From the Lost Engines Yahoo Group:

I am the Building Inspector for the City of Hannibal, Missouri. I am
also a lifetime fan of steam engines. This city was once a major
railroad hub with at least two large round houses and a beautiful
depot. On the wall of our Council chambers there are two large murals.
One of a riverboat, which we have one, and one of our past railyard
showing at least two steam locomotives, we don't have one. As a matter
of fact, we don't have anything that represents our railroad past. A
couple of years ago I tried to locate a locomotive that needed a home.
All I could find were people trying to make a lot of money from scrap
deals they had made that included old locomotives.
What I hope to gain from this site is a little help in locating an
engine preferbaly close to Hannibal that someone would donate to the
city (or at least not ask a small fortune for). We have a Historic
Preservation class at our High School that would enjoy the challenge
of cosmetically restoring a locomotive. We also have a large amount of
knowledgeable railfans that would help in this effort.
My goal to secure a locomotive we can build a Railroad park around.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. You can email me at
sigseven@yahoo.com or contact me at 573-221-0111 x 205.
Thanks, Joey Burnham

Bob,

I live 10 miles from Hannibal and this is the first that I have heard of this. I re-posted on the Hannibal newspaper's board, we'll see if any bites turn up.

Hannibal used to have a wooden Q waycar on display down by the riverfront, but it was reduced to splinters by the Parks & Rec folks 20+ years ago.

The Burlington Route/Hannibal & St. Joe shop complex just south of town was bulldozed by the BN in the late 80s and if I recall correctly, nobody from the city did anything about it.

I have heard through the grapevine that the four Burlington passenger cars in Atchison Kansas are available for the right price (and I am not saying that the grapevine is in any way correct), but I don't know of any steam engines in the area that are available with the possible exception of the former Frisco engine in Taylorville Illinois (think that is the right location) ... the Bevier & Southern engine in Bevier Missouri (just west of Macon Missouri) is in serious need of some major TLC, but I don't know if the city of Bevier would let go of it ...

Regards,
Burlington John Lewis

John,

The Burlington cars you mentioned in Atchison, KS...are they LW or HW cars? Any details would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Like many communities, there was probably great enthusiasm in Hannibal to get a caboose, without a thought or plan that it might eventually need to be maintained. What is interesting here, though, is that they have a historic preservation class in their high school. I'd be interested in just what they do in that class. Considering that many schools have had to cut out things like industrial arts, home economics and music due to budget cuts, I'm surprised that such a program exists.

As a onetime teacher, I've always felt that part of the school day should be devoted to community service projects instead of trying to fill their heads with information they really aren't mature enough to appreciate, or expending their bountiful energy on sports. There are many mundane tasks that need to be done in our communities that do not get done often enough because municipal budgets are too small to pay workers to do them. Most involve brooms, rakes and shovels, and a few callouses and sore muscles never hurt any child. Putting them to work doing things that normally don't get done should not endanger any city worker's job. I also think kids should clean their own schools, as they do in public schools in Japan.

Restoration work should be reserved for those who really show an interest. There are plenty of steam locomotives that need a good home and this could be a reasonable end for one of them. A wiry teenager should have no trouble crawling on his back to polish and grease journals or clean out a smokebox, firebox or tender. With close guidance from someone what knows what they are doing, this youthful energy might accomplish a lot.

Hannibal is CB&Q country, so whatever they would restore would have the most meaning if it were ex-Burlington. Personally, I think they would be better off starting with something like a caboose, then if that were successful, maybe a locomotive, and maybe something like an SW1 donated by an elevator company, before a steam locomotive. There should be a credible plan for the project, including shelter. My maps aren't very good, but it appears that the Wabash may have once served Hannibal also, perhaps a home for that 0-6-0 owned by the Fort Wayne folks?

I know it woould be alot of work, but what about one of the Northwestern wire engines in the weeds?