I have not personally seen the 470 but I have seen the roundhouse in Rock land, Me. It is in very good condition and I THINK the turntable might be able to fit her on it. I would definitely like to see her at least make one trip out there! If I am not visiting my aunt (she lives a block away from the yards) she could at least take pictures of her!

Interesting. There are several places in Conn where this work can be done.
There is one place with a secure track that is fenced and video monitored. There is also a overhead crane and machinery is being brought in place. And yes it is able to be used for the asking(see my post MEC 470 stepping up). It is really too bad that instead of working together to save a beautiful locomotive certain individuals in the pine tree state send snotty personal messages. I would love to see her roaming New England in excursion service!! But she also needs a home base. That home base is available now!

Snotty remarks are not what it takes to restore this engine. Cooperation will do it better!

I respect the idea of keeping her in Maine,but lets be honest Maine is quite a haul for a volunteer base to get to. The Conn location is 2hrs from Boston,New York City and Albany. This gives an excellent area to establish a volunteer corp with a large population base.

I honestly hope some individuals can stop looking down there noses and get to the business at hand. Restoring a locomotive. With all due respect there is already one MEC engine that has been apart for years with no visible signs that the restoration is proceeding. Do we need another?

Lets make this happen.

Scott K

It's wonderful to see so much enthusiasm for rehabilitating 470 (or 501, if it should move in that direction). No turf wars, please! Yes, shopping either locomotive would be possible inside New England, and yes, fixing 470 inside Maine is possible and probably a good idea for bringing necessary funding together.

I will not post any further information unless it is 100% verified, agreed to, and settled upon. Hopefully, no huge time lapses before more is announced, but for right now, there is only hope and dialog, and nothing else has changed.

Patience. Your support is gratifying to all involved in this movement.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In all of this Richard has been doing a great Job of giving out information that we are recieving. A lot of what we are getting is in little snippets because the parties involved want to avoid all of this speculation and infighting by people who have a genuine interest in the locomotive, but do not know the particulars. To put the location questions to bed, in the original donation of two of the three MEC locomotives, there is a stipulation that they MUST stay on MEC rails. Now, this is not written into a formal contract, but from the way it reads, it would not be wise to test the waters according to the council of one of these groups. And as a matter of fact, it is a direct stipulation of one of the groups that one particular locomotive MUST stay on MEC tracks. So as far as a home base is concerned, there is no wiggle room on that, and it's not the call of either of the groups. It's a legal matter. There is a lot more information than anyone on here has. This being due to Confidentiality agreements that all of the parties are under.
That being said, no one here in New England thinks we are better than anyone else at the rebuilding of steam equipment, but we would like to have the capacity to have 1 operating main line locomotive. This is a long hard road, and to Scott K, I would like to know who was mean to you in order that I can make sure that they are not part of either of the groups.
I know how frustrating it can be to not have all the information, but I ask that everyone here excercises just a little more patience and restraint as we finish working through some things. Please know that Dick will be passing along anything that we can as things progress. I really appreciate all the support for the locomotives, and the mostly positive postings here. When one deals with politicians, sometimes there needs to be politics. Right now.....copious amounts of politics.

Gentleman,
With all due respect. This is smelling like a dead lobster.

1. As far as we all know the city of Waterville has not made any decisions on the locomotive yet. If you have a agreement with the city say so. The city has not said a agreement is in place. It seems to me your buying time at the expense of the locomotive.

2. None of the 3 MEC locomotives are on MEC rails.

3. MEC does not exist anymore.....The City of Waterville is the owner.

4. Certain individuals are representing themselves as custodians of the locomotive.
Secret credentials I guess?

5. Politics and preservation are two different things. I don't know politics, but I think calling the city manager and city engineer [idiots] on one of the other railroad forums is a good way to get the door closed.


6. Keeping the engine in Maine does not have squat to do with funding purposes.

If you have something real and tangible lets hear it..........I am ready to work.

Scott K

And here I thought Pennsylvania would make everyone happy ...

Scott,

1. There is a reason that this is the case. As I said there are confidentiality agreements in place. If the City of waterville wanted the scruteny as to how they are dealing with the RFP process, they would release the information to everyone. When they decide to make the information public, that is when someone will say something. It is after all THEIR locomotive, and they have the right to run the RFP process as they see fit. If they want to take a few more months, or years, to decide what they feel is best for their locomotive, then all the goating for people to say something will just result in us debating something that no one really knows about. Lastly, I would not presume to say that ANY of the people who put in RFPs are "buying time at the expense of the locomotive". I can not speak for any of the groups who have put in a proposal (because that has not been made public so no one knows for sure who is actually in the running) but I would guess at this point everyone is getting antsy for some sort of decision. Here again though, it is up to the City to make the move....not an internet forum.

2. Waterville is on the MEC. Waterville Shops were the main locomotive repair facility on the MEC. The 470 is sitting right next to the MEC main line in Waterville.

3. Look up something called a conditional donation......

4. Who is representing themselves as custodians of the locomotive (Other than the City of Waterville)?

5. The gentlemen on the other forum who called them (idiots) is this the same person who turned the 501 into a paria? I think it is, in which case you should not be surprized by what he has said. No one on here is bashing them. Please do not lump everyone who purports to be involved with the locomotive into the same group. The only people who have the knowledge to be talking about these things aren't, and for this reason. They do not want to be scruitinized when things are not it place.

6. How do you know this? Have you been involved with the City and its wishes? Have you talked with any of the bidding parties to see if this type of claim has any merrit? I think it is very premature to assume that there is no benifit to keeping a Maine locomotive in Maine in terms of funding.



You are not the only one who is ready to work. But there is still a lot that is and will remain unkown until someone with the permissions to divuldge information says something. Saying the 470 RFP process smells like a "dead lobster" does nothing for the locomotive. The only people with control of the locomotive and information pertaining to it is the City. No amout of griping and groaning will change that until they are good and ready.

To recap what I think I read:

The City of Waterville has received more than one - dare I say "a few" responses to their RFP from entities that have passed a level of qualification as being responsible and able to back up their proposals.

The city is taking steps to explore all qualified proposals and verify claims made in the proposals they have received.

they are taking the time they need to make sure their decision is well founded in reality and the recipient stands a strong likelihood of successfully carrying out their proposal.

Nothing in this sounds like bad news to me.....I am somewhat amused by the perception that a park hulk is somehow a valuable commodity that people are clamoring to gain for nefarious purposes. If you get it what you get is an opportunity to bankrupt yourself unless you have a plan and resources - hence, the time and verification process.

Let's hope for a good decision and a favorable outcome without any regional or other prejudices interfering more than is absolutely required.

dave

I have no dog in the hunt, just wanted to say what a nice looking roundhouse! Nice to see one in good repair.

Frisco, that's the Maine and Eastern Roundhouse in Rockland. It's a beautiful structure and the little railroad is in a gorgeous location. The track itself is beautifully maintained.

Brett has pretty much summed it up. Nobody is presenting themselves as custodian of the locomotive. The 470 is, and likely will remain, property of the City of Waterville. The reporting you've read here is advised by people who are involved in the decision, at least as presenters of an RFP that is in consideration.

I think this is the best information anybody can present to the RYPN forum on a topic much discussed. We prefer our lobsters alive, thank you.

Brett,
If you have a RFP in place it is indeed confidential. If you have a agreement that is in place then that is a whole other ball game.

My question is very simple, is a agreement in place with the group you are in,and the City of Waterville? Yes or no will suffice.
If not. Then I would say you are stone walling other peoples efforts.

I don't know anyone in the 501 group nor were they the ones making unwise comments.

Respectfully,
Scott K

I'm just saying S.E. PA is a great location, but who am I to hint at such a thing ;)

I guess I see things a little differently, but "demanding" to know things about something owned by someone else doesn't seem right. I would think if there's something in the works it will be public in due time.
I would love to see the engine out of there and at least authentically cosmetically restored or better yet operating. However I have no money to invest, getting too old to help but if you ask me I can donate plenty of free advice.
Chill out folks, it is what it is.

,
Am I missing something here? Where in CT is there a shop with an overhead crane that is actively being tooled up for volunteer steam locomotive restoration project? Are you just dreaming on this one or is there actually anything behind such post? I know that any serious volunteer steam restoration project taking place within a 50mile radius of New Haven is something I would love to be a part of!

-Pulls up to the bar, "It doesn't get any better than this."

So the Maine Eastern Railroad is operated by the Morristown & Erie Railroad and the tracks are owned by the State of Maine. The tracks were replaced in the last decade with welded rail. Maine Eastern operates a seasonal service to Rockland, ME, via Wiscasset, Bath, and Brunswick, ME. The Morristown & Erie also has the operating rights on the "Lower Road" of the Maine Central running up to Augusta, ME...to date they have operated one excursion trip up this line.

The roundhouse is their base of operations. I have believed for many years that the roundhouse would be the perfect location for a base of operations. Morristown & Erie has operated steam locomotives before and the engine would serve as a great tourist draw, as well as have tracks to roam at an appreciable speed. The line between Rockland and Brunswick is built to 60 mph passenger limits. In Brunswick Amtrak's Downeaster seamlessly connects to the same line...the trains share the new station facility in Brunswick.

As noted by a few others...overhead lifts and sophisticated shops would be great...but the facilities to jack up and repair the engine are in Maine...and don't under-estimate the Pine Tree dwellers...Maine is an amazing place...I am glad I live 5 minutes away!