The owners of Bessemer 643 are looking for a new home for her.

It's unfortunate that its in such bad condition now.  The worse part is, from what I understand, is there is no longer access to a line to even move it efficiently. Hopefully someone with some real interest might actually want to restore it and not just display it but as we all know that takes a lot of money.

I was just reading the face book page. It doesn't say why it needs a new home. It was interesting to read that the engine was restored to operating status but at the time nowhere to operate. So why not bring it back to operating status now and work out something with NS or BNSF? 

This subject popped up on at least two different internet sights some days ago. Naturally the two biggest questions are"

1) Will Mr. Glen Campbell REALLY let go of his "toy"?

2) How or were will the money come from to pay for the heavy hauler required to move this big & heavy locomotive?

Living in Bessemer Country, I hope a good home can be found.  While Oakmont would be fine, I think it would be neat if the 643 could be parked in the former Pullman Standard factory site in Butler near the yellow PS-2 Milwaukee Road that was built in Butler.  B&LE still runs right past there.

In in addition thank you for the FaceBook link.  I didn't know that existed, but I liked it.

For one, Mr. Glen Campbell, the owner of #643, doesn't have the necessary funds to cover a complete FRA mandated 15 year inspection. Second, I sure can't see NS nor especially BNSF even considering operating such a big heavy, slow speed steam locomotive on their lines. Besides, NS has the use of NKP 765, TVRM 630 & 4501, and of course N&W 611.

I am glad the owner is finally going to find a home for it.

shame it sat out and rusted the last few years.

Good news is nobody has vandalized it...

LOL, I always love the comment " Its just sitting there already to go" Just need to fire her up "

The other good news is the missing hardware is safe.

I wonder if the S2/4? is for sale too. I could start a commuter line from Arnold to Pittsburgh.

Pathetic with all the RR history in Western Pa. we can't find a decent place for this locomotive to, at least, protect from the weather and vandals. Too big an engine to run in this area if they could even find a place. Run it on the B&LE, they only run one train a day on that line.

What is the saddest of all; Mr. Campbell has been contacted may times over the years, by people with the funds to actually accomplish something with #643, to no avail. Now that CSX has taken the connection out to their adjacent main line, which has also been completely rebuilt and LOWERED for high cars, the only way to extricate poor #643 from its current resting place would be by a heavy equipment hauler. 

Hot Water it was just an idea. I realize there would have to be logistical considerations and of course the money issue. If the efforts of the fund rising and the speed of the restoration they have done with 611 anything could be possible, if there is enough interest.. I would think that IRM would also be a consideration/option. I just think it would be nice to see more steam in operation even though the likely hood of see 765/611 in Florida would be next to nil.

I sure hope they can at least find someplace to display it and put on a new coat of paint.

--Greg

I would volunteer my back yard for her but I just built a shed a few years ago and I'm pretty sure my wife would NOT let me tear the shed down for this. 

Rick

Wow, magnificent beast.

It's a shame the rail connection is gone. The restoration realities will be pretty nasty.

I would imagine there is tube corrosion by now, probably at the smokebox end, and corresponding tube sheet damage. It would take a lot of funds to even get her to the hydrostatic test point, way before the heavy lifters show up.

Just question, the musician Glen Campbell owns this engine??

For some reason I can't open the Facebook page.

No. A much different Glen Campbell.

Not much gets done around these parts unless it is ugly convention center or new stadiums for the poor owners of the teams. The expensive joke in Pittsburgh, the August Wilson Center would have paid for any restoration.

Thanks for the clarification Hot Water.

From what I've heard from people in the area, he wants a LOT of money for the locomotive, which any potential seller has balked at paying. Hopefully he hasn't taken a page out of the Dick Jensen playbook and insist on keeping it there way past its welcome. The sad part is that where it sits, it was under cover for a very long time and was in a relatively decent position for longterm storage.

My understanding is that Campbell has laid low in recent years and much (of not all) of this speculation is taking place entirely without him. If that's the case, then it's mostly wasted air and bandwidth.

But yeah, the cutting of the spur and lowering of the line past there has assured it won't be moved easily to active rail (even if the RR would have allowed it anyway).

A marvelous site for this locomotive would be The Age of Steam Roundhouse. Would assume Jerry Jacobs is a pretty wealthy fellow, not that I can volunteer any of his money.   Regarding moving this machine, there were very few locomotives that weighed more then 500,000 lbs.This is one of them - - - 523,600 lbs!

Jerry tried, many, many, many years ago, and couldn't get to first base with Mr. Campbell, as many others have also discovered.

Actually moving large locomotives via semi-trucks is safer than moving it dead on the rail, especially on the current managed CSX which is not really interested  in supporting a steam locomotive program.

The logistics are not only safer with newer and heavier equipment available, but properly moved can eliminate damage in the long run.

The 643 could be disassemble like the Northern Pacific  Copper Range engine shown below... I believe the NP engine is still there?

Yeah the Dick Jensen Playbook was a complete failure. Reminds me of the Historical society that tried to save Northern Pacific 2626, by the time the money was raised it lay in pieces in a scrap yard ...  good bye to the 4 aces. What an epic failure....

Well well, I was among the many who helped Glen on the restoration, In particular, while the engine was at the B&O back shop in Glenwood Pa., I helped to replace the tender wheels. Just by mere chance, the car dept. had the wheels, 33" with the standard 12" bearings needed, we used to get the B&LE ore pellet cars that delivered to J&L steel, so they had some in stock, brand new, that hadn't been used. Several of us who worked on the railroad, working with the supply room, obtained for the high price of $1.00 got the wheels and installed them on the tender! after many failed attempts at self restoration, Glen finally gave in and got a sponsor, I believe for a percentage of the engine, and a professional group, I think from the mid west came and took over. Within 6 months or so the engine was moved out of the back shop and they did a hydro test, and finally low pressure steam up. After that I changed railroads and lost track of the engine, until about 6 months ago and found the site on face book. Glen was a nice enough fellow, and quite a rail buff, but also VERY stubborn and quite bull headed! And for all the hopes and dreams he had for this poor engine, mostly because of him, and the total lack of funds, he had quite a few offers for this engine and refused them all, it never went anywhere. I do remember when the back shop was torn down, and it finally had to be moved, as soon as I heard that I knew it was doomed... Sad..... I still have the Howard Fogg print of this engine hanging in my living room, my reward for pitching in to try and get it working again. But in reality, it was just too big to be used for very much, and without any money, it's fate was sealed long ago...   I hope someone is willing to take on this task, and at least get this poor girl in a place out of the weather and displayed so people can enjoy the (I believe only one left) B&LE 2-10-4, even as a static display, it is quite impressive! Maybe if the right place could be found, it can go on "Go Fund Me" and the funds to accomplish this can be done...It would be a real shame if Glen would allow this engine to be scrapped... And may be where it is headed...

Scrapped?

Are you kidding me? That would be a sad day...

Well, if the rail connection is gone, and there is not sufficient funds to "heavy haul it" to someplace else, she will slowly turn into scrap anyway.

First and foremost, someone would have to talk some sense into Glens cement head and get him to sell or donate it to someone, until then it will just rot away into nothing... He seems to think it's worth a couple of million as it sits.... it's not...

Never say never.

Sounds like a challenge.... The Mega Movers could do it.... they moved this house w/o a single window shattering...

Exactly!!!!!!

In fact, the poor thing really isn't even worth scrap value, as the price for scrap steel is based on "processed scrap" steel. Thus the cost in labor and materials (gas & oxygen) to cut her up and then transport some 400+ tons of scrap to a scrap yard, for only about $80 a ton, sure wouldn't be an attractive business plan either.   

Where the heck is this? I can't make out any engine #s and don't recognize the location at all.

Great. And just who provided the funds for that?

Can't let this happen, and it could if everyone jumps on the "let someone else do it" band wagon.  Aeons ago we lost PRR 6171 because she was deemed "too big" for operation by the Worthington Ohio RR museum.  They instead opted for N&W 571, a medium sized Pacific.   A practical descision to be sure, but look what we lost!  Communication, and then commitment will keep 643 from becoming tuna cans.  Besides, who says she has to run, to be worthy of being saved?????  This kind of illogic got Espee 4450 killed.  It's possible that some future generation might be able to do something with 643, that can't be done today....considering RR politics and all.

Yep, there is always money.... its the time factor that challenges all...

The pictures are from Hancock Michigan 2004. This Copper range locomotive was rescued from its decaying state and restored...

Great story which you can follow here:

http://www.midcontinent.org/press/press_cr29.html

The root cause is if Glen is willing to give up the ghost...

Here is a link to the history of how this engine was saved....

http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/steam/crr29.html

Just going by past eyeballing of fire-tube boilers that have sat un-used with open stacks for long periods, as this one seems to have done. Yard rot I guess; everything gets it.

As I mentioned, a ton of work needed before any hydro test, as in the items you mentioned. I wasn't suggesting a hydro test first. That's trouble fer sure!

There's a museum in the Netherlands that bypassed the whole active steam liability and fitted hydraulics to the running gear of a stationary pumping engine. An active display, in other words. A compromise, but still a ton of work. 

I guess it all depends on your definition of "magnificent beast." This thing is a Baldwin-built heavy drag freight locomotive that has likely never been over 30 mph in its life. Compared to an Alco or especially a Lima design of the same period, this thing is badly designed and badly built. For example, if a Baldwin pipe-fitter had to run a pipe from A to B, that is exactly what he did...a straight piece of pipe from A to B without regard for what other piping and other appurtenances were in the way. The backhead of this thing was the biggest rats nest of piping I have ever seen on a steam locomotive.

That ship sailed many years ago. He wore out his welcome long before CSX removed the switch. Once that switch was gone, that sealed the fate of this locomotive. It will have to be moved by heavy-haul truck, and where it sits now is not conducive to that. McKees Rocks is a typical small Pennsylvania steel town. Narrow streets and steep hills all around. It will be VERY expensive to move this thing anywhere. The current regime at CSX will not be willing to move it by rail.

At 523,000 pounds, figuring a maximum highway weight of 20,000 pounds per axle, it is going to take at least 26 axles spread out over the length of this thing to properly support it on a highway! I want to see that rig negotiate some of the tiny streets in McKees Rocks!

Jerry Jacobson tried many times to purchase this locomotive from Glenn and move it to the Age of Steam Roundhouse where it would have had a chance of running again some day. He could never make the deal because Glenn wanted multiple millions for it, but a locomotive like this has no value beyond the current price of scrap.

I think the discussion here and on other forums, not to mention countless discussions over the years about this locmotive, prove this statement to be incorrect.

It's clearly worth more than scrap, otherwise nobody would even consider saving it and Jacobsen never would have made an offer at all.

If it was just about scrap value, then, where are all the similar discussions about abandoned cranes, towers and piles of steel beams lying around this country?

Its a shame the 643 is in the shape it is now. I grew up near the B&LE North Bessemer yard, watching B&LE SD38's all the time. My uncle worked 40 years on the B&LE, and started just as the F7 were taking over the main drags of coal and iron ore. Both my dad and uncle remember growing up in North Bessemer watching the 2-10-4 bringing in loads of iron ore for the Pittsburgh mills. I would love to see the 643 run, but have little hope of that ever happening.