Anyone know if the Siouxland Historical Rail Association acquired a Baldwin DS44-1000 from Eastern Farmers Co-op? There was an unconfirmed report of this unit being donated to the SHRA.

Their website hasn't been updated in a long time. I signed up for an e-mail newsletter from them months ago and haven't received a thing. I hope they're still alive and well as they are the closest to bringing back some GN steam.


shawsinoly@aol.com

I hope they're still alive and well
> as they are the closest to bringing back
> some GN steam.

If the referenced locomotive is the one listed by Barnhardt a year or two back, it started life as Seaboard Air Line 1450, to SCL 62, retired in March 1978. It was built in August 1950.

syfrettinc@bellsouth.net

I think the GN referred to was Great Northern, not Georgia Northern but wouldn't that have been wonderful, Stephen.

those little Baldwin buttheads are fine engines. We did a cosmetic restoration on a WM to replicate a SAL at Spencer back in the dark ages(the red paint came out oranger than planned) and I had always wanted to make it run as a volunteer training exercise back then. It has gone home now and best wishes for its future also.

Dave

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

The locomotive is still at the co-op. It was donated, but the Siouxland group was unable to arrange transport. The unit has friction bearings which BNSF (the only rail connection) is incompetent to deal with.

As to the Siouxland group, they are somewhat of a paradox in the preservation movement. They are concentrating on restoring a 32+/- acre shop complex. The roundhouse was reroofed for about $600,000 and a carpenter shop and other outbuildings stabilized. I believe they have more tracks under roof than equipment to put on the tracks. How many preservation groups can say that?

The 261 group has been contracted to do further work on the GN 4-6-2.

dsrc512@sd.value.net

> I think the GN referred to was Great
> Northern, not Georgia Northern but wouldn't
> that have been wonderful, Stephen.

> those little Baldwin buttheads are fine
> engines. We did a cosmetic restoration on a
> WM to replicate a SAL at Spencer back in the
> dark ages(the red paint came out oranger
> than planned) and I had always wanted to
> make it run as a volunteer training exercise
> back then. It has gone home now and best
> wishes for its future also.

> Dave

No, I knew it was a reference to the Great Northern, the "other" GN Railway. Ha. Anyway, I looked at possibly acquiring the engine since it had tha SAL heritage, but as noted, it has friction bearings. I would imagine BNSF would be more than happy to move it if converted to roller bearings, or if RB trucks were available to put under it for the move. Otherwise, the option is to load it up on a flatcar.

I had always wondered about the heritage of the Baldwin at Spencer. I did notice it was absent last year during the ARM-TRAIN convention. Where did it go? Too bad Spencer didn't pick up on the real thing in S. Dakota when it was available!

Stephen

syfrettinc@bellsouth.net

The unit is back in Western Maryland paint and on display at the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum in Hagerstown MD.

Anyway, I looked at possibly acquiring
> the engine since it had tha SAL heritage,
> but as noted, it has friction bearings.

I suggest you join the vultures on the fence outside the Escanaba & Lake Superior RR in Wells, Michigan. Several of the surviving RS12 road switchers on the property, and perhaps one or more of the switchers, are originally Seaboard Air Line.

I have been trying for several years to get the likes of the Savannah roundhouse gang, the S.C. Railroad Museum, and the Atlanta NRHS interested in these units for potential repatriation. I know members of the SAL/ACL T&HS are aware of these locos.

Right now, however, one could endlessly debate which is the bigger obstacle to saving these locos: the friction trucks (SMS, the Baldwin collectors near Philadelphia, have some suitable trucks to swap out for shipment, I think), or the locomotives' current owner, who will seemingly deal with no one, not even SMS. But, like certain other parties discussed on this list, no one lives forever.........

lner4472@bcpl.net

I will speak to the management at Savannah and at New Hope Valley RR, but I am almost sure both these organizations will gladly accept them when you ship them down. Meanwhile we will work on other existing priorities. Appreciate the consideration, few people would volunteer to carry out such a costly mission.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association was unable to acquire the Baldwin locomotive due to moving problems.

Steve Sanberg and crew are in Sioux City working on GN 1355's boiler. We have obtained several grants to help with the restoration work. We have launched a local fundraising campaign for GN 1355.

Over the past year we have successfully raised almost $800,000 in grants to make repairs on several buildings at the Milwaukee Shops.

We just recently completed an integrated marketing communications plan that will help with our fundraising and grant writing opportunities. As part of the plan's implementation, we will be publishing an e-mail newsletter. We have scheduled the roll out of the e-mail newsletter for November 2. Additionally, our marketing plan addressed our website design, which is now being reconstructed to reflect the changes.

Thanks everyone for your interest. We tried very hard to take advantage of the Baldwin donation, but the logistics with moving the locomotive became a major issue.

Larry Obermeyer
Secretary
Siouxland Historical Railroad Association

http://www.rypn.org/SHRA
lobermeyer@usa.net

Larry:

GREAT NEWS and thanks for the update. You can sign me up for the newsletter and I look forward to further progress.

Scott



shawsinoly@aol.com