Maybe this car's owner can team up with the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association.

Ah, the trolls have shown up, just took them a bit to find it.

Thanks for the helpful and insightful comment David.

David,

Now that's just mean.

The guy took on a large project and due to circumstances may be in over his head at the moment but by the look of things, he has done a commendable job of preserving, if not yet restoring, his car. I suspect his first choice is to retain ownership. By putting out publicity he's trying to expand his options. If he is unable, he'll sell or donate it.

As the car is his primary focus, I suspect a solution where he retains ownership is best for the car as opposed to a museum that has many projects.

Regards,

Art S.

Bob,

Trolls don't usually use their real names, nor do they show a genuine interest in the subject being discussed. Trolls also wouldn't be long time members of this forum. They would have moved over to Trainorders, or some other board. Also, calling people names won't really help the prediciment, will it?

I just echo Mr. Bishop's sentiments regarding that this is the same story we seem to hear every couple of years, or more often, just the piece of equipment and location have changed.

The car looks nice, but shows the follies of failing to plan. I'm sure the owner was and is well-intentioned, and possibly didn't realize the project would take as long as planned, etc. However, such is the problem if you don't own your own property. Even if he had the cash, three weeks is a short notice to get something like that moved, in winter, with the required permitting, etc.

While I understand your desire to help, unless the owner really wants help, this is all just wasted bandwidth.

Now, to get back under my bridge.

Trolls and trolling refers to making comments that aren't helpful to the situation. Your first comment provided no useful info, it was simply a smartass snarky comment. That's trolling, plain and simple, and it's done for attention and to provoke a reaction rather than to be useful.

If you don't want to be called a troll, then don't act like one.

The good news is that it's in the Port of Tacoma. Oversized and overweight loads are nothing new. Within a mile or so it can be on interstate 5. Ness Crane is right down the street, and they've got machines that would pick this without breaking a sweat.

Sure, it's winter. This is Seattle. That just means the rain is colder, unless he's heading over the pass to eastern Washington, it won't be a big deal.

A trucker who handles big loads on a regular basis can probably get it done in 3 days.

No, the only real hurdle on moving it is the usual one, you need lots of money to do it.

Since you do not seem to have a direct say in the outcome for this particular piece of equiepment, by definition, you are trolling as well. Your comments and posts aren't helping the situation.

By your definition, Mr. Bishop's lamentations were not helpful either, yet you decided against to engage in name calling at that time.

Frankly, I don't attention, from you, or anyone else on this forum. Please do not try to play amateur mind reader and try to guess at my motives.

You post on this forum seeking help, since this car needed to be moved YESTERDAY. When people point out the obvious, that this isn't a lot of time and screaming "Something should be done by (insert museum name here), and it should be done now!" usually isn't the best way to plan, you react negatively.

Running museums, historical societies, preserving, restoring and protecting historical equipment isn't easy. The problem is worse, at least from a public perception point-of-view when stories like this emerge. It makes us all look like a bunch of bafoons, and hurts the credibility of even well-run railway preservation organizations.

I honestly wish the owner well and hope it can be moved, but simply asking for a handout so possibly the cycle can repeat itself over again in a few years is the definition of insanity-doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different result.

Here's a sample of a typical big load coming out of the Port of Tacoma. They build these beams down there, and ship them out quite frequently.

http://www.kenworth.com/news/news-relea ... -dyke.aspx

That rig sure looks like it would work just fine for hauling a railcar, doesn't it?

Probably overkill. However, then, what's the holdup? Why isn't the car moved to safety?

I am involved in the situation, though not directly with moving the railcar. I have been aware of the situation for a few months. Until the owner chose to make it public, it was not my place to comment, especially since I am not aware of his plans or intentions. For all I knew, he may have had everything all lined up already.



For somebody who reads and interprets documents for a living, you seem to get confused on details. Can you show me exactly where I asked for help? I don't seem to recall writing that.

I simply brought the situation up, both as a matter of information and to let anyone who is interested in the car's future be aware of the situation. Whether or not they choose to help is up to them. If they do so, it would not benefit me other than the fact that I hope the car can be preserved.

You'll have to ask the owner. Based on the article, I suspect the usual: "It's expensive". However if/when he decides to move it, he shouldn't have trouble getting the job done.

Actually, I'm not a transactional attorney, but you never really seemed that interested in what I do for a living, other than to use it as a basis for a personal attack and name calling.



I interpreted this as a plea for help. Perhaps I read too much into it, still it indicates that the owner is seeking help, in the form of other people's money, to move and eventually restore the car. However, your last reply has the little nugget that this deadline didn't suddenly pop up, which is more telling.

Well, I would certainly think that all attorneys, no matter what their speciality, have to read and interpret documents. Maybe I was mistaken?

As for name calling or other negative comments on your profession, I guess I'll need to have you show me where I did that as well. I don't recall doing anything of the sort. I don't recall any "name calling" other than using the term troll. I do know that you go out of your way to attack and belittle me whenever your can for reasons that are a mystery to me. I guess it's your idea of fun.



That's a quote from the article. Yes, I would agree that the car's owner is apparently seeking help, or at least options. However, you stated that I had posted this discussion seeking help. I am not the car's owner, and I am not asking for help on his behalf or my own. (I have no interest in the car, financial or otherwise, other than hoping it is saved.)

As for the deadline to move, it has indeed been relatively sudden. As I stated, he had no reason to expect that a double track mainline would get shifted sideways. That is a new development in the grand scheme of things. Up until that point, the location seemed excellent, a small, out of the way parcel, reasonably secure, and hopefully at a reasonable fee, though I have no idea what the terms where.

I was made aware of the project a couple of months ago (not by the car's owner). At that time it became obvious the car would need to be relocated. Precisely how long he has known that is something that I can't say. I would suspect it's been less than a year, maybe a few months and possibly as short as a few weeks.

Gentlemen, let's take a deep breath.

Those of us in the Pacific NW, just like all regional groups, are very interested in seeing stuff saved that once served "our" major railroads. Those that (usually) come to mind are the NP, GN, and SP&S, even though the first two were roads that were headquartered in the Midwest, and the third was a bit of a corporate step-child of the first two.

So any NP historic rolling stock in Tacoma (western terminus) is going to get a reaction from all of us here. I'd write a check if I were able to do so, as would many who frequent here. Those of you in areas across the land likely feel the same way about your "local" railroads.

Many preservation projects (as we've all seen) start with high hopes and a dramatically underestimated time line and bank roll. When one hits a wall like this one apparently has, I think we all have a tendency to give a shout-out to the like-minded folks here.
Sometimes we're just hoping for something miraculous - no harm intended.

I've been told that the car's owner is continuing to explore his options, has identified at least one potential solution, and it is likely that the car will be able to be moved to another location within the required time frame. Hopefully he's able to make it all work.