I wanted to stay out of this one but I guess I can't hold off the need to contribute some thoughts.

The B&O Museum has come in for some knocks on the Interchange lately. For what its worth, in my opionion much of the criticism--whether its of the state of the 2101 or of the freight cars in the back lot--is taking isolated facts out of context.

The full context, in my opinion, is that the Museum has a lot of work ahead of it (who doesn't) but is under good management and on a steady course of improvement. You have to bear in mind that the Museum in its current form is about 13 years old. They inherited a marvellous site and a marvellous collection from CSX, but they do not have an unlimited budget. Just heating the roundhouse absorbs a huge chunck of change, as does maintaining the buildings and physical plant.

That said, in a mere decade and change they've established a full restoration shop, a vigorous diesel and fright car restoration program, and have revolutionized their interpretation and exhibitry. They have made--and continue to make--major strides.

Will it take time to stabilize everything as we'd all like to see. Sure. It will take both time and labor, and money too. I can't contribute labor any longer but I do contribute money.

If you have a pet cause, make a donation and earmark it. Or, if you trust the current administration as I do, send them an unrestricted donation and let them use it on the most pressing needs as they see fit.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> Chesapeake & Ohio #377 was built for the
> Cincinnati, Richmond & Muncie Railroad
> as their #108 in 1902, became Chicago,
> Cincinnati & Louisville #108 the
> following year and Chesapeake & Ohio
> Railway Company of Indiana in 1910. I sure
> wouldn't mind the Ten-Wheeler coming
> "back home to Indiana." HVRM would
> take good care of it!

It won't happen, Les. 377 is one of the few middle-generation steamers the B&O Museum has. Now, if someone were to make a convincing case....... AND offer a B&O 4-6-0 as trade........

lner4472@bcpl.net

As one of the CGRHS guerilla restoration project participants Dave referred to, it made no difference to me what paint was being put on the locomotive. So what if silver paint rather than graphite was used on the smokebox! The simple fact that I was able to contribute something to the preservation of the pieces in the roundhouse was enough for me to participate.

I have my favorites like everyone else, but we have got to move beyond the nitpicking. If we had had more than 3 hours on Sunday morning to work on the engine, no doubt the result would have been much better. Still, it will look much better to the public, and rust will be held at bay for a while, maybe long enough for the engine to become a priority. What CGRHS helped with was not restoration, it was conservation and presentation.

Like Dave said, the owner of the piece should be able to interprete the artifact as they see fit. Not everyone will agree. I happen to like the ACL purple and silver paint on their heavy weight equipment, while some people might prefer Pullman green. Both are appropriate for a car in the collection. How do you paint the artifact? It depends on what you are trying to interpret.

> Which paint scheme? Reading? Chessie? AFT?
> I'd guess that one of the latter two might
> be better from the museum's point of view,
> but would said volunteers be willing to do
> it that way?

syfrettinc@bellsouth.net

> Has anybody
> attempted to organize a project and approach
> them?

Actually I fired that idea around a few years ago... I wanted to do it with the cooperation of the RCT&HS, who unfortunately then and now have/had their hands full trying to plan/build a new museum. The unofficial response I got from B&O was that if we showed up with paint, nobody would stop us. Problem is that even a "guerilla" painting of a T-1 takes alot of black paint.. hopefully not floquil engine black. ;) However, considering Steamtown's fairly recent repaint of 2124, I really hope they kept the masks they used. Those could come in handy.

There are some other issues to returning 2101 to her original RDG appearance. Her pilot deck pump shield has either been significantly modified or replaced outright.. I'm not sure which. Also, the number boards and the brass eagle would have to go.. somewhere.

I'd love to help a project like this but I'm somewhat stuck in Florida with extremely limited funds to get out.

mrwowak@yahoo.com

> It won't happen, Les. 377 is one of the few
> middle-generation steamers the B&O
> Museum has. Now, if someone were to make a
> convincing case....... AND offer a B&O
> 4-6-0 as trade........

Didn't EXPECT it to happen. Just pointed out the "Indiana" connection. BUT, doesn't B&O Musuem also have Clinchfield 4-6-0 #1? Another "middle-generation" steamer? AND doesn't number 1 also have an "Indiana" connection (built in Logansport, Indiana as Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central #423 in 1882)? SO, it seems as if B&O Musuem has TWO "middle-generation" 4-6-0's, neither of which have actual ties to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. And wouldn't you say that the museum did have a chance to try to have a genuine B&O 4-6-0 "set aside" IF that was important to them at the time. I seem to recall that at least a few B&O Ten-Wheelers were operated quite late in the steam era.

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana)

midlandblb@cs.com

The story is out there, that EM1 7600, a Big Six, a B&O 4-6-0, and the 5300, were in the same dead line, all intended for preservation in the museum's collection. Communication of instructions to save these pieces was, as is sometimes the case in large organizations, not distributed completely. A labor foreman, needing work for his crew, decided to begin cutting up these engines during a week when a key supervisor was on vacation. When the supervisor returned, the 5300 was intact, except for a cut into her pilot beam (in front of the RF pilot truck wheel, as I recall, now cosmetically bridged up with weld of less than OEM quality). The 7600, the Big Six, and the tenwheeler were beyond salvaging. Given that 5300 was said to have been Chessie's first choice to pull the Chessie Steam Special, but not selected in favor of a bigger engine, suppose 7600 had been available instead? Imagine the scene of an EM1 on Sand Patch in 1977...

> a chance to
> try to have a genuine B&O 4-6-0
> "set aside" IF that was important
> to them at the time. I seem to recall that
> at least a few B&O Ten-Wheelers were
> operated quite late in the steam era.

> Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad
> Museum/North Judson, Indiana)


bruceman@stargate.net

> The story is out there, that EM1 7600, a Big
> Six, a B&O 4-6-0, and the 5300, were in
> the same dead line, all intended for
> preservation in the museum's collection.

I've heard this story before, with several variations of what was in the line. However, the sources I have here in Baltimore indicate to me that it's not true. Ed Striegel (I hope I got his first name right), who just died earlier this year, is still credited with the "rescue" of 4500 and 5300 from his very own scrap yard, where the locos turned up after shipment for scrapping. The story (and I could get someone to give me sources to cite) says that Striegel himself rang up the B&O and offered to return the locos to the railroad for the museum they were then beginning at the Pratt St. roundhouse.

Striegel's scrap yard, of course, later gained fame as the source for Reading 2100 and 2101, both later rescued for 2101's rebuild and use on the American Freedom Train

lner4472@bcpl.net

> I've heard this story before, with several
> variations... Ed Striegel is
> still credited with the "rescue"
> of 4500 and 5300

I recall seeing mention of 4500 and 5300 in Mr. Striegel's obituary. I personally recall that 2100 and 2101 were in his custody when Mr. Rowland acquired them. On the other hand, since I've never read an accurate newspaper account of an event that I had also witnessed, I am skeptical about written accounts of events I did not see.

If 5300 and 4500 were in Mr. Striegel's custody before 7600 was retired, then the story of 7600, the Big Six, the B&O tenwheeler and 5300 sitting in the same dead line could not have happened.

On the other hand, the 5300 DOES have a sloppy weld repair on a burning torch scar on her pilot beam, near the RF wheel on her pilot truck...

bruceman@stargate.net