Let's get real people. The A&SV is a very small, volunteer run organization operating on a shoestring budget over a rickety branch line two hours away from the nearest population center. The fact that they were able to get the 3415 running in the first place is nothing short of a miracle. There is no practical way that I can see that the organization would be able to fund a 1472 day inspection of the 3415 save for some benefactor footing the bill. Their total revenue in 2019 was $183,000, expenses of $178,000 and $93,000 in assets.

A prudent management team would properly decommission the 3415, prepare it for long term storage and then redirect their efforts toward track and rolling stock improvements to improve the visitor experience operating with their Alco. Being that the country is entering a deep recession, they need to hunker down and prepare for some tough times ahead (as we all should be doing) and forget about wild dreams of million dollar restorations.

How much would you ballpark a set of flues for her? That’s assuming safe ending isn’t worth the effort. If the superheaters are okay and no other issues are found isn’t it just mostly labor? Who did it last time? I know some boiler work was done by someone who will be unavailable for several years but didn’t volunteer labor do the bulk of it?

I spent several hours at there a couple of years ago while burning a weekend during a business trip and got the clear impression they are a group that is very resourceful, has access to everything you would expect to find a farming community; many friendly neighbors who know how to fix big machines and the support of the community.

The locomotive is run only a dozen or so times a year, is never run hard, or fast. The most impressive show is when it comes to the end of the line.

I will not be surprised if we see her back in steam in a couple of years, unless they find something really bad when they open her up.

As an aside, I watch one of their runs from fence beside the parking lot for the Dwight D Eisenhower Presidential Library which had several dozen cars in the parking lot.

Their fund raising page says they need to replace 147 flues at $250 each.

Bob

You nailed it Mr Bunge.

When I got the red carpet treatment a few years ago, their CMO was a very spry, cheerful fellow who ran the town's job shop. He told me that the most expensive thing they subbed out was a patch in the door sheet. This was to fix damage caused by winos relieving themselves in the firebox while 3415 was a park engine. It cost $10K at the time, and had to be done by a real boiler company. Their enginehouse has hardly any tools in it, but the engine looks and feels healthy (I haven't run or fired her), and I dare say she's in a lot better shape than she was when they rebuilt her.

High speed ?? I bet she'd manage 20 or 30 mph without too much drama, and the locals would be happy with that I should think. Those agricultural towns have some folks who deal in 7 or 8 figures routinely, but they live on big plots of land instead of in fancy subdivisions. Don't be too surprised if they figure out how to fix up the track.

Just Sayin'

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ion-plans/

Off the Trains Newswire:

The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad will collaborate with a management subsidiary of American Heritage Railways to expand its operations, strengthen ridership, and advance the non-profit’s mission of education and historic preservation.

The collaboration will be in the form of a multi-year agreement with Heritage Rail Management, which provides consulting, management, and railcar leasing as a subsidiary of American Heritage Railways, the holding company for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, and other event, tourism, and hospitality-related companies.

The Abilene & Smoky Valley, formed in 1993, has historical carried about 7,000 passengers annual between excursions and special events. “We are looking to expand our ridership numbers, introduce new events, and grow our operations,” said A&SVRR General Manager Ross Boelling. “To do this, additional volunteers and donations to upgrade our equipment will be needed to meet our goals. We are excited to work with Heritage Rail Management with the common goals of achieving these improvements.”

The railroad will begin ins 2023 season operating with diesel locomotives and its fleet of historic passenger cars as its steam locomotive, 1919 Santa Fe Baldwin 4-6-2 No. 3415, undergoes its federally mandated 15-year rebuild. Heritage Rail Management plans a preliminary meeting in December to assist in planning for the upcoming season.

“We knew after visiting A&SVRR to evaluate locomotive 3415 earlier this year that the railroad truly has great potential for growth,” said Matthew Cunningham, HRM operations and special projects manager.

More information, as well as donation and volunteer opportunities, are available at the railroad’s website.

One would think that railroads would see what happened with C&T, Texas State, and Mt. Rainer and avoid AHR involvement….

While I have no knowledge to speak of concerning the other two properties, the Texas State RR is a completely different case from the A&SVRR, and it is not fair to blame the private operators or volunteers for TSRR's decline. When I worked there, we had 14 well paid, fully benefited, full time professional employees who crewed the trains and handled most of the shop work. Trackwork was handled by a professional section crew. We ran five trains a week from each end of the line, making 40 regularly scheduled passenger trains a month during tourist season. In addition there were dinner trains, school specials, murder mystery trains, and movie/MTV/commercial shoots. All four of our locomotives were operable. On a level of state government above that of our immediate supervisors, the decision was made to spend less on the property by replacing most of us with volunteers, and cutting the budget as much as possible. Groundskeeping of the state park was not affected by this initiative.

The A&SVRR has nowhere to go but up, and I wish them all the best in the future.