Is there any way to watch this video if I don't want to subscribe and pay money to view it?

The bottom line here is that we're all EXTREMELY fortunate that this guy went broke before someone got seriously injured or far worse.

This was the most ill concieved steam operation ever to see the light of day and thank goodness his wallet wasn't any thicker than it was.

The poor engine of course sufferred the consequences and will most likely end up being cut up as the result of his abuse.

Sad but true.

Ross Rowland

While it may be altruistic to "Bring 2100 Home", having a Trustee/Member dictate policy for your group in an open forum is not in the best interests of your organization.

Let your current President speak on behalf of your organization, with the approval of your Board to do so. And, whatever correspondence is sent, it is between the owner of the engine and your President who will instruct the Board on the next steps. In private.

Let us hope cooler heads intercede, and Ross Rowland's forecast is too dim for this day and age. I shudder to think of an operational steam locomotive of heritage, size, and strength, such as 2100, being reduced to pieces due to ignorance and expedience.

This locomotive might have some problems with operability if it crosses paths with the local FRA inspector.

PC

The Region 8 steam inspector is well aware of this locomotive's condition.

Brian

The FRA inspector was well aware of the operation, reviewed the work done on the boiler and also paid several visits during operation. Did anyone think an operation that was as well publicized as this one wouldn't be noticed?

We were working on a project in Tacoma after the last season, the locomotive was in the Tacoma Rail yard (along with the equipment) and I got photos of everything in a driving rain, knowing well that this may have been the last time I ever got to see it. Both of us were a long way from home.

The only observation I can add here is that to say that there was bad blood with Tacoma Rail over the storage and operation charges was an understatement. It was an absolutely toxic topic. And that piece of railroad up the hill is absolutely brutal going up and equally unforgiving headed back down. You have to keep your wits about you on that one.

Possibly the best long-term benefit was living proof that you actually can move a T-1 4-8-4 on a QTTX flatcar. That evidence may be the best long-term hope here for something in the future.

Remember when there was talk of hanging her from the ceiling in a Las Vegas casino?

Maybe she could be hung at the Sands in Bethlehem? ;-)

rob

You think Jerry Jacobson reads this thread?

That would be ironic, given the years she has already spent in Ohio. The Canadian/PacNoWest adventure would wind up being just a vacation from the Buckeye State.

Rob

I'll get some flack for this but really it's only repeating what has already been said, the engine needs to be either sent back East or torch it to the ground and be done with it. If Payne still has ownership of that locomotive, I don't want to be within 100 miles of the damn thing.

All that has been said on here is true but that low water condition was a common theme of that engine. I certainly won't rehash what has been said but the pictures, the stories and the overall look of that engine says a lot.

The things I know now working with steam over the years, had I had that knowledge, I wouldn't have stepped foot near that thing.

I'll always remember coming around the Fife curve on I-5 (a distance of 4.5 miles per Google) when the train was at Freighthouse Square and seeing a huge column of black smoke from the 2100 because they couldn't get the steam pressure above 150psi.... I'll have to see if I can find that picture...

Fine. Got your checkbook out?

Torching it as a solution because the current owner ran her that way is a poor fix. Repairing it correctly before it is fired again makes more sense. This is railway preservation, not railway expedience.

Wasn’t that 614 that the casino offer was made for? I seem to recall Ross posting on the details of that.