Off the topic of railroad preservation, but of interest to the steamship buffs out there, Maritime Matters has reported that the former White Star Line tender Nomadic is to be auctioned off this Thursday (the 26th), and will likely be scrapped if the reserve of 250,000 euros is not met. Nomadic was built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast in 1911 to serve as a tender for the Olympic and Titanic out of Cherbourg, France. Today she is the last White Star Line vessel to survive afloat, used until recently as a restaurant in Paris, and now laid up in Le Havre. There is an appeal to save the ship and return her to Belfast for restoration at the link below, along with current and historical photos of the vessel.

http://www.savenomadic.com/

I've sort of been watching this. I think the auction is tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken. How much is 250,000 euros? Mayve $250?
I think I read that the city of Belfast has pledged 100,000 eu's
That boat would make somebody a really cool yacht, if restored and rebuilt to that intent.
I also think that boat shows the quality of work done at H&W.
Mark D.

250 thousand Euros is about $250,000 dollars. The Euro was created to be on par with the U.S. dollar.

Actually, for the sake of accuracy, 250,000 Euros equates to $306,605.23, according to today's market.

Whatever...
Here's the latest on Nomadic, and what happened at the auction:


NOMADIC Gets A Home
January 26: SS NOMADIC was purchsed at auction in Paris the by the UK's Northern Ireland Government Office thus saving the last of the White Star ships and a link to the fabled SS TITANIC. The Northern Ireland Office bought the ship for £171,320 (the reserve price was £165,000). David Hanson, Minister Social Development said his department had been working confidentiality to establish a case for acquiring the historic vessel since Mid December, to ensure that government's bidding was not compromised. Campaigners had been lobbying the government in an attempt to return the ship to Belfast where she was built by Harland & Wolff in 1911 along with her sister SS TRAFFIC (lost in WWII). A charitable trust to coordinate fundraising restoration of NOMADIC will be set up while Belfast Harbour Commissioners have agreed to provide a temporary berth for the ship. A public appeal has raised £40,000 and the Belfast City Council agreed to contribute £100,000 while a study by Belfast City Council estimates the cost restoring the ship would be about £7m. Once the vessel is on the Historic Ship Register, the project will qualify for the UK's Lottery Grant Fund. Please visit www.savenomadic.com.

Ripped directly from Maritime Matters.
Mark D.