Long Island Railroad RS-3 1555 is available for sale. Please contact off line at the above e-mail address if you represent a museum interested in acquiring this locomotive. The intent is to preserve it, not scrap it. Plans for restoration have fallen through, and it is in need of a good home...soon.



ssyfrett@bellsouth.net

Is it currently runnable?

GM

gmkee@insightbb.com

> Is it currently runnable?

> GM

Garland:

Are you thinking of joining the RS-3 Owner's Club??!!!!

Howard (member since 1985)

I may be all wet here, but I think the locomotive was all wet once, too! Wasn't this the LIRR engine that went to Florida, was partially disassembled, laid out in a warehouse, and then visited by a hurricane? If memory serves me, the building was destroyed, but the locomotive parts remained there, only scrambled. The interest to sort it all out again, or reassemble it, was lost and other priorities prevailed. The rebuilders were taken up with rebuilding their lives and property in wake of the storm. At any rate, the loco is a survivor of millions of miles of commuter runs, several collisions, and bears an ex-PRR nose from surgery after collision with a potato truck during her service years on the Island. I am a life long LIRR fan, but I'm not sure this loco is going to be an easy rebuild for anyone. I'd love to see her saved, but maybe this is better used as a parts source? Let's see a photo of her in her current condition.


glueck@maine.edu

From the following-

http://www.jefflubchanskycpa.com/GOLDCOAST.html

RS3. EX MMID 55, MMID/GETY/LIRR 1555. JANUARY 18, 2004. UNIT SOLD TO A GROUP INM GEORGIA FOR RESTORATION. ENGINE SHOWS THE EFFECTS OF HURRICANE ANDREW.

Picture

Thanks for the interest in the RS-3. The photo linked below is better than any that I have, since it has been moved out to a more open space than when I looked at it. The locomotive was acquired from Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, FL in January 2003. It was intended to be cosmetically restored as a replica of Central of Georgia 150 for exhibit at Thronateeska Heritage Center along with ALCo-built Georgia Northern 4-6-2 No. 107. Mechanical condition was not a concern at the time of acquisition, since the museum has no track on which to operate. My sole interest was having a diesel locomotive from the same builder of the steam engine for comparative interpretation of the technologies. Thronateeska does not have a diesel in its collection.

Here is some basic information about the unit:

The locomotive is located at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, FL. It is not operable. The last it was operated was in the late 1980s or very early 1990s, at least according to what the folks at GCRRM could tell me. By the time of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 it was out of service. The story is that some volunteers at the museum began to rewire it, but never finished the job. How much was done (or not done) is unknown. Otherwise the engine appears to be intact. I can tell you nothing about the condition of the prime mover, generator, traction motors, radiator, etc.

The lead truck (these RS-3s were set up to operate long hood forward) has at least one questionable wheel set, which is one reason why it is still in Miami.

The steam generator is still in the short hood.

The photo says a lot about its cosmetic condition. The 2 RS-3s recently sold for scrap were in much better shape than this one.

I'll be responding individually regarding the asking price.

ssyfrett@bellsouth.net

So, Steve, why not go through with the CofG look-alike display piece? jim

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> So, Steve, why not go through with the CofG
> look-alike display piece? jim

In a word...MONEY. I've not quite given up yet, but time is short to move the engine. Between the RS-3 and the former ACL SW-9 No. 685 also purchased from GCRRM, if one has to go it will be the LIRR RS-3.

A decision will probably be made within the next 30 days or less.

Stephen

ssyfrett@bellsouth.net

> Garland:

> Are you thinking of joining the RS-3 Owner's
> Club??!!!!

> Howard (member since 1985)

Sadly not at the moment. (Though at the rate they are falling lately my chances may be running out.) Too far, too poor a condition, too poor a pocketbook. I was just wondering if someone else might be interested if it was close. (If it was close to running I know some folks who might be interested in a cheap lease.)

GM


gmckee@insightbb.com

Given the increasing rarity of RS-3's, why would a museum with one on the property consider the "s" word?

Rob

My guess would be that the locomotive is an eyesore (plenty of those around) and needs a caretaker. Furthermore, maybe the museum doesn't own the property upon which the loc sits. It may be that the loco has been offered to others through inside channels and nobody has responded. Is it an insurance liability? Maybe the sight of a sad locomotive without friends or rebuilding expertise is a turn-off to visitors? Is the interior gutted and in ruins? Maybe the amount of rebuilding needed to have her moved is just prohibitive?
In short, the locomotive, despite it's historic value to railfans, may not be a plus for the museum. These are all just guesses on my part. I'd love to see her rebuilt and back in LIRR colors, as she was intended when built.


glueck@maine.edu

All good reasons, Richard, if the museum's view is tightly focused. We generally think of that as a good thing, but in some cases, the piece is more important than other considerations. I would put RS-3's in that category today.

One point you made is one I chew on from time-to-time, and that is "railfan value." I've yet to see a good list of factors that divides "railfan value" from any true overall historic value. Probably not a black-and-white, top 10 kind of thing, but I wonder... what trains short of the General and the John Bull have any real historic value? I have my list, but how can I be sure that's not the railfan in me?

Wow! This is a thread that needs developing!
Let's start by sharpening why people love trains as a way of life in America. I love anything LIRR and PRR. WHy? My Dad was a railroadman, Isaw the last of LIRR steam, I rode the trains everytime I could, they bring me some comfort in the memory zone.
You mentioned the "General". Most Americans have association with the Disney movie of Fess Parker's men shoving burning boxcars at the "Texas". It's a direct historical connection.
Old #9 in the kiddie park, whether it's an 0-6-0 or a 4-8-8-4, resembles the locomotive great grandpa fired when he was a boy in 1878! It is also "just like the one in 'The Great Locomotive Chase'!"
Now Diesels are another thing. I think the public, and many of us railfans, still see all Diesels like all Chevrolets. ALCO PA's, F7's, RS3's, Baldwin switchers, all generally look alike to Charlie Homepublic. They see them as contemporary, "just like the Amtrak locos".

In general, I think everybody loves trains, but the distinction between locomotives falls into the world of the railfan. I don't think it's wrong, or weird, or psychologically queer, to say that it's one of the things that gives railfans purpose and a strong degree of pleasure from living. If we enjoy different locomotives, their designs, their purposes, pulling power, history, then maybe that's reason enough to preserve whatever is available.
Even if Charlie Homepublic (or Charlotte) can't tell a 4-8-8-4 from a tank switcher, or great Grandpa's woodburner, we do him/her a service because WE CAN!

Knowing what to keep and why we keep it...that's our responsibility. So is the enjoyment.



glueck@maine.edu

> Please contact off line at the
> above e-mail address if you represent a
> museum interested in acquiring this
> locomotive.

If you are really interested in preservation, why is there a prerequisite about representing a museum? There is a mind set out there that only a 501(c)3 is capable or worthy enough to receive a derelict locomotive.

I wish I had $10.00 for every locomotive I know of that was GIVEN to a so-called preservation group for restoration that wound up being scrapped.

I would think that if preservation was the goal, any individual with that desire would be a better choice to give it to than the folks that got it.

I've been through this routine with museums and "preservation" societies before. It turns my stomach.



gerald_altizer@charter.net

> If you are really interested in
> preservation, why is there a prerequisite
> about representing a museum?

There could be a lot of reasons including government or tax rules about an existing 501 c 3 group de-accessing ownership of real property. Might be pretty seamless to another non profit. There might also be such provisions in the legally constituted by laws of the Museum.

Also, how do you weed out scalawags? What if you gave or transferred the loco (disguised as 75 tons of scrap) to a private individual who immediately turned it into $20,000 cash by cutting it up? How good would the original museum look in the eyes of fandom if they let that happen?

Bob Kutella


68trolley@comcast.net