Remembering all the ruckus on both these locos some years ago with no definitive answers:

B&LE 643 in McKees Rocks, Pa.: As I recall, Age of Steam Roundhouse in Ohio took possession of it just before COVID hit. Any update on its pending move?

CP 2-8-2 5361 in Depew, NY: Supposedly sold while it was landlocked with threat of eviction or scrapping. We haven't heard a peep since. What now?

Re: 643 This question was asked yesterday on Age's Facebook page and their reply was "no updates but we will post them as soon as they become available."

Pieces were moved- tender etc.?

Joshua

For the record, updates from the AOS Website:





Bessemer & Lake Erie No.643 Update
February 2, 2020
https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/be ... -update-3/

Roundhouse Report – Fall 2019
November 4, 2019
https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/ro ... fall-2019/

Bessemer & Lake Erie No.643 Update
September 26, 2019
https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/be ... -update-2/

Bessemer & Lake Erie No.643 Update
September 5, 2019
https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/be ... 43-update/

AOSRM Acquires Bessemer & Lake Erie No.643
August 5, 2019
https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/ao ... ie-no-643/

Last time I was in McKees Rocks earlier this year, no real change with 643. One of the two cranes/lifiting devices they had used to seperate the boiler from the frame has been gone for probably a year, the other was still there.

Too bad they couldn't just drive a couple of the intermodal cranes over and lift her onto a couple of flats, but I think they are gone now -- if they ever had the capacity.

Nick

.

Get a chair.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41025

It sits about 120 feet away from live track on a Class III railroad whose parent company is very supportive of historic preservation.

From page 24 of the thread linked above:



I'd say that's definitive unless one wants to be a champion for "supposed" alternative facts.

No peep as no changes other than ownership, and removal plans are under discussion, but the locomotive is not under threat. The geometry of the location is a bit of a challenge.

KL

Please forgive my cynicism, Brother Lynch, but I've been lied to by railroaders and preservationists as to items being supposedly "sold" in the past, including items I tried in vain to preserve, and in one case was dissuaded by false promises that it was "safe."

The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. We've seen no (apparent) effort to remove the locomotive from the site (when supposedly the original alarm in this case was "move it or it gets scrapped"), we've heard no announcement of a new putative owner, and we've seen no (apparent) effort to establish a rail museum or other locomotive-centric attraction on the acreage the locomotive occupies. So, yes, maybe I missed the press release or whatever, thus my query at the start of this thread.

As far as I'm concerned, it's still "in danger" until proven otherwise.

From what I heard from the grapevine they were awaiting the demolition of a building on the property so they could move the remainder of 643. I’m not on the inside so I don’t know.

I’m personally getting a bit antsy about it. Not that AOSR has forgotten about it, they certainly haven’t, but for the fact we’ve seen no visible updates in the past 3 years. It’s starting to become concerning honestly, it feels like there should’ve been something by now.

Having visited the CPR Mikado, I can say with authority it can be moved, but most likely a crane and flatcars would be ideal. She's sandwiched in pretty well. That being said, it's publicly acknowledged that she's there, she's a treasure, and may be in restorable condition.
It's not surprising nobody has jumped on digging her out, but that one lovely locomotive.

Its the Pittsburgh area. As someone living in the area I've shared my increasing skepticism of 643 being moved ever. The Shell cracker plant will follow their environmental obligations before the locomotive is ever moved out - is what my current mindset is.
Our "proud" region is full of illegal scrapping ops, idiots doing donuts / burnouts on the bridges, more and more bridges "suddenly" turning out to be in dire need of repairs and must be closed before repairs can start for another 2 years, and increasing traffic that will make it even more impossible for any way to truck out the remains of the engine - if that is the plan.

Is someone implying that Kelly Lynch is lying when he says he's not at liberty to discuss the purchase arrangements or moving arrangements, but the locomotive is in no danger? Does ADM4 have definitive information on who owns it and whether they're incompetent or have Jensenesque delusions about it?

As I recall, both these engines were victims of perceived overvaluation syndrome, with the prior owner of 5361 in particular holding out for every cent of his more than somewhat inflated asking price. While it is possible that someone would demand a high price, then require prompt removal "or the kitten gets it" -- I don't think that's the case here unless much more tangible proof is offered.

I thought originally, and still do, that 643 has to be divided into strategic 'pieces' for loading, and would be trucked a minimum distance for rail loading. I certainly don't claim particular expertise, or any inside knowledge.

If the answer is really "Work is under way behind the scenes; stay tuned.....", then that is really, indeed, all we need to hear.

BUT:

As in several other instances I monitor where that is an accurate answer, after five to ten years of "staying tuned," you say "to 'ell wi' it" and change the channel. And rightly or wrongly, you start to mistrust the people who keep saying "any day now....." And some of us are no doubt hoping to hear something better than a steam loco sitting on display in some weird, unrelated museum collection or hanging from the ceiling of a casino or whatever.......

Here's a photo that just popped up into my Facebook newsfeed: