I took the liberty of contacting the 16-244's owner.

I have NEVER seen someone SO desperate to find a decent home for an engine in my life!

The building that houses the engine has been sold, and MUST be levelled SOON--the implication I received was that demolition would begin around Jan. 2nd. The representative has been desperately trying to contact Bill Withuhn of the Smithsonian, apparently in vain--but he did get the correct office phone number.

Again, without direct confirmation, it appears that the company still wants to get money out of the asset, but will apparently consider donation to an appropriate organization (the Smithsonian, a proper non-profit with the resources, etc.) in trade for an appropriate tax write-off, if possible. However, the first priority is to rescue the engine from destruction by a demolition crew. The unit is located near Pedricktown, NJ, which is located on an active Conrail Sharede Assets branch on the other side of the Delaware River from Wilmington/Claymont, Delaware, not far from the NJ Turnpike, I-295, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Rail shipment would be via Camden, NJ.

IF you have ANY ability to assist in this matter (and we mean the ability to move a big prime mover, or the wherewithal to arrange for it), please contact Frank at 856-351-1907 or 856-279-5575.



Another Photo of 16-244

lner4472@bcpl.net

I just left a voice mail for Frank. I am curious if he has found a taker for the engine, and if not, I could propose that the owner donate the prime mover to our organization (Tod Engine Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt corporation) and I could move it to our shop. We have funding available to pay for the trucking and cranes needed to move the engine. I know that a GE FDL-16 weighs 43,500 lbs. dry, I am assuming the 244 weighs close to that as well. Anyone know for sure?

The key here is in the owner donating the prime mover, we could not afford to purchase the engine. We were gearing up to acquire a Cooper Bessemer 1,000 hp gas compressor engine, but I think we would pass on that for the Alco, a much more significant unit.

Rick

http://www.todengine.org
rickrailrd@aol.com

We have funding
> available to pay for the trucking and cranes
> needed to move the engine.

That, thus far, seems to be the biggest obstacle; if you have that, you're probably in the lead.

I know that a GE
> FDL-16 weighs 43,500 lbs. dry, I am assuming
> the 244 weighs close to that as well. Anyone
> know for sure?

*I have been told that the dry weight of the engine is 37,500 lbs, with the turbocharger an additional 1,100 lbs and the oil/lube pump, filter, etc. that are attached but separable would be ca. 1,000 lbs. each. Call the whole package 40,000 lbs. with an error factor of less than 5%.

> The key here is in the owner donating the
> prime mover, we could not afford to purchase
> the engine. We were gearing up to acquire a
> Cooper Bessemer 1,000 hp gas compressor
> engine, but I think we would pass on that
> for the Alco, a much more significant unit.

Let me advise all that at least one other party approached me with the mindset that they could afford to tie up money paid for the engine and trucking by justifying it as a spare parts source for their other 244s!! They would be willing to preserve the complete engine if another use (PA, display, demo) came along....


Another Photo of 16-244

lner4472@bcpl.net

> *I have been told that the dry weight of the
> engine is 37,500 lbs, with the turbocharger
> an additional 1,100 lbs and the oil/lube
> pump, filter, etc. that are attached but
> separable would be ca. 1,000 lbs. each. Call
> the whole package 40,000 lbs. with an error
> factor of less than 5%.

The ENTIRE engine, complete with turbo, weighs 37,550 lbs. The lub oil filter tank and lub oil cooler are not figured in the total engine weight. Yes, figure a 20-ton lift for ease of arithmetic and estimating. "How much do you guys charge to ship a 20-ton diesel engine from NJ to .... ?"

Don't let this one become razor blades.


hpincus@mindspring.com

> After seeing this post, I notified Bill Withun, who has an initial interest and will make initial inquiries after New Years.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Well the broker must have either found someone very interested in the engine or given up on it. I emailed him and left messages on both his phones 4 days ago and have not been contacted by him.



http://www.todengine.org
rickrailrd@aol.com

The broker did email me. They are willing to take nothing less than their initial asking price for the prime mover, so it looks like they may own it until it gets scrapped. There is a reason it is the last 16-244 in existence in the U.S., and it isn't because it was a good reliable engine. $15,000 is alot for a museum to spend, and for someone looking for a source of diesel power, EMD running take out 16-567C engines are going for $15,000.

Oh well. :-(

http://www.todengine.org
rickrailrd@aol.com

Fact of the matter is, there is probably NO demand for this engine in the RTO engine market.

All of the locos that could use the engine (and we'll skip any mention of the McCormack PA business) are long gone-plain and simple.

Hopefully, some prescient group or individual will
acquire the thing...which would make the construction of an accurate replica PA a very distinct possibility...

> The broker did email me. They are willing to
> take nothing less than their initial asking
> price for the prime mover, so it looks like
> they may own it until it gets scrapped.
> There is a reason it is the last 16-244 in
> existence in the U.S., and it isn't because
> it was a good reliable engine. $15,000 is
> alot for a museum to spend, and for someone
> looking for a source of diesel power, EMD
> running take out 16-567C engines are going
> for $15,000.

> Oh well. :-(


74471.3045@compuserve.com