steam fan posted:Ok, after looking at the roads, you can get out of there with a maximum of 13' 6". The biggest obstacle is the weight...
No, the biggest obstacle is the money. 
And it is more than a foot taller than 13' 6".
Why waste the money on an engine that isn't suitable to run on local tracks ?? Use the money on an enginethat has a future. The owner won't sell anyhow so it is wasted effort.
The engine is right up near 16' tall IIRC. The P&OC is the only possible remaining way out. At least you could move the 643 to a more workable location for dis-assembly and load out.
Sometimes, the Juice just isn't worth the Squeeze.
Like Jim P mentions, why spend the $$$ on a loco that has almost zero chance of ever running again? That's a lot of money for a park display.....that will probably still slowly rust away, albeit in a more serene environment.
Rather than raise money for this particular engine, I'd rather see money raised to get the C&O 614 and the NKP 759 running again.....or something comparable, assuming these are even possibilities. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get both the 614 and the 759 fired up and operational for less than what you'd spend to get this steam engine under fire.
Emotions and attachments aside, saving the 643 just doesn't make fiscal sense.
If tempery tracks are laid out behind it. Get it over to the siding that runs along the mainline. Have it towed onto Neville island. That would have better transportation options out of the island. Looks like the best option looking on it from satellite. Anyway you look at it, alot of cost labor and logistics involved.
OGR Webmaster posted:steam fan posted:Ok, after looking at the roads, you can get out of there with a maximum of 13' 6". The biggest obstacle is the weight...
No, the biggest obstacle is the money.
And it is more than a foot taller than 13' 6".
True on the money.
A bare boiler on a lowboy trailer would be well under 13' I would think. Can't be 10' from the mudring to the steam dome, can it?
steam fan posted:A bare boiler on a lowboy trailer would be well under 13' I would think. Can't be 10' from the mudring to the steam dome, can it?
So now we're going to take it apart on-site? Add another $50,000+.
Dig a big hole, bury it and be done with it............
Tommy posted:You need two cranes. A Tadano GK550XL-2 rents for $8,000 a month. Capacity 230 tons. Plus two union operators. Plus ground crew, Panel track to edge of mainline, $40,000. Labor costs are expensive. Small dozer, $2,000. Estimated additional labor costs $40,000. Then there is the blockage of the line. I see no reason it should take more than ten hours to transfer from panel track to flatcar(s).. Then there are rail service costs. Doable.
You can just about double those costs in order to cover the reverse process at the undisclosed location.
It's all a moot point if the current owner doesn't want to sell, donate, give away his beloved locomotive. Then, it will probably go the way of Jensen's locomotives: Scrapped on site.
Rusty
jim pastorius posted:Why waste the money on an engine that isn't suitable to run on local tracks ??
That could be a separate question from the quagmire that the 643 is.
Many railroad museums have spent money acquiring locomotives that will never run again. Preservation is its own goal.
Rusty
OGR Webmaster posted
So now we're going to take it apart on-site? Add another $50,000+.
And it's still within the realm of cost by rail flatcar without the hassle.
We're talking about preservation and getting it to a museum or restoration site. No doubt it's going to cost major coin to move it. Most likely it'll get parted out or cut up where it sits.
Unfortunately although this engine could drag 50 passenger cars with no problem, it would only be able to go 30, maybe 40 mph without beating the rails up. Hence it's limited to where you're going to run it. It's a no win situation for it.
Yes, preservation is it's own goal. We should want to preserve the most powerful 2 cylinder locomotive ever built. Never give up!
4 big pipelayer/ sidewinder Cats could hoist it and walk it wherever it needs to be...within reason.
Casey Jones2 posted:4 big pipelayer/ sidewinder Cats could hoist it and walk it wherever it needs to be...within reason.
Four might pick it up, but handling that weight, they can't move it much at all. You would probably need at least 6, Cat 583's, for safety reasons. Even then, moving it very far would be iffy, as all would be near their rated tipping load if they are not sitting perfectly level and on a smooth solid surface.
You're not moving it out of there by truck in one piece. It would however, fit nicely onto about 4 lowboy trailers. Complete disassembly into a bare boiler, bare frame with cylinders, drivers/side rods/engine and trailing truck, and cab. The tender is also iffy.
What would a bare boiler of this size weigh with/without tubes and flues?
mowingman posted:Casey Jones2 posted:4 big pipelayer/ sidewinder Cats could hoist it and walk it wherever it needs to be...within reason.
Four might pick it up, but handling that weight, they can't move it much at all. You would probably need at least 6, Cat 583's, for safety reasons. Even then, moving it very far would be iffy, as all would be near their rated tipping load if they are not sitting perfectly level and on a smooth solid surface.
Your correct! I was just thinking that the easiest way to get in and get it loaded out. Sidebooms are fairly easy machines to move and assemble compared to moving in a pair of big say Manitowoc 2250 cranes. Hulcher could send a convoy of lowboys loaded with sidebooms and be ready to pick within hours.
Of course the best would be to find 4 of the old HD41 sidebooms but good luck on that. Friends owned 2 of them and those things are a beast!
@harleyhouse posted:
There doesn't appear to be any date on that "Report", but by the looks of things, the photos must be from a year ago.
@Hot Water posted:There doesn't appear to be any date on that "Report", but by the looks of things, the photos must be from a year ago.
Poking around the site shows that report is from September of 2019.
Well,,,,,,,,,,so much for up-to-date information.
@Bob posted:Poking around the site shows that report is from September of 2019.
Agreed - they have already re-located the tender to the museum after that report, but pre-covid.
Their plans to move the boiler and running gear were "delayed due to COVID-19" per a post on their official Instagram site dated July 22nd, 2020. They posted again on Jan. 1st 2022 that they do not have any updates on the move - that was the latest regarding the move of the engine.
One of the updates commented they needed permits from a half dozen agencies, cities and counties and arranging all of these due to COVID was proving difficult. Just doing that in normal times would be hard enough...
