Precisely why many steam cotton compresses are still in place around the country. Factor in the cranes that will be needed to lift the parts/pieces out of that location and the need to shut the neighboring tracks down; and the only way this equipment will be removed is when the property becomes valuable enough to pay someone to remove it. It sounds like the City of Orlando believes the property is now valuable enough to eventually pay to have it removed. The coaches will have to be asbestos remediated first; I doubt anyone will make money scrapping this; but will have to be paid instead.

I have a question. It might pertain to Frisco #3749, although probably not.

I was searching the internet recently, looking for information on the ex-Chicago & Eastern Illinois, ex-U.S. Army Kitchen car, that we are working on at our museum. I found a site that is run by the Camargo Township District Library in Villa Grove, Illinois, which is a former Division point with a yard and roundhouse on the C&EI. While searching their rather extensive list of railroad photos, I found one that shows an 0-6-0 that was taken on January 7, 1912. Why would some local newspaper photographer take a photo of a lowly 0-6-0 back in 1912? The reason apparently, is that the photo is marked that it was 14 degrees below zero! And it really looks like it is! What REALLY caught my eye however, was the fact that the engine showed FRISCO on the cab! The collar around the coal bunker showed C. & E. I. initials and the locomotive was numbered 4. Now I knew that the Frisco controlled the C&EI at this time, and eventually relinquished control around 1916 I think. But the caption on the photo even calls it a Frisco engine. So here is my question; did this engine (and the others in that class) go back to the Frisco when the C&EI became independent, or did they stay on the C&EI? What is interesting is that the engine at Orlando, has some very similiar looks of FRISCO/C&EI # 4 in the photo. The drivers are closly spaced, the cylinders look the same and the engine has only one sand dome (most switchers were built with two). The built date of the 3749 was 1911, so the date of the photo fits. Now I don't know the answer to this question, but on the chance that the 3749 might actually be one of the 0-6-0's that WAS assigned to the C&EI, it would be the only surviving C&EI steam locomotive! Anyway, this is just a question. Does anyone know the answer?

Les

ok, ok......it was only a rough estimate......
Yes, a substantial portion of the weight is concrete.....and other materials.
Most heavyweights weigh more than 80 tons, I went with the low estimate......
I have dealt with similar situations......a railroad I worked for scrapped a heavy weight a few years ago.....the scrapper lost money, later told me that he'd have been better off giving it away and paying to move it. You should have seen the piles of chop saw wheels and acetylene tanks!........they also "forgot" about the asbestos in that car.

Well today is the deadline... Will there be any takers?

I just talked to the purchasing person at city of Orlando who is handling the disposal of the equipment. He said he could not reveal any outcome or any information on the offers until after 5:00 PM today. I asked if they were willing to let a person take only part of the group of equipment, and he said they would consider that. I asked him if they would consider offers from scrappers received so far, and he said they would, but they would prefer not to scrap the equipment. I asked him if there was any possibility of displaying the equipment where it sits or nearby, and he said that would require the consent of the landowner. He said the land on which the equipment sits is owned by FDOT, and they want the equipment moved off of their land.

He said they will not make a decision until sometime next week.

There is still no word on the plans for the locomotive and cars, but there has been some local coverage. I would distill the meaning as follows, but this is only my personal interpretation.

The city has said they don’t want to scrap the equipment unless they have no choice. They seem to be basing their position on the assumption that any move is going to cost at least $300,000, and that would include the short move to a temporary storage site that the city says they will execute if nobody wants the equipment.

The mayor has commented that a move to a temporary site will entail a second cost to the city to transport the equipment to a permanent display site. However, the way I see it, moving the equipment to a temporary site may give time for a private party to take the equipment and arrange their own transportation.

The mayor has commented that they have five purchase contracts in hand from interested parties since the equipment has been offered. Language from city officials indicates that scrapping will cost the city money in addition to the scrap value of the equipment. Apparently scrapping cannot be done on the present site. It is as close to the CSX mainline as a siding would typically be.

Therefore, it might be conceivable that the city will spend $300,000 for moving the equipment off the site, and an additional sum to cover the cost of scrapping. If that should add up to say $400,000, I would think it might be cheaper for them to just donate and deliver the equipment to an interested museum.

Sounds like they are indeed in the "cotton compress" dilemma. Limited room; heavy cranes required to lift the scrapped parts out; along with closure of the mainline during the scrapping process; making it a no-go.

It will have to be moved out regardless of whether it will be preserved or scrapped. The cost of labor and material to abate and scrap it and haul off the non-ferrous materials will barely or not cover the price of the scrap metal. So, it is in their interest as well to try and preserve rather than scrap it.

IIRC, the GG-1 in Baltimore mentioned in another thread is near live track, is it not? Will it be possible to scrap it on site, or will it face a similiar situation?

Not necessarily relevant to the situation--after all, other parties cut up stuff there--but......

There is a capable and fully equipped scrap yard, with cranes, compressors, cube-squashers, and the like about 1,500 feet away. And it has sidings off the CSX connection to the B&O Museum "First Mile". B&O-Museum-destined cars have been stashed on sidings directly next to the yard in question in the past.

Electric locos are apparently not easy to scrap, however. In spite of the proximity of many closer scrap yards, almost all Conrail and Amtrak GG1's, E44's, EP-5's, E60's, etc. ended up at Naporano Iron & Metal in Newark, NJ.

The Orlando equipment has been awarded to the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish, FL.
It will move in stages so that all is moved by the end of January, 2012.

Didn't they just cut up at least one car is the same/worse shape recently?

T7

Very cool. Not one of the places I expected to see get it but I'm glad they did.

Glad to see it was able to go to a good home.

That is an amazing outcome, considering the circumstances. It will be interesting to see the moves. Good luck to them.

Does anyone have any photos of this engine at its new home yet?

Here is SLSF 3749 at Parrish, FL. It is waiting for a cosmetic restoration back to it's proper look and a museum committee has been formed to do that.

-J R Herron