecking crane which was never used in an electric railway setting in our region just doesn't fit.

Fair enough

I should add that the Board of Directors has reluctantly decided that the crane will be scrapped if no action to move it off the property has begun within the next year.

And that is why I no longer am associated with museums..

Just curious, would the museum keep it if enough donations were received to offset the money made from scrapping it? If so, any idea of what the scrap value would be?

When a museum makes the decision to deaccesion something like this, it means it JUST DOESN'T FIT. You don't put a streetcar on the Cass Scenic Railroad. You don't put an Amtrak diesel at Promontory Point or on the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington. And you don't put a Maine narrow-gauge two-footer in the North Carolina Transportation Museum.

Even if you fend off the scrappers, the crane is tying up track space and needs to be painted every few years. In effect, it's another "mouth to feed." To preserve this even if the current custodians were amenable, you'd have to set up an endowment for future painting, a pole shed, etc.

Can you make a sincere case that this thing is worth that trouble?

Steam cranes are at least as rare as steam locomotives, so that makes the case there as to being worth the trouble.

Problem is, how do you get the resources, how do you buy the time?

Ah, thanks for the explanation ADM IV. Sure hope they can find a good home for the crane along with the two WP steam locomotives and other mainline passenger cars that don't fit their mission statement.

Mr. Mitchell's comments are absolutely correct on all points - we are not interested in raising money by scrapping a rare artifact. In fact, I suspect that when all the costs of scrapping are considered we would be lucky to break even.

Over the years, we have had many visits by people interested in getting the crane. None have come back, I guess after considering the reality of how big the project is.

As a Director, I definitely prefer giving the crane to a good home, and I'm sure that the rest of the Board agrees. If some individual or group can develop a plan for its removal and demonstrate the financial resources to carry it out, we will certainly consider it.

In the opinion of our Board and the Collections Committee, the WP equipment mentioned does fit our mission statement.

WRM is located on and owns the largest surviving section of the Sacramento Northern Railway, which was a subsidiary of the Western Pacific. The WP steam locomotives and the mainline passenger cars are considered to be part of the collection interpreting the passenger and freight trains of the WP as SN's owner.

The Western Pacific not only owned the SN, they shared trackage with it. In Marysville and south, the SN put wire over the WP main line because of a SN bridge in poor condition. This electric operation on the WP mainline started in about 1925 and lasted until 1965. Any railfan who ever rode the California Zephyr to California will remember riding in a dome car with the trolley wire just a foot or so above the windows. Probably every oil fired steam locomotive that the WP ever owned operated under this wire.

Guys - I know first hand how hard it is to part with some of the collection. These things must be done. Hope you can find a good home for it. Wish we could get it to Campo.

Jim

OERM has at least one intact SP steam crane, and the better part of another. Anybody know when these were last hydro tested, or fired? Lovely relics that outlived their time.

I suggest that you send your notice to Rod Fishburn, the moderator of the ARM/TRAIN Parts Committee. His e-mail address is: rodfishburn@earthlink.net Rod will be happy to send on your notice to virtually every railway museum and tourist railroad in North America.

I realize that most of the movers and shakers in our industry read these items in RyPN's Interchange, but maybe someone else who doesn't will get the notice from Rod and follow-up with you to save this interesting piece of equipment from the scrapper's torch??

Just a thought.

Thanks!