I think the only way to get the equipment out would be by having access to the power plant property...
I have never visited the site, but it looks rather marshy and difficult to access.

I really hate scrapping things, but perhaps the best outcome would be to sell the passenger cars, the RS3, and the U25B to a scrapper to pay for the electric engines to get out...
There are several preserved RS3's and there are 4 preserved U25B's. I am not an expert with this stuff, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Here is a general idea of what the site looks like (locomotives in the direct center).

If you look at a property map the power plant has that area surrounded. The land it is on does not belong to the power plant but in order to move it there land will have to be used.

NS3332 and RCD - Thanks for the replies. What shape is the roadbed and the bridge over Norman's Kill in? Would it be feasible to bring in a heavy haul railcar mover in from the north at Normanskill Street and pull them out one at a time over the 2000' or so or track without going on power plant property?

The last I heard the bridge was severely deteriorated, but I looked on Google Maps and it is GONE!
I looked over old satellite imagery and it appears the bridge was removed sometime between 2014 and 2017.


How much can a Sikorsky S-64 helicopter carry....?

The baggage car is Delaware & Hudson #473 and it is still painted in the special paint scheme it wore for the D&H's Sesquicentennial display train. It is available for donation to a responsible not-for-profit that will have the means to move the car when the opportunity finally presents itself.

The other three cars at this site are former PRR Heavyweight Pullman Lounge "John Hancock" (privately owned and most recently used in the Conrail work train fleet) and the two former D&H/Rio Grande dining cars, one with some fire damage from the infamous Grand Central Terminal fire of the 1980's (also privately owned).

Thank you for sharing the above information!
I have updated the list in my earlier post.

I cannot read the article but it appears the Port of Albany may have purchased the site the locomotives sit on, formerly owned by Beacon Harbor LLC. The acreage number matches the amount Beacon Harbor owned. This all happened last month.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2018/12/07/port-buys-82-acres-in-bethlehem.html

I have emailed the Port of Albany to confirm.

These free articles lead me to believe this purchase is true. It appears the Port needs the land for expansion. Perhaps the locomotives can finally be moved out?!

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Port-of-Albany-presents-plans-for-Bethlehem-s-13411544.php

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Port-of-Albany-plans-giant-warehouse-in-Bethlehem-13180505.php

20,000 lbs. That would be a lot of $ and disassembly (depending how much is stripped out of the S1 about ten to twelve chunks).

Without the bridge, they would have to be pulled south to the end of the track and then loaded onto trucks on the power plant property but it appears that the track may not even get down that far. May need the heavy lift helos after all. Power plant owners (Port of Albany?) may not want anyone attempting a pick with cranes on the soft ground in the middle of the woods there. If they can be pulled along the right of way to the parking lot/roadways at the northwest corner of the power plant and then moved to trucks with the Hulcher side booms, maybe the owners of the power plant site would possibly see it as a lower risk maneuver with less disturbance to the trees and soil.

Who owns the property under the adjacent power lines? The power company property may end right where the spur ends and they may just have an easement on the strip of land under the lines. Utility rights of way like this often have some sort of rudimentary access road/path so that the lines can be accessed for service/emergency repair. If so, one could inquire if access to the power line right of way can be gained to the north where Old River Road and River Road meet. If the trackage is OK down to the south end of the spur such that the artifacts could be pulled to the utility right of way, and the side booms and trucks can come down from the north, it could be a work around the power company (or Port of Albany) while still getting access at the southern spur terminus.

Approaching the power company and/or any other involved land owners should be done with a plan in place and all the insurance certificates in hand. If a plan can be devised and access obtained, it would give much more credibility to fundraising activities.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corp



Power plant owner is PSEG Power.

Access previously denied by the power plant owner, PSEG Power, based on a hypothetical proposal could become access granted with a solid plan in place and insurance certificates for all involved in hand.

If the power plant owner, PSEG power, will not grant access to the southern end of the spur from the power plant property, perhaps the power line right-of-way landowner, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp, will grant access to the southern end of the spur from the power line right-of-way. Unfortunately, access to the power line right-of-way from the north at the junction of Old River Road and River Road will require a temporary graded crossing over the rail line (NS?) adjacent to River Road.

As far as the Port of Albany owning the property on which the artifacts sit, I do not see how that helps because I can not see where it would provide additional access.

All in all, a very difficult challenge.

It appears they want to redevelop the land very soon. So perhaps an easier way to remove the artifacts may be feasible in a year or two. They also may be an easier landlord to deal with.

Alot of if's here, but.....

It should be feasible to run this unit from a flatcar or boxcar mounted generator thus eliminating the need for any wire or third rail.
A possible relatively inexpensive souce for a generator would be NYS OGS as the state surplusses their older backup generators from time to time.

As far as getting these things out, it appears that with the Port of Albany expansion at some point there will need to be be heavy equipment on site, it should be possible to make a deal with the contractor when the time comes.

Upstaters are very nice and helpful people usually with a low tolerance for BS if a group was serious and not foamers, this could be done.

We are about an hour south of Albany, I would be willing to lend a hand, and even storage on my acreage (unfortunately not on live rail).

Banish the "helicopters" idea to the same cellar as the "Fire Up SR 1401" fantasy.

Never mind cutting up the loco into pieces of 5-10 tons or less. The rates they charge for those Skycranes makes regular cranes look cheap--around $5,000 an hour:

http://wirelessestimator.com/content/industryinfo/192

One of these will lift 44,090 lbs....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-26
Perhaps someone could have a word with Mr Putin.............

Taking JRMay's comments on this topic to heart, I exchanged posts with NS 3322 about possible ways to get to these artifacts in order to extract them. The exchange runs over a page with multiple arial photos and links and a likely word count of at least 1,000. NS 3322 made a somewhat humorous reference to heavy lift helos. I followed up with a response that to do that you'll have to cut the S1 up. Total word count allocated to this reference is about thirty plus. It is all a reference to how remote these artifacts are. If someone can get the equipment in to properly dissect the S1 into 20 chunks that could be reassembled, they could likely gain enough access to pull the units out to the end of the spur. Good thing I did not suggest using an apparatus like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSXOeqwbrEo