issues involving steam locomotives #611,#1218,#4501

[UP5521]

you know? what bothers me is the fact that for railroad companies like Norfolk southern they were the reason for the N&W J locomotive #611 to be out on the rails hauling tourist trains and then in december they decided to pull the plug on the steam program because of two accidents in the swamp both of which does not in fact involve the locomotive itself but the cars it was hauling behind it and then there is repairs,complaints,money lost, and that played a critical role in this tragic incident but that is not the point! The point is that locomotive that sported the black flags on its last run and also 2-6-6-4 locomotive the 1218 needs to be out and that also goes for the southern railroad's own 4501 that has been sitting there mothballed after all of that time and don't forget she ran with the N&W steam locomotives as well,then adding insult to injury,they get back to running freight trains on their own line trying to make money and they seem to think steam train operation is not a money maker and that is not fair to railfans like myself who likes these locomotives and it is a shame this had to happen!

 

[gfisher]

This post belongs in Prototype Talk. Perhaps the mods could move it there?

 

[SuperFudd]

Perhaps they could compromise. Use steam to haul freight.

 

[UP5521]

Good idea at least it is better than sitting in a museum rusting away but where are they going to get the parts to maintain them, fuel & water from? the diesels should I think be placed on standby in case anything should go wrong they should not be doing a steam locomotive's job and I think steam engines do a better job at hauling freight than diesel locomotives even though there are fuel stops involved,but the 611 on the other hand should go first followed by 3 other steam locos that have been mothballed.

 

[illinoiscentral]

4501 is not owned by Southern, which does not exist, neither does N&W, they are under the control of the Norfolk Southern.
4501 is housed at Tennessee Valley Railroad in Chattanooga Tennessee, where it is currently on the R.I.P line awaiting repairs and work.
4501 will Probably haul Georgia excursions in later years ahead of us.


Cheers,
Woody

 

[barn700]

Maybe we should have a tread called the longest sentence in Trainz LOL

 

[simulatortrain]

*Takes deep breath after reading the sentence*

Punctuation anyone?

For one thing, NS didn't cancel the steam program in December. It's been quite a while. Also, the railroads don't do what they do for railfans. They don't style locomotives a certain way, or keep locomotives out of retirement, just to please us. They do it to make money. Where are they going to get parts from? The same place they got them in the 90s, making them. Last time I checked fuel and water weren't exactly rare items.

 

[Sampug394]

Maybe we should have a tread called the longest sentence in Trainz LOL

:hehe::hehe::hehe:

 

[BobCass]

Hi All: All of you guys must stop and think about the Railroad Preservation that the British people have done. There was a big article in Trains Magazine concerning this very subject. The British have recently completed a new Steam Locomotive for Tourism or Passinger service. And their older Steam Engines some of them are being refurbished. They are way ahead of us on Preservation and Rail Industry. But we are ahead as far as freight hauling.


Bob Cass

 

[illinoiscentral]

Good idea at least it is better than sitting in a museum rusting away but but where are they going to get the parts to maintain them, fuel & water from? the diesels should I think be placed on standby in case anything should go wrong they should not be doing a steam locomotive's job and I think steam engines do a better job at hauling freight than diesel locomotives even though there are fuel stops involved,but the 611 on the other hand should go first followed by 3 other steam locos that have been mothballed.

You answered your own question right there.
Where do the museums get the parts from, better yet where do they get the money for the parts?
At least the museums actually try to keep them to the very best of their ability. As a museum volunteer and a supporter of the Tennessee Valley Railroad, I take offense. Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing #303 at my museum rusting with no drivers, no light and no bell. But she is still there, old and crippled, but she is there, not in some junkyard, not your recycled metal roof, none of that.
Norfolk Southern has better things to do than pitty potty around with a steam program that interferes with their daily freight operations.
When they have bigger problems such as the economy and not to mention safety, how about PTC in place by 2015? Closing Oak Street in Kings Mountain NC???
This is the real world, the big boys, they don't fool around with the railfan's fantasies, they are a business, not an amusement attraction.
Why do you think they let their cars pile up with graffiti? Nothing can be done, not anything they have time for.
Son, you're running with the big dogs now.
Life is Life, Business is Business. Reality, comes knocking at fantasies door.


Woody

 

[BobCass]

Hi Illinoiscentral: You are absolutly right in what you said. We need to have government support in our in efforts on Preservation , thats why the British
are ahead of us.. Do you agree??


Bob Cass

 

[RooRocz]

I think I speak for all of us when I say that the $800 billion stimulus plan would be better spent entirely on restoring steam locomotives and building new ones.

 

[ZapperJet]

Virginia Transportation Museum spent a lot of money just restoring the roof which collapsed in a very heavy downpoor. If there were money left, maybe. 1218 is missing a few rods, and 611 is in mint condition I believe. No real rusting to be heard of.

Cheers,
John

 

[springtransit]

4501 is not owned by Southern, which does not exist, neither does N&W, they are under the control of the Norfolk Southern.
Cheers,
Woody

They are part of NS, therefore, they still exist as far as I'm concerned!

 

[jadebullet]

*Takes deep breath after reading the sentence*

Punctuation anyone?

For one thing, NS didn't cancel the steam program in December. It's been quite a while. Also, the railroads don't do what they do for railfans. They don't style locomotives a certain way, or keep locomotives out of retirement, just to please us. They do it to make money. Where are they going to get parts from? The same place they got them in the 90s, making them. Last time I checked fuel and water weren't exactly rare items.

Some railroads do do something for the railfans though. The Bangor and Aroostook repainted BL2 57 back into its original white and gold and original number of 557(I think this is the number) and named it American Railfan for the roads numerous fans.

 

[SR6900]

I'm a volunteer at TVRM. And I can tell all of you that you are very far from knowing the truth on the 4501 since the steam program. We ran it at TVRM until around 1998. She had, I think 1 or 2 days left on her flues, when we stopped running her. She sat in storage since until recently, when an anonymous donor funded a boiler survey. Not NS, not TVRM. We currently have no plans to restore her. I love that locomotive to death, but she has sooo many rumors circling her compared to ANY other engine I've heard of. It's ridiculously annoying, because I at least know some. There's really only a handful who actually know exactly the status. And pretty much regular TVRM volunteers such as myself are the only reliable sources of information on the locomotive. Most of us really don't know that much, but it's a heck of a lot more accurate and better than you'll get from anyone else. I highly doubt she'll be running anytime soon.

Come to TVRM when we have the 630 running. The boiler is the same size as 4501's minus one course, the fireboxes are the same size. It's very similar in size, just it's a 2-8-0, not a 2-8-2.

 

[simulatortrain]

Some railroads do do something for the railfans though. The Bangor and Aroostook repainted BL2 57 back into its original white and gold and original number of 557(I think this is the number) and named it American Railfan for the roads numerous fans.

But that isn't something that costs large sums of money. Running steam is done for railfans, but as far as using them for freight again, well that's pretty much out of the question. (At least until I have a say in it!)

 

[UP5521]

I agree with all of you and it does cost alot of money to keep a steam locomotive tip-top shape,steam operation does seem to get in the way of freight trains operated by csx and NS and Conrail but as for the 303 however I hope to see a picture of her in almost mint condition and it does break my heart as well to see her in its current state.

 

[Red_TVRM]

I'm a volunteer at TVRM. We currently have no plans to restore her.

As a volunteer at the TVRM I am also sure you read the notice (on the fridge in the breakroom) from the Foreman that we do not comment about projects and what is going on with equipment. I can understand your frustration with the rumors but the Foreman was pretty set on what he wanted.

Not seen you around this summer it seems I am always running the days you aren’t. I hope soon that our paths will cross physically and not just virtually. I’m running diesel the first week of September, maybe I’ll see you there.

 

[SR6900]

As a volunteer at the TVRM I am also sure you read the notice (on the fridge in the breakroom) from the Foreman that we do not comment about projects and what is going on with equipment. I can understand your frustration with the rumors but the Foreman was pretty set on what he wanted.

Not seen you around this summer it seems I am always running the days you aren’t. I hope soon that our paths will cross physically and not just virtually. I’m running diesel the first week of September, maybe I’ll see you there.

Yes, I've seen it. I know that it reads that we may relay what has been officially released to the public, which I did. Pretty much everything I said has previously been in official public press releases. Thanks for your concern, I was thinking about that particular bulletin while replying earlier, being careful what I said.
I'm not yet on the schedule for September, but I'm there next Saturday (with school, currently the only days I can come are Saturday).