How Does This Happen?

Someone or corporate entity owns title and doesn't sell, scrap or donate.

Rusty

"Ran when parked."

"I'm gonna fix 'er up and get 'er runnin' some day."

The way some of glass features are covered over indicate to me that they were left there on purpose as a place to store them - loooooong term.

The prime mover is protected and its just an eye score presently.  A little elbow grease would get her running in no time!

Maybe the owner thinks these are collector pieces and waiting for the value to go up before they are put up for sale - on the bay! 

I thought at first that was a for sale sign in the window,......in the caption should read, “runs great, will trade from steam”

Pat

Looks like a pretty dry location which should help further prevent rapid corrosion. I know UP stores inactive locomotives in the deserts of NM or AZ I believe.

I have no way of testing this, but previous owner said it ran great.

Jon

That's pretty sad.

Is it possible these were stranded due to a line closure of some sort? The location looks like Northern California - could this be a now isolated stretch of the old NWP?

There aren’t any locomotives marooned on the NWP but there is quite a bit of rolling stock. I’ve seen photos of these units before, seem to recall they are privately owned.

As for how historic equipment ends up like this, most common instance is that a person, or museum, or city acquires an item or items cheaply or free with the intention to preserve or restore it but many don’t realize how much money or work is really involved.

Preservation of railroad equipment is a rich man’s hobby or something for museums with a large number of financial supporters and skilled volunteers. Many museums have equipment that looks like this because they have ammassed too large of a collection. What happened to the Indiana Transportation Museum is a perfect example of having too much stuff and not taking care of it combined with not having a good relationship with the community. Illinois Railway Museum is another one that has an outstanding collection but isn’t able to take care of all of it. They have the largest collection of steam locomotives and many of them are still outside instead of in storage buildings. Most of these engines have become total rust buckets.

in short, there is too much railroad equipment left and not enough talent and money to preserve them all.

Ya know, this might be a good idea on a layout. Find some inexpensive loks, weather them and store them on an unused section on your layout.

Steve

Scrap value isn't as it once was.  Fluids have to be removed properly, Hazardous materials also have to be removed (PROPERLY).  IMO  Mike CT.

Democrats.

@Norm Charbonneau posted:

Democrats.

Actually, Norm, that would be free markets at work.

I was referring to the graffiti.

Really, Norm?  We are ALL Americans.

JohnA    

I wouldn’t say that there’s too much railroad equipment left. I’d say that some people’s (or outfits’) collections are too darn big. Perhaps if there were other museums they could be lent/donated to?

IMO, too much of the really good stuff went to scrap in the forties and fifties (Steam, heavyweight passenger cars) and what we often have left are late first- and some second generation diesels and lightweight cars that came from some other railroad somewhere else that doesn’t have any historical ties to where they’re displayed.

I’m still amazed that a country like Britain has so much stuff saved (And often running) while we Americans don’t.

@Mister_Lee posted:

I wouldn’t say that there’s too much railroad equipment left. I’d say that some people’s (or outfits’) collections are too darn big. Perhaps if there were other museums they could be lent/donated to?

IMO, too much of the really good stuff went to scrap in the forties and fifties (Steam, heavyweight passenger cars) and what we often have left are late first- and some second generation diesels and lightweight cars that came from some other railroad somewhere else that doesn’t have any historical ties to where they’re displayed.

I’m still amazed that a country like Britain has so much stuff saved (And often running) while we Americans don’t.

I had meant there was too much in relation to the amount of people, organizations, museums, tourist railroads, and their respective financial capital. With how much remains, especially first and second generation diesels, it can’t all be preserved. There really are a lot of F units, GP’s and smaller SD’s still in existence. I love that so much is left. It is a shame that certain railroads or locomotive classes don’t have any representation. The lack of standard gauge Rio Grande steam, NYC steam, the big PRR steam, and a lot of the bigger SP steam is disappointing.
There have been smaller museums that have tried to acquire equipment from larger museums, some have have had success while others haven’t because the large museums many times don’t want to give anything up or they want too much money for something. Fund raising to purchase AND move railroad equipment is a very expensive proposition. Even if there is a rail line connection, class 1 railroads won’t move it for you anymore umless you can put it on a flatcar. These days everything has to be trucked.

This engine was still running a couple years ago.

Maybe getting parts from this one.

They are at an aggregate industry near me.  Have not been by there in a while.