Hi y'all,

There were some pictures of 12 posted on the Kentucky Railfan yahoo group about 12. Someone asked what was going on with 12 and the reply directed them to this article:

http://themoreheadnews.com/local/x67369 ... aded-north

Stuart

That is beyond great news. They just scrapped their baldwins last summer. That was one heckuva loss. This means another southern steam engine will be preserved. This one is in great shape from what I'm told and have seen.

Joe

I'm very glad she has been saved and will go to a good home. Although if I had my "druthers", it would have been nice to see her end up at Spencer

Totally agree with that, would have been a perfect engine for their operations, but still great news and still a well suited engine for a shop complex.

As much as I would also like to see the 1643 at Spencer, given that funding from the state of North Carolina has been cut at the North Carolina Transportation Museum I doubt that the 1643 would end up more than being a static display unless things change there over the next few years. I would look for any steam operations there to be with visiting power like the Gramlings' 75 and 126, which have both made or are going to make visits to Spencer in the recent past and near future. I am glad that the 12/1643 will not be getting cut up unlike the Durham and Southern Baldwin diesels. Spencer has done a marvelous job with the recent cosmetic restoration of the Southern 542 and hopefully this economic downturn will turn around and they can return either the 1925 or 604 to steam one day in the future.

I'm glad that 12 is going to a good home, but feel the whole M&NF saga was a missed opportunity for preservation in Kentucky. There was a whole railroad there up until a few years ago with enough track to run, a yard to switch, locomotive shops, an office, etc.... All this will be gone and forgotten. It's a shame, but it happens all the time...

Stuart

Steven & all,
The state Department of Cultural Resources has never paid for or subsidized the operation of the railroad at the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer. It's always been the realm of the non-profit, and even though more resources of the museum foundation now go to keeping the museum open, the potential for in-house steam operations are still there: They're just on hold while we clear the shop floor, which included the cosmetic on SR 2-8-0 No. 542 (done) and now the W.R.Bonsal/U.S. Army 0-6-0T which has been in pieces for way too long. The two SR heavyweight passenger cars that were in Maine are coming up on the priority list, and the next logical step toward steam operations is be to open up the 1925 to get a clear picture of what it would take to revive it.
Jim Wrinn
NCTM Foundation board member

Thank you for the clarification Jim. I apologize and did not mean to ruffle any feathers nor hijack the original topic of the 12/1643 going north to Ohio. I did not know how the museum operated financially, nor is it any of the public's business. I only knew that there had been some recent changes at the museum including the $10 entrance fee which includes the train ride. My comments were not in any way intended to cause offense at all. My deepest regrets.