Let me add to this...The last Journal Lathes and Quartering Machines built by the Niles Tool Works were sold to the Nationales De Mexico RailrwayI wonder if they still exist? Not that we need one at TVRM but it is something I uncovered while researching our machines.

Remember that it has been almost ten years since the nationalized Mexican railroads were privatized and US rail companies became involved. There may be some old old stuff tucked away, but I would suspect it is very little. High scrap steel prices over the last few years, combined with US railroad management mind-set, have probably cleaned out the goodies. And can you imagine the cost of trucking a car from Mexico to the US?

Several years ago, the FNM held a sealed bid auction for locomotives and cars that were not conveyed to the various new private owners. Considering the fact that the private carriers operate under FRA-type regulation and essentially replicate American operating practices, it would be safe to say that most of this equipment was scrapped in Mexico based upon condition. What else could explain the fact that an entire fleet of Alco/MLW/BBD locomotives, along with a host of older GE's and EMD's essentially vanished into thin air.Many of the maintenance facilities have either been modernized/changed ownership/closed or built new such that the chance of locating steam era machine tools is almost non-existent.In the way of sheer opinion, I would think that the chance of a private Mexican railroad moving a steam locomotive (on its own wheels) back to the US is about the same as C&O 614 running on the NEC.Dave K

I can easily conjure up fanatasies about what lies in a meadow in Cuba or under a shed in Mexico, but for the most part there are so many pieces in the US that deserve and need protection, that I can't get too excited.That Pullman in Bellows Falls, in it's un-airconditioned state, is one that comes to mind. Fantasies are nice, but realities are closer to home.Rob

How about this question: Where is it written that American hegemony can be projected to remove railroad artifacts from other countries ?

A few responses to various points made in this thread:It only becomes an artifact when somebody says it is - otherwise it is just another thing that is subject to the laws of exchange that governs anything else. The Mexican Gov't may not be to warm to an attempt to acquire something from their National Railway Museum but probably wouldn't care about something of the same vintage and history that is sitting un-protected somewhere.There are a few items in Mexico, not associated with the privatization that should be of interest:A privately owned nee-Soo Line pullman, renamed Maria Elena was moved from the San Diego Railroad Museum to the shops of the former Sonora - Benjamin Hill at Benjamin Hill. The last report I heard was that it suffered some vandalism but was otherwise intact. I personally can't think of a better climate where to store a heavyweight car. There was at least one former Elgin Joliet & Eastern RS-2 owned by an industry that was in service up to the 1990's There may be other freight or passenger cars in similar situations across the country. - - The car on the Vermont Railway System was never a Pullman operated sleeper - read http://www-personal.umich.edu/~tcornill ... pment.html for more info.Tom Cornillie

A brief history of the Pullman car:This is the former Pullman CENTBURNE, a plan 3979A 8-1-2 built in 1928, lot 6205. It was purchased by the Soo Line in early 1949 with the break-up of the Pullman car fleet and leased back to Pullman for continued operation between the Twin Cities and western Canada on the Soo-Dominion and the summer only Mountaineer. In November of 1955 the Soo Line withdrew the car and sister CENTSALVA from lease to Pullman, continuing the operation with railroad employees. At this time the car was renumbered 1257 by the Soo, and the Pullman mechanical a/c was replaced by Waukesha equipment. The car continued in operation until 1965, making it one of the last standard heavyweight sleepers in service in the US. Sister car CENTSALVA, renumbered 1258 by the Soo, is in Larkin’s collection at Wells, MI on the E&LS.