I don't think anybody knows just what that fire did or did not do.

Why should there be a T-1 in the B&O Museum? RDG was 40% owned by B&O and when the T-1's were built RDG prez R. W. Brown was a B&O man (supposedly he could hold #1 seniority as an engineer out of Cumberland)

Both B&O and RDG rebuilt older freight power into modern (B&O: 2-8-2's into T-3 4-8-2's; RDG: 2-8-0's into T-1 4-8-4's). The T-1's feature B&O's head brakeman cab windows and handled B&O freight by connection from Hagerstown through Rutherford to the CNJ or L&HR at Allentown, and from East Side Phila to Jersey City. In the latter service they ran on B&O rails from East Side to Park Junction.

No B&O T-3 has survived so the T-1 has to represent this era in modern steam.


Electric City Trolley Museum Association

> At least *I* went to them and asked how a
> repaint would be possible. I'm willing to
> wager I'm the only one among all those
> "Give us the 2101" whiners who has
> done so.

While I wouldn't consider myself a whiner, I also have in the past attempted to open dialogue between B&O Museum and RCT&HS to get 2101 painted RDG black, and neither side was against it, but RCT&HS was and probably still is up to their eyeballs in buying/developing a new museum site. At the time, B&O would have probably let me paint it pink if I could have found enough paint and enough hands to do it. Since then I've moved to Florida and I'm not going to try to incite something I can't physically help with.

mrwowak@yahoo.com

I too would like to see the 2101 in proper Reading paint. However I must admit the paint scheme does not bother me as much as those C&O number boards and air pump shields. Bob Lorenz's great seal is a work of art. I am probably the only person in the world who prefers the first Freedom Train paint job on the 2101 only because the engine still looked like a T-1. I spent a little time volunteering on 2101 getting her ready for the museum and would love to help restore her again. Unfortunately I now live in North Carolina and am unable to travel or even volunteer at local museums due to elder care. Someday I will return to active duty and would definately consider joining a project to restore 2101.

John Bohon

jhbohon@yahoo.com

I have removed two posts at this location that were free of substantive content, and were simply continuing the back-and-forth exchanges or rhetorical darts about this issue.

Here's where we stand:

1. Arguments have been made for returning 2101 to Pennsylviania

2. Counter-arguments have been made justifying its location in Baltimore and its current custodianship

Unless someone has something geuinely new to add, please leave this be as it stands. Exchanging further one-liners or darts between the two camps does not qualify as something genuninely new.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> Gentlemen! Let us cool down a bit and step
> away from this conversation.
> 2101 is in Baltimore for the forseeable
> future, and I don't think that resorting to
> 4-letter words, name-calling, and other
> ad-homenin attacks will really change
> anything. Plus, I feel that Erik is going to
> step in at any moment and remind all of us
> of the Interchange's Terms of Service. These
> terms prohibit the use of profanity, along
> with other things that have been in the two
> posts.

> If you can have a discussion about the
> preservation of historic railway equipment
> in a calm and reasonable manner, then do so.
> Anything else is just counterproductive

I'm not taking sides, but think it is worth pointing out that the B&O Railroad Museum has a long history of including locomotives in their collection that ran for railroads affiliated with(owned by)the B&O, specifically WM Shay #6 (now at Cass) and CNJ boxcab diesel 1000). The Reading was one of the lines owned and controlled by the B&O for many years prior to Conrail.

Come to think of it, maybe I am taking sides.

Pete Schmidt

pjslks@ix.netcom.com