Whew - just perused 5 pages of discussion on this topic - here are some random thoughts:

1) I agree with Tom Gears that it seems an outrage for a Museum to SELL its DONATED items - wait for it.... to the highest bidder, one that may have no interest in the item other then bragging rights in his basement (or private collection room).

2) I agree many museums seem to be "dumbing down". While you have to keep pace with the changing times, maybe there's a better way to do so than "dumbing down" a place. Many museums hold unique events and bring in visiting equipment. Why these museums are choosing to abandon adults and intellectuals outright with the goal of designing a Sesame Place like environment is disheartening, to say the least. Neither the NYC Empire State Express, nor the Southern #1401 were meant to replace jungle gyms, and if you feel you need a "coloring station", maybe it's time to donate some of your collection to another museum so that you can build your "Lego Room". Better yet, find new ways to attract adults back into the museum.

3) Regarding the pieces at the MSI - I saw them there - pushed up against the wall with dingy lighting and tiny plaques describing their value in a fashion similar to the presentation KFC uses to describe the number of calories each entre contains.

In short - I saw them. I agreed then with the Museum, that the pieces had little value and went on to the better presented displays - the Pioneer Zephry, for instance.

Having seen the York at the B&O RR Museum was a completely different game. It had a place there. It was appreciated there. And, I've been fascinated with the York with new vigor - along with a renewed sense of amazement with regards to the rest of the collection at not only the B&O Museum, but that particular era of American history.

We know the York thankfully made it back to Baltimore - at the B&O RR Museum. Does anyone yet know where the other two pieces went and if they will ever be seen again?


So - now that you've put up with my further adieu, lol -

Here are the pics of the 3 locomotives sold at auction before they were removed.

Just visited the museum last week and I completely agree. It's amazing how well it fits in, and once it is placed alongside the other 1830's models like the Tom Thumb, Grasshopper engines, and Lafayette it will complement the museum even more.

That being said, I really fear for the other two pieces of equipment, but more so Mississippi. It seems that a priceless artifact almost 200 years old may very well be doomed to obscurity.

I could not agree more - sadly, while the Mississippi was at the MSI, I -then- likely could've cared less. Forget about the balloons, coloring stations - or whatever "fun" things are thought up at the Museum and instead, TELL US WHY THE STUFF MATTERS! And not by way of a random leaflet filled with tiny take home and read text, nor a random 24"X24" plaque that calls it quits after being read.

/Mitch

Why the Mississippi matters (mattered):

Brathwaite and Ericson "Mississippi" Locomotive: Built in 1834, by Brathwaite and Ericson in England, the Mississippi is thought to be the first locomotive in the South and the oldest to operate in Mississippi. The locomotive (and approximately 13 similar enngines) were likely shipped to the US in pieces where it would later be assembled. The locomotive is thought to have sold to the Mississippi Railroad for about $2,000.00 which would put it somewhere in the range of $59,000 today, if adjusted for inflation. Interestingly, the company exited the locomotive business in 1841. The Mississippi is one of a handful of surviving British locomotives in the United States. Others include the John Bull, imported by Pennsylvania Railroad predecessor Camden & Amboy, which is now displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

At one point, around 1880 the locomotive was used for hauling gravel after a period of disuse. Eleven years later, in 1893, it found its way into the Illinois Central where it was thoroughly restored to participate in in the Colombian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago, IL. During the late 1920s, Illinois Central made arrangements to convey to the locomotive to the newly formed Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The locomotive made appearances at the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago held in 1933 and 1934.

It was finally made a part of the museum's permanent collection in 1938. At that time it was displayed with an awkward, and historically questionable wooden frame cab. In 1965, Illinois Central gave the locomotive a thorough restoration for the museum. This was aimed to restore the engine's appearance to as close as possible to the way it would have looked more than 130 years earlier. However, since commercial photography didn't exist at the time of Mississippi's construction, how the locomotive actually appeared when it was built can only be surmised by contemporary sketches of similar engines.


Y'know... or, that little black thing against the dark wall near the couch.

Now that there has been time for the dust to settle, have the dispositions of the other items been identified? I'm curious about the PRR cab/backhead, in particular.

Tom

Any idea what happened to the PRR locomotive cab?

PRR locomotive cab - Location unknown.
"John Stevens" replica - Now at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
"York" replica - Now at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.
"Mississippi" = Now owned by Gulf & Ohio Railways.

Here is a April 2019 photo of the "John Stevens" replica, now stuffed in a corner of the Samuel C. Williams Library on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. This locomotive is very difficult to photograph as the library is rather small and is often packed with studying college students.

Don't forget TRAINS had extensive coverage on the Mississippi in the November 2016 issue.

There have also been two articles about the "Mississippi" in Railroad History, the journal of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. Copies are available at rlhs.org.

Thank you both! I seem to have missed that news.

Now all that remains to be found is the PRR locomotive cab.