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"Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
4h
Some pieces of history have a way of finding their way home.
Today, we were honored to receive an incredible donation from Allen and Diane Philbrick of West Branch, Michigan, and Joe and Danelle Bieniek of Lake Orion, Michigan: the original number plate from Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad No. 34, the locomotive that would later become Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 734, along with the locomotive's tender plate and an original oil can.
Their story is just as remarkable as the artifacts themselves:
In 1969, a young couple visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula spent time exploring an abandoned sawmill where LS&I No. 34 sat dormant. They removed the number plate and tender plate, while the oil can found a second life as a flower pot. After they married, the number plate even became part of a coffee table in the family home. Fifty-seven years later, these pieces have finally found their way back to the locomotive they once belonged to.
We are deeply grateful to the Philbrick and Bieniek families for choosing preservation over possession and ensuring these irreplaceable pieces of railroad history can once again be appreciated by everyone.
In the near future, these remarkable artifacts will be placed on display at Cumberland Station, where visitors can see them up close and learn more about the incredible journey they took before finding their way home.
As work continues to restore No. 734, donations like this remind us that preserving history takes many forms. If you'd like to help bring Mountain Thunder back to life, please consider supporting the restoration effort.
From Michigan to Maryland, these pieces have come full circle. Welcome home."

Why is the post titled as the plates being stolen? Western Maryland Scenic isn't doing this characterization in their post.

1. Accuracy is its own justification. If something is stolen and then returned, and the victim decides not to press charges, or to call the thieves out, it doesn't change the fact that it was stolen in the first place. (It actually was LS&I, or whoever owned the engine at the time, who was the victim). 2. There is a practical issue in that the sort of indirect, good-natured, nuanced rationalization WMSR uses won't fit the character limits of a post title, i.e. collections of words like "purloined" or "appropriated", while less judgemental, won't fit into the title. I don't doubt that the original "appropriators" thought the plates were junk destined for scrap, but it doesn't change the fact that they were taken without permission.

If we accept The Gospel According to Saint J. David Conrad, first edition, the LS&I steam loco fleet was sold to the fledgling Marquette & Huron Mountain RR in July 1963........ Number 34 was sold to the Illinois Railway Museum sometime between 1967 and 1971 (reports differ)......

So any way we look at this, the plates were taken off a preserved artifact, no matter how much it may have looked like a piece of scrap.

Look at it another way: Suppose someone years ago stole the builder's plates off of one or more of the Baldwin diesels that were just scrapped in Michigan. (Indeed, that's extremely likely to have happened back then--thus the RR's attitude towards "railfans.") Does the fact that they have now been scrapped now justify the theft of those plates?

Then I'll ask you how do you feel about the moral dilema that any artifact, whether its hardware, paper, whatever, WITHOUT a bill of sale and proof of ownership for why someone other than a railroad corporation would legally own it is something stolen and then when they feel that the item should be donated to a railroad historical society or functioning excursion line, etc. If the entity the item has been donated to cannot prove legal ownership and cannot return the item to its original corporate owner, should they simply trash and get rid of the item? Otherwise they are in receipt of stolen goods and would be just as guilty as the person that originally stole it.

There are MANY preservation institutions that whether you want to acknowldge it or not, have materials that were obtained by well meaning people that for "the greater good" really just stole something with the justification that "it's not being used anymore".

Stealing is stealing, there's no rgay area here, it's black and white. Don't comment on this post that what someone did was bad, and then in another, encourage people to go dumpster diving.

The entire railroadiana field is loaded with artifacts, paperwork, items, and "junk" rescued from scrap piles, dumpsters, trash cans, and the like. I have a set of PRR crossbucks I got permission (but no "bill of sale") to take from a scrap pile behind a PRR tower decades ago. A DL&W set I rescued from a similar pile behind a short-line's shop, with their permission (location confirmed with notes scribbled on the back of their CMO's business card) to sell to raise funds for another group's preservation efforts. (I could have let them have them, but they didn't fit their mission.) I have an air horn the RR's shop couldn't get open and couldn't get parts for anymore; I intervened literally as it was being brought out to the scrap dumpster. It still works. Probably half of any major RR T&H society's "archive" was pulled from the dumpsters at some point. I helped relocate literally tons of railroad volumes discarded from the Association of American RRs as they downsized their archives of old Bureau of Railway Economics holdings--two generations after the original dumpster divers filled their basements!

Old-timers long ago told me the "going price" for any steam whistle, number plate, or builder's plate was a box of cigars, a bottle of bourbon, or whatever along similar lines handed to the scrap supervisor and the request "Get me that whistle/those plates!" Other major collections were started by the scrap merchants themselves scrapping locos, cotton compresses, or steam plants. No bills of sale. "Law of the Briny Deep." I have no problem with that whatsoever. The things wouldn't still exist without those people.

The problem I, and many others, have is of artifacts liberated from items specifically set aside for preservation or reuse--which is exactly what happened to the LS&I/M&HM steamers being discussed here.

And contrary to your allegation, there very much ARE gray areas here.
LS&I 34 is now preserved as a "fake" "Western Maryland" locomotive in a commercial setting, and I see and foresee no effort or impetus to return it to an LS&I setting. The LS&I 34 plate is now effectively a separate artifact. Yes, now they can acknowledge the loco's past with an appropriate display on the wall, and/or they COULD do a photo charter with a repainted "LS&I 34" if they wanted to (not likely).
The WMSR is not the Cumbres & Toltec, the EBT, or even Strasburg.

The E&LS Baldwins recently scrapped were ostensibly "set aside" for use to keep other Baldwins on the line running, or only prospectively for preservation as SAL locomotives in SAL territory. We've see NO progress along those lines in DECADES, and IF the allegations that SMS and/or others made serious offers and were rebuffed are true, then once the first torch is lit or the first jaw-crusher crane takes its first "bite," ALL BETS ARE OFF. Negotiate with the scrapper, not the owner. And if the loco owner(s) imposed a contract mandating everything be completely destroyed with no avenue for resale, well............ that may be the final blemish on the owner's history.
We have been told that the "Sharks" have long ago been promised to preservation outfits. Now we legitimately have to ask whether we can honestly trust that allegation.

I find this discussion interesting and to a degree personal. I have known many contractors who cherry picked clients "parts stash" thinking no one will ever find out or how ever they chose to justify stealing or acquisition. Most museum or personal stashed piles came from railfans in all walks of life regardless of professional ties to railroading. But this was in the 1950s-1970s as far as collecting artifacts big and small. It was almost like not stealing as acquiring said parts justified the act of acquiring/stealing. A merry go round of justifying stealing. Most of us have been guilty to a degree at one time or another. If you have been around a kid in a candy store situation. Temptation is not dictated by age or even moral fiber when talking injector parts or other bells and whistles {pun intended}.

In my case it was stopping in Duluth/Superior after a parts hunt up in Winnipeg/Selkirk, Canada in 1975. On way home we stopped at every round house we knew about to see what we could see. The old Soo line roundhouse looked interesting but in use. Never attempted the Missabe or other roundhouse/shops. We were exhausted from driving and sleeping in my truck. We stopped at the Minnesota Transfer RR roundhouse that was locked up tight and we were not about to break any laws. So went to the yard office and inquired about anything inside that might be valuable to our museum. Surprisingly the yard boss said sure no problem and he met us down there and let us in. We had no idea that the Duluth museum stored quite a bit of there equipment in that building. At first I couldn't believe my eyes most of it was restored or in very good condition. Then our guide explained the origins of the equipment. So we wandered around checking under benches in drawers. We found some flexible staybolt caps 3 steam gauges, part of an injector which looked brand new and a few odds and ends. I was 19 or 20 at the time and no idea on value as this was going to RR museum and not my personal stash. We agreed on a price of $50-75 and he agreed. We did not take the parts with us as he had to get permission to sell us the parts. They sent me a letter agreeing to sell the parts and I could come get them. So at Christmas an Iron Worker buddy of mine and I drove up there paid the money and picked up the parts. Later I found out some folks were pissed off that we did all this. They figured it was their territory and we were viking invaders. We meant no harm to anybody. So fast forward I checked on the injector part it was gone from the boxcar l put it in. Stay bolt caps not sure there were not many, gone anyway. In 1975 I don't remember us doing any flexible stay work? The steam gauges had number painted on the back 9 and 10. The Minnesota Transfer RR had some old 0-8-0s and two were numbered #9-#10. I paid for this stuff but kept the gauges. So did I steal these gauges? Someone somewhere I would think would want these? And if any people are alive to remember in detail 1975 probably think I stole them. I think I tossed the bill of sale long ago, but who knows I have a lot of stuff squirreled away in envelopes and boxes. So stealing or acquiring is a gray area. Especially in the RR/restoration arena. I think it awesome the LS&I #34 or WMS #34 got its original plates back and think the act of acquiring or stealing is irrelevant in most ways but it is a moral dilemma that many of us should answer before we are pushing daisy's.

Think the LS&I #21 sat looking like an eye sore for many many years before it was "rescued". I doubt there were many parts that were removable came with the locomotive when it was rescued. I doubt anybody thought it was stealing. What a project to go find these parts regardless if they are original or not. Go LS&1 #21.

I follow his page on facebook, "Harvey Diversified Trades", it's very interesting. He knows steam for sure, but he does seem like an outsider to railroad locomotive steam, which has bitten stationary boiler shops in the past when they encounter FRA boiler rules or best practices. https://www.facebook.com/harveydiversifiedtrades

I understand your concerns as the history of boiler repair is littered with so many failed attempts. Every museum and contractor seems to be a causality, with the exception of only a few. Harvey Diversified Engineerings I think is one of those exceptions. I know of a few boiler makers who have a lot of respect for Matt and his work. But I also know of your concerns I saw a lot of "roman candles" go off in the early 2000s with a lot of other people's money down the drain. I have seen some of his work and feel it is stellar. Carry on Matt.