This was discussed here recently on the Interchange. Thanks for digging up the photos
to show it off. Now if Mr.Ezovski could be convinced that the Sierra engine could go back to Jamestown...I am sure the 1897 State park would be glad to give it a home!

ted_miles@nps.gov

I feel like I should cry looking at these photos, but I wonder.

Am I seeing engines that were orphans that would have met the torch if not for Mr. Kepner? In that case, something is better than nothing.

Have any of his feelt ever been sold or traded to museum groups for restoration?

Seems all three of the Sierra engines would be welcomed home at some point.

Rob



Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

> This was discussed here recently on the
> Interchange. Thanks for digging up the
> photos
> to show it off. Now if Mr.Ezovski could be
> convinced that the Sierra engine could go
> back to Jamestown...I am sure the 1897 State
> park would be glad to give it a home!

Doesn't he also have one of the former RAYONIER logging engines, one of the malletts. I seem to remember that from our video on Rayonier. Maybe its gone now, but I thought he had something to do with one of those engines...I didn't see it in the photos in the brief.

Of Course x-Sierra #38 was at Rayonier as well.
Greg Scholl

sales@gregschollvideo.com

Gotta wonder what alignment of the planets Mr Kepner is waiting for to do something with this fine collection other than letting it rust.

I hope he finds it soon. Best of luck to him.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

> Gotta wonder what alignment of the planets
> Mr Kepner is waiting for to do something
> with this fine collection other than letting
> it rust.

What I've been told is that Mr. Kepner is intending to start his own RR museum.

I agree with Rob Davis that the alternate fate of some of these locomotives could have been worse. The recent auction of the Sundown and Southern, and my personal knowledge of some other privately owned RR museums, does not give me much hope. I suspect that the fate of most of this equipment will be decided at an estate auction.



Washington Steam Railroads and Locomotives
brianf425@yahoo.com

No matter how much we do as a rail prevervation movement the one constant is the elements. This is just not enough money or manpower to do everything we want to see done. The elements never sleep, even on nice sunny days they are working on our equipment.

We have stuff rotting all over the place, the almighty Smithsonian owns a GG-1 that is probably decades away from safe secure display. Every muesum has it's ugly side. Why should we expect a man to collect in a responble manner if our national museums don't?

Forgotten Delaware

Couple things on the Kepner collection. At the time when he got the GN 1246 from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle he said it was going to be used on a reopened Grand Canyon Railroad. This was before the present GCRY got started. At one time I heard his "Museum" was to be known as the Great Western Railroad Museum.

He also owns a number of railroad cars. In Klamath Falls, OR there was a couple of the the Weyerhaeuser Baldwin diesels that I thought were owned by him.

Richard

> What I've been told is that Mr. Kepner is
> intending to start his own RR museum.

> I agree with Rob Davis that the alternate
> fate of some of these locomotives could have
> been worse. The recent auction of the
> Sundown and Southern, and my personal
> knowledge of some other privately owned RR
> museums, does not give me much hope. I
> suspect that the fate of most of this
> equipment will be decided at an estate
> auction.

> Am I seeing engines that were orphans that
> would have met the torch if not for Mr.
> Kepner?

In this case, no. Mr. Kepner has been working on his "Great Western Railroad Museum" since the late 1970s, with no progress except for the continued purchase of locomotives. I know for a fact that the Heber Valley Railroad tried very hard to purchase Santa Maria Valley 2-8-2 No. 100 from Kepner, but were turned down. They were, however, offered a lease on the locomotive but the amount of money Kepner asked for was very, very high and the railroad would have had to pay for its restoration also. Heber eventually abandoned their interests in the 100 and started looking for other locomotives (this led to the purchase of Great Western 75 and the Everett Rohrer movie train in 1999).

There are people who want these engines and have offered real money for them. I know for a fact that the State of California has tried in the past to purchase Sierra 36 and 34 (which Kepner also owns - it is stored in the Jamestown roundhouse). I have never heard mention of the state trying to get 18 or 38, although they are also ex-Sierra.

I know of one group that offered Kepner $50,000 for the 2-6-2 No. 105, only to be told that it will be "restored to operaton for the Great Western Railroad Musuem and is not for sale." Granted, these are Fred's engines and he can do what he wants with them, but I would think he would jump at the chance to get some money in place to restore one of them. If he were to sell two or three of his engines it seems that he would have enough money to get his museum project off the ground.

> Have any of his feelt ever been sold or
> traded to museum groups for restoration?

Many have tried....

Last time I wrote something about Kepner I was flamed several times. He might be a nice guy, but I don't want to see this stuff end up at the scrap yard. Flame away!

Jeff Terry

> We have stuff rotting all over the place,
> the almighty Smithsonian owns a GG-1 that is
> probably decades away from safe secure
> display. Every muesum has it's ugly side.
> Why should we expect a man to collect in a
> responble manner if our national museums
> don't?

Probably because most museums and individuals have done more with what they have than he has with his collection, even if they (we) have a long way to go. If we don't set high standards and expectations, what will we aim at?

Chris


holombo.chris@ssd.loral.com

Tom,

I still think a wondeerful opportunity was missed during the rehab of Washington Union Station to display GG-1 #4876 in the basement that she unelegantly fell into 40 years before!!!

She would have made a great food court dislay, no?

Rob Davis

Tounge in cheek and foot up @#^#$!

> We have stuff rotting all over the place,
> the almighty Smithsonian owns a GG-1 that is
> probably decades away from safe secure
> display.


Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

Exactly which GG-1 are you thinking of? I'm not sure that the Smithsonian owns a GG-1, although they might technically own #4876, the unit that crashed into Washington Union Station. Whoever technically owns it, as far as I know it is under the nominal care of the B&O Railroad Museum and is stored in the Baltimore area. Can anyone from B&ORRM clarify?

Frank Hicks


fullparallel@wideopenwest.com

I should have added that Kepner has purchased locomotives that have all been previously preserved. They would have found other homes if he hadn't purchased them, and others (like Sierra 38 and the GN 2-8-0) would probably still be on static display. Sierra 36 was a few weeks from being steamed up at the Wasatch Mountain Railway in 1988 when it was sold to Kepner by the widow of Reed Hatch (it had been out of service needing wheel work since '83). This is the reason that 36 has no rods installed today. Heber wanted to keep the 36 and run it there but Fred said "no" and moved it and Santa Maria Valley 100 to Ogden for storage.

Jeff Terry

Rob,

I thought the same thing at the time. However, 4876 is still with us. She is owned by the B&O Museum, and is stored at a nearby yard until they have the time and money to restore her for display.

kevin.r.gillespie@verizon.net

A clarification on #36. It was equalizing work, not wheel work that the Heber was doing, and she was days, not weeks from running when Kepner pulled the pin. His reason, I was told, was that he was angry that the Heber was improving the engine without his permission. The rods were on, and the engine essentially complete when he decided to pull it. The rods are off now because the trucking company refused to take the engine due to its weight. Kepner stripped it of everything he could remove to reduce its weight. Rods, sand domes, smokebox front, and air compressor were all removed. He even telephoned me to get my opinion on how much the various parts weighed. I came by Heber while this was going on, and was impressed to see Kepner loading #36Â’s rods into the back of his AMC Gremlin! I am somewhat relieved to see #36 as complete as she is, as I was afraid that all of the parts removed were scattered to the four winds. The #100 was also completely serviceable, except for needing new tubes. It is a shame that all these engines are in this situation, being of a size to make them prime candidates for tourist service, but held captive and by all indications never to run again.