For the record, the locomotive in Church Hill Tunnel was built by Baldwin in 1903 for the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville as its number 54. At the time of the cave-in, it had been renumbered as Chesapeake & Ohio #231. It's interesting that two locomotives from the CC&L still exist. In addition to 4-4-0 #54 buried there in the tunnel, 4-6-0 #108, later Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana #108 (#1108) is now preserved at the B&O Museum in Baltimore, Maryland as Chesapeake & Ohio #377. The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum operates trains these days over the old CC&L right-of-way out of the museums site in North Judson, Indiana. Although no actual firm evidence exists, it seems likely that both CC&L 4-4-0 #54 and 4-6-0 #108 probably did operate out of North Judson in their earlier railroad careers.

Les

It would be a shame if that 0-6-0 in the quarry in Pennsylvania turned out to be just a tank car that someone forgot about-

EDM - The 0-6-0 in the quarry is an ongoing joke inside the forum. It was a rumor about a PRR B8 locomotive, started by an individual who has a reputation for starting and fanning fabricated stories under multiple identities. All the evidence in sum leads us to believe there is no such animal and never was. Any reference to a locomotive in a quarry in Pennsylvania should be followed by a rim-shot. Bruumm-bum!

In regards to the engine. I believe there can be no possible attempt to get it out of that tunnel in the current conditions of it. Yes there is a steam locomotive in there. Same with a steamer under the streets of NYC. 5 Million to get a few bodies and an engine that has probably been rusted so far that it will probably collapse the engine body simply doesn't seem like a good idea. While this engine is impossible to get to, there are many other "Lost" engines out there that are waiting for funds. The lost engines of Albany anyone?

How about instead of throwing $5 Million at a tunnel to retrieve an engine and bodies(However much of a tragedy it is to not recover the bodies), we look around at what else is here, those that are on the side of a mountain, or under a river, or under a street. or those sitting in backlots waiting for someone to tend to them.

Just my 0.02

I'm well aware of the quarry 0-6-0 story and it's history. Thats why I made a reference to the tank car. Seems the same individual reported a steam locomotive being moved dead in tow on a regular freight train, which really turned out to be an older tank car. This same individual also shows up on various forums with different screen names, but most of the moderators are wise to him and soon ban him.

Granted that the Church Hill locomotive would be problematic to recover, but what about the one in Garysburg? That sounds like a pretty straight forward excavation and removal without any damaging effects. And $49,000 sounds like chump change in today's world. Anybody know why the effort wasn't made to recover it back in 2008?

Personally, I'd vote for leaving the Church Hill engine where it is. It's nice to imagine a perfectly preserved locomotive and train buried in the tunnel versus the reality of what it'd look like if recovered.

If you want to know what that engine would probably look like, look no further....

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/l ... d-04272012

Why hasn't this Florida recovery been mentioned before? I did a topic search and found nothing. Anybody have any further info on it?

Thanks for the link wctruboat, that's a fascinating find.

Very Best Wishes,
Bob.

That linked photo shows what I think most lost locomotives would look like. They are incomplete, almost beyond rebuildable. If recovered, perhaps they should be displayed for exactly what they are. That being a relic that tells its story of what it once was.

I tend to believe that there are a rather large number of lost locomotives that would look like the one in the photo. They are the lost locomotives with lost history. I'll bet there are 100 of them out there tucked into canyons, riverbanks, and swamps. They are either buried or submerged. That is how they hide until everybody has forgotten them.

Of course that is conditional on the climate and exposure to certain minerals. Salt has no doubt eaten away most of the B&M 4-6-2 in the Piscataquis River, between New Hampshire and Maine. The CPR Consolidation in the deep, fresh water of Slocam Lake, B.C., is probably in very good shape. The missing AT&SF Mikado int he river bed out west...who can say? If retrieval is an economical option, completes and unknown in history, offers something worthy of restoration, then why no try to marshal support? If you know there is nothing to be gained, much to risk or lose, allow the stories to spin.

The Florida locomotive looks like it may have beeen a 4-4-0? Does anyone know anything of its history, Id guess a Baldwin? Im sure it does not have a builders plate

I hate to even mention some other rumor of a lost locomotive but.... I have heard stories from some of the Southern steam program guys that Bill Purdie and some of the older guys that would occasionally go along on the trips in the earlier days would talk about a SRR engine being in the river somewhere west of Asheville. I was just curious if anyone else had heard this or if there was any truth behind it ? I mean obviously I don't think they meant there is a Ps-4 or a Ts-1 in perfect condition beneath the water. Still is interesting.