Rairoad Boneyards

If you want to see a RR boneyard, you just need to go to almost any RR museum in America...

A typical History Channel production. Quick & short scenes, jumping from subject to subject and scene to scene, with no scene lasting more than 10 to 15 seconds. I could only take about 3 minutes of that, and had to quit.

Steamtown.

Mike CT, are you trying to tell us that Steamtown still had all those equipment pieces exposed to the elements? What are they restoring in their shops?

don't think Mike's trying. looks to be a fact.

PRR Man posted:

don't think Mike's trying. looks to be a fact.

Yep, I was there about 18 months ago. They have a substantial rust line like the photos show.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe most of the rougher pieces at SNHS were stored long-term at Tobyhanna Army Depot.  After 9/11, however, the park service had to move them in a hurry and had no where else to put them but front and center in the yard.  

I think, on average, the back shop has refurbished, to one level or another, one piece of rolling stock per year.  With no substantial increase in budget, and a gradually reduction in staffing, it's a wonder they can keep that rate up, let alone add to the burden.  

Canadian 2929 is a beautiful engine but those high drivers mean she's basically useless in and around Scranton.  She was supposed to go back up North when Kip Hagen was still Superintendent but for whatever reason the deal fell through.

Mike 3377 may be under steam again before I am in the ground; she was only a few hundred hours out of the shop before she was sent to the scrap line and many of her parts have migrated over to 3254.  With all of the problems that '54 has, the rumor was that parts would migrate back to '77, assuming her boiler checked out a-ok.  

The best thing I can tell you is that if you know of a group who would want one of the more forlorn pieces at Steamtown, it may not hurt to inquire with the park to see if it can be set free.  Granted, you will probably have to jump through some hoops but I don't think it's an impossibility.  

My other piece of advice is if you want to see steam tomorrow, ride a diesel today.  

2014/2015 visits I noted some serious money was spent of the turntable at Steamtown. 

Mike CT posted:

2014/2015 visits I noted some serious money was spent of the turntable at Steamtown.  

Well that's the thing- it's not like every dime is going into preservation.  They have to maintain the park grounds with paid staff and cover the costs of everything from stay bolts to toilet paper.  

Contrast that with a non-profit group that uses volunteer labor and can direct all available funding solely to restoration, and you begin to understand Steamtown.  

Mike CT posted:

2014/2015 visits I noted some serious money was spent of the turntable at Steamtown. 

Considering what was sitting on this turntable on Labor Day weekend, 2015, perhaps this work was necessary for this to happen!

I was just at Steamtown about 3 months ago.  Its terrible, plain and simple. Nothing was running, and it looks like a junkyard. Yes the trains on display inside are nice but its boring..Then go to Strasburg, you will see 2 steamers running and possibly a short freight train..

I know it's not very sexy, but probably the best thing any RR museum can do is build some big sheds to keep what they have from deteriorating any further before they worry about restoring much of anything or operating it.  They don't have to be fancy, they just have to keep stuff out of the sun and the rain.  Start with a roof and add sides as money allows.

Video in the original post was quite interesting.  Thanks for posting!