Very few museums would take anything with the stipulation that they had to keep it for ever.

A partial reason why we keep losing them, two more were apparently cut up (also in Ohio) last month.

Yeah, we’re the guilty party. But before everybody piles on, let me throw out some info for your consideration.

The previous owner of the property, Art Davis, was in the used railroad equipment and scrapping business. Over the years, he acquired four 250 ton cranes at a time when railroads were divesting themselves of costly wrecking equipment. That turned out to be a big mistake.

Art used one of the steam cranes for his business. Eventually, one other crane was to go to a startup museum (I don’t have my records in front of me and I don’t recall who it was) but they couldn’t get it moved. Art eventually gave up on them and it was scrapped. This was in the 90’s if I recall.

My assumption is that is that scrapping that crane cost so much money in labor and consumables that the other two not in use didn’t get cut up. The boiler of the scrapped crane is still on site.

Enter ORHS. We purchased the property in 2015. The sale included all of the equipment still there. We made a concerted effort over the last five years to re-home the two steam cranes as we had no funds available to allocate to do anything with them other than watch them decay (we are keeping the diesel and it will be restored to full operation). We had attracted more offers than I would have imagined. But, the logistics and costs of moving them killed every deal.

With the crane in Kent becoming available, and in much better condition, the decision was made to accept a very favorable offer from a demolition company to scrap two cranes. Did we like doing that? No. In fact, I’m saddened by it. We wished for a different outcome but you know what they say about wishes....

All that said, with the cranes being available on the market for 20+ years through two private owners should really tell you something about why these beasts are disappearing.

Back to the crane in Kent. I made sure that any of my regional contacts that may have an interest in it knew it was available. Where things go to from there, I do not know.

Did you atleast save the steam air compressors and the turbo generators from those 2 cranes?

Yes we did. Any potentially restorable components extant were removed prior to scrapping and will be put to good use.

New post from the current owner on AOTT:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AOTTORC ... 707203142/

"I have for sale is a 1946 former C&O steam powered 250 ton industrial brownhoist locomotive wrecker number 940000, a C&O 21RH tender with 6 wheel buckeye trucks numbered 940350, and an old riveted flat car. I posted these items available in other groups in the past, in hopes to see them saved. I was under the impression that they had a plan up until today. They were my fathers favorite part of his collection before he passed away. For the crane I have everything from records, to blueprints, to the wooden bucks to recast parts for it. With the exception of the flatcar, everything has been stored indoors since it was decommissioned and acquired in the 1980s. We are in the process selling the property that everything is sitting on, and unfortunately I am now in the 11th hour trying to decide wether or not to include it in the auction with everything else. My fear is that if it goes to auction due to the weight it will be purchased as scrap metal. Please keep in mind that I am not a business. My family could really benefit from the proceeds from the sale, and after my experiences with museums I have no interest in donating it. It is located in Kent, Ohio connected to ABC/Wheeling railroad. Although all three pieces are on friction bearings, they have been inspected and are in good shape, needing minimal work. Everyone who has inspected it is amazed by its condition, and although the boiler hasn’t been certified, it appears to be in good shape. My father had operated on compressed air. In a perfect world I would love to see everything stay together, but for the right offer I would be willing to separate the pieces. There aren’t many of these big hooks left in existence, and certainly not like this one. Several have been cut up recently including this one’s sister unit. Can anyone see how to save it"

Wow. As a big C&O fan I really hope these can be saved. Sounding kind of unlikely though.
Comments mention some inquiries made to the COHS but seemed like they aren't interested. Which I understand given they just started a formal effort to restore a different piece and also may be more or less out of room.

I would think they could at least find someone to take the tender. It shouldn't be too hard to move via flatcar.

Auction flyer for the railroad collection, including an SW600, a GP 9, and a Burro crane:

[/url]https://www.kikoauctions.com/upcoming/details/13041?fbclid=IwAR3G_kBYhhJbpzUedx7ZMq8lUO7Kc-lXQwSfVclVtqa1U9gw3wMAkp0pWD4[url]

Michael Seitz
Missoula, Montana

Note that the tender and 250T crane are not included in the auction.

I did notice that.

Wonder if that means they found someone to take them?

Anyone know what happened with this stuff?

Crane has been purchased and will be preserved.

That's great! Can you say by whom?