Classic gov't. operation. Next step will be to slap some house paint on it ( at a price you won't believe) and let it sit there,.....soon to again be forgotten. Hope I'm proven wrong.

Ross Rowland

One thing did happen at the end of the City of Port Arthur "Executive Session" Council meeting last night appears in the very first video of the general council meeting was a motion to settle with Inland Environmental LTD. Which tells me they are paying off the scrapper and ending his contract with the city.

Video is seen here:
http://portarthurtx.swagit.com/play/03272018-1171

Here is how the motion went...

PA Councilmember Moses makes a motion stating - "Make a motion to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract amendment and settlement agreement with Inland Environmental LTD in connection with a contract for asbestos abatement and oil spill remediation in an amount not to exceed $35,000 for environmental remediation and pending claim resolution." Moved, seconded, passed.

So, the scrapper's part will be done, and as mentioned in a previous post during the Consent Agenda portion of the meeting, a resolution was approved as well. This was made during the March 6th Special Council Meeting.

8) P. R. No. 20070 — A Resolution Authorizing The The City Manager
To Execute A Contract For The Relocation Of Engine 503 And
Tender In Bryan Park Due To Damages From Hurricane Harvey And
The Mandate Of The Texas Commission On Environmental Quality
TCEQ) Requiring Remediation Of The Oil Spill; Funding Available
In The City Manager' s Contingency Fund, Account No. 001- 1003-
512. 59- 00, Project No. M97903

It is also noted that Mr. Jason was present at some point during these meetings, but it's not clear which part. He is not seen speaking at the general council meeting that I can see. Maybe he spoke at the Executive Session meeting and he will let us know his findings soon.

Bless Jason for his tenacity. Like all of us he's now learning a life lesson that hopefully will help him in future similar situations.

Way back when it was glaringly apparent that this City Council was made up of individuals who were incompetent at best and in several cases seriously dishonest. It was also clear as could be that Jason's intervention had brought into the light of public awareness a low cost scheme fashioned by the City Manager of how to get rid of a nagging problem. Once uncovered it raised the hackles of a tiny group of locals who were fighting mad at both the City Council for agreeing to let someone cut up " their" treasured artifact and to Jason for having the nerve to raise monies "from outsiders" to take their historic treasure away.

Even though it was as clear as could be that the embarrassed City Council was determined to fashion a final game plan that kept the 503 in PA, Jason decided to stick around and try to continue in his role as savior.

Even though it's clear to me where this will end up we all owe Jason great thanks for winning the important battle of saving the engine from the cutting torch. For his sake I hope they accelerate towards a final decision to spare him as much wasted time as possible.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

It looks like someone is leading a local effort to raise money for No. 503. I wish them the best but I doubt they will be as successful as Jason's effort. They don't appear to be using a crowdfunding site either.



There also is a new facebook page for Friends of KCS Engine No. 503. It looks like someone is actively creating it and adding content today.

Looks like the effort is being led by former city councilman, John Beard Jr.

I am hesitant to question the motives of this person, but, well, where was he when this was happening? He likely wouldn't have done anything if it weren't for Jason and his supporters, and the engine would have been gone, and he wouldn't have made a peep.

It's understandable, but it's still not right.

And as much as I hate to say it, he sounds like another "dog in the manger." Just the writing style says it.

An opinion, possibly something wild, and if the moderators want to block this, I won't argue--but let's admit it, as rail enthusiasts, the rest of our citizens think we're weird. It doesn't help that the country as a whole has become hostile to railroads in general. Some reading this will say that's an exaggeration, but look at the evidence, of not only the problems we have with trail interests, but the problems other railroads have with NIMBYs, including the Florida East Coast and its new passenger services.

Anytime anybody actually announces anything involving rail, it generates all manner of heat.

What I think we need to do is be more stealthy.

To illustrate what I mean, Norfolk Southern has been gradually double tracking its former N&W Shenandoah Valley line. No announcements, nothing to say, just doing the work routinely (as it should be) to expand capacity on a line that was always a secondary route. No big press releases for what admittedly isn't a big project compared to some others--but there are no complaints!

In contrast, FEC and its Brightline passenger service, announced long in advance, generated all sorts of nonsense from people claiming the trains will go through Jupiter, Stewart, and Port St. Lucie at 100 mph and kill all the kids and the dogs and the boat business and whatall. Never mind that the second track is a restoration of what was there prior to 1968, never mind that passenger trains ran that fast down this route in the 1950s, a bunch of noisy people are up in arms and generally quite hostile. Yeah, I know they can sound stupid, and they certainly are ignorant, but at least some of the politicians are listening to them.

I don't think anybody could have really foreseen this, but in light of what we've seen, I can't help but think the FEC should have just gone about relaying the second track, getting routine building permits for its stations and other developments (which is where the real profits from this rail service will come from), ordered the equipment without making any splash, and just not making any public announcements until the service is ready to open.

In the case of the 503, it turns out that the fellow in the scrap and remediation business was amenable to saving the engine. I would argue that Jason should have just dealt with the scrapper, just paid the money and had the engine moved. I know, there was that noise Jason had to make to raise the money, but I doubt anybody on the city council in Port Arthur paid any attention to it, and as far as the city was concerned, it would still have taken care of the real problem they had with the remediation issue. I don't think anybody would have complained about seeing the engine being loaded out in one piece, at least until after the fact, because the deal was done anyway.

Going to the city council just woke that body up (and embarrassed them besides), and gave them an excuse to "do something," with all the grandstanding that is too much a part of public service today.

Of course it's too late for a stealth approach now, but I do think this is something we may want to keep in mind in the future in other situations.

From an article that The Port Arthur News published at 2:56 pm on Thursday, March 29, 2018:Link to full story: City Council OKs mandated remediation expenses

Excellent article from the writer who started it all. Had it not been for his first article alerting everyone to the fate of the 503, then none of this would have happened.

Sounds like this is the end of the story. A new display track will be built, the locomotive will be moved onto it, the original site will be remediated and the care of the 503 will be left in Mr. Beard's hands.

Actually, it's not the end of the story.

Over 1,200 people have $67,419, minus a few GoFundMe dollars, invested here.

And I have two NRHS Chapter treasurers, and a few other folks, rightfully asking "what now?"

The last official update was exactly a month ago.

Will that money go to Port Arthur's restoration fundraiser? Will it get refunded? Will it go towards saving another steamer??
"AND--[dramatic organ chord]--what about Naomi??"

I notice the connection for funding is via the KCS credit union and wonder if Mr. Beard is a former KCS employee. I am guessing that at one time Port Arthur was a pretty big, KCS town and retired /former employees of the railroad try to "protect" their turf including retired and stuffed steam engines. I am sure the local retired, employees group who meets for coffee weekly, may have helped push things along to keep this engine in PA.

In the end i don't blame them, it was/is theirs and probably because of continious floo.ds/hurricanes they don't have much stuff, left to remember their town when it was the "good old days" no matter when that was. Beside this really warmed up the locals to keep their engine and let no outsiders take it away. I think we in the preservation community need to bear this in mind when we think we are providing something positive to remedy a problem but in reality we may be creating a hornet's nest.

exprail

I too would like to see an update concerning the GoFundMe drive. If the 503 will not be relocated (and it appears that it won't), I would like to redirect my donation elsewhere.

Mr. Beard is a local refinery worker.



Yes. Port Arthur “was a pretty big KCS town”. It still is. The city is the southern terminus of Arthur Stilwell’s railroad and owes its name to him. The location was originally chosen for its access to shipping. Oil would really put the area on the map in 1901. The Texas Co. (TEXACO) and Gulf were both founded in Port Arthur and just about every chemical company has had a facility in the Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange) at one time or another. The city is currently home to the largest petrochemical refining operation in the country, Motiva.

As for KCS retirees and their involvement, I’d be surprised if such were the case. I never heard much interest expressed toward L&A 503.

Jason has posted on Facebook that it is now "wait and see" time. He is pretty sure that the local funding effort will fail and that the city will elect not to spend any money that it does not have, even to move the locomotive 110 feet. When that happens, he will be there to fill the void. He has the money in hand and can move very quickly when the time comes.

What choice does the City have regarding the need to move the locomotive in order to do the soil remediation?

Very large helium filled balloons........