The Flying Yankee

I agree with MX totally, except for the continued removal of the Flying Yankee out of either Massachusetts or Maine. Not to beat a dead horse, but MX's comments make me realize even more how foolhardy this endeavor was from the beginning for the FYRG to attempt it if the intent was to actually refurbish it operationally. (Did somebody say GALA ?) Technically non-railroad, but I see the Yankee fitting in nicely inside the lobby of the Museum of Science, I guess partly due to it's proximity to North Station and partly due to the steam locomotive which graced it's entrance for so many years. I also think that she would be stunning in the concourse of South Station. Would any of these locations be willing to display and securely care for the Yankee ? (If owned by non-government, suggestion being to have either full or part government ownership for control purposes.)
North Station
South Station
Northeastern University
Wentworth (any university maintaining a mechanical engineering college)
M.I.T.
Museum of Science
Southampton Amtrak Maintenance
B.E.T.
Prudential Center
Copley Place

Yes, I share the opinion, that they should have not attempted the rebuilding and modernization, at least not with the project oversight arrangement they used. The state needed to employ a project manager experienced in rebuilding railroad equipment and familiar with Winton engines and GE electrical rotating gear, reporting directly (and ONLY) to them, and with firm control of the project and the absolute ability to negotiate contracts and say "yes" or "no" to project expendatures and change orders. Properly qualified people were available and were pointed out to them. They saved having to pay one salary by not hiring that person, and the project then grew in scope and ran them out of money by not having that person to maintain control of the situation. People who had nothing to gain or lose from the project warned them about this, and they did not listen. It is too late to change that now.

MX

3rdrail wrote:I agree with MX totally, except for the continued removal of the Flying Yankee out of either Massachusetts or Maine. Not to beat a dead horse, but MX's comments make me realize even more how foolhardy this endeavor was from the beginning for the FYRG to attempt it if the intent was to actually refurbish it operationally.

Agreed. The day they decided to pour money into the Winton to make it operational (instead of doing a repower with an at least semi-modern engine) was the day this whole thing started going downhill. It's been one debacle after another ever since then.

Frankly, if the rail preservation community in New England can't figure out a way to KEEP the Flying Yankee in New England, then we DESERVE to lose it.

What a pitiful and sad mess.

mxdata wrote:In all the years since then, with all the money that was spent, nobody has shown me any comparable proposal resulting from the restoration, identifying line by line the engines, rotating electrical equipment, switchgear, etc. needed to provide the train with modern propulsion and HEP.

That's both shocking and pathetic.

mxdata wrote:A person who has been involved with the project tells me that there is about $3 million of work left to be done, and donations have dried up since 2008.

MX

The casino that is Wall Street had and has alot of casualties...

NRGeep wrote:The casino that is Wall Street had and has alot of casualties...

...as does room rent at the Executive Court Banquet Facility and Chocolate Trilogies.

http://www.executivecourtbanquet.com/

For the Flying Yankee, I suspect that both the decline in the economy and the unrealistic predictions of progress and completion dates have taken their toll, in either case the result is the same....not enough money coming in. I am a member at a number of non-profit organizations and despite the sour economy I don't know of any whose fundraising has collapsed completely, at least not yet. Some people in finance are predicting that the developing US dollar crisis could make the 2008 crash look like good times. If that happens it may be a very long time before there is much more progress on the Flying Yankee. But I wonder how many other groups are adequately prepared for a very dismal economic future either.

The fundraising has been a serious issue for a long time. They reportedly went "all volunteer" because the incoming donations would no longer support having a paid officer who traveled around to give presentations to meet the 501C3 educational and public benefit requirements. Suppose (for the point of discussion) that salary plus benefits plus travel expenses for that job came out somewhere around $100K a year, a number which seems within the realm of possibility if the person is traveling and attending meetings frequently. If you eliminated that position and maintained the $100K a year cash flow, it would take 30 years to accumulate the $3 Million to allow completion of the restoration project. And by the time you get $3 Million accumulated, the cost of the project could be 5X or 10X that much due to inflation. Meanwhile all the work you got done previously is deteriorating due to weather exposure and pretty soon you are having to rebuild stuff you already rebuilt.

It demonstrates the risk of starting a project with inadequate funding to complete it, then having it stall when lack of progress and changing economic climate cause donations to decline. Flying Yankee would hardly be the first time this has happened, there is equipment sitting disassembled all over this country from preservation projects that were started with good intentions then stalled and collapsed due to lack of funding and loss of the people who were interested in them.

MX

1. Lacking the correct leadership, knowledge and know how
2. Lacking a detailed report (feasibility, direction/goals, pricing/ball park figure for total rehab, mile markers/goals completed and money spent)
3. State not allowing qualified volunteers
4. Slumping economy
5. Lack of interest or people losing interest (possible result from the above issues)

I'm sure you could add to the list but these are just my opinions for some of the biggest issues facing the FY.

Good points all, although to my thinking, I believe that the problem really has been with the FYRG. I do not believe that as far as the people or corporations that would best benefit the Yankee, that the current economic slump that we are in effectively retards moneys differently at that level. If anything, major corporate funding merely shifts it's gears to compensate for economic downturns - layoffs, contracts, distribution of hierarchy, product engineering, efficiency upgrading, and a general restructuring. The economic situation doesn't have the same effect on these groups as it does on Joe Shmoe, the blue collar worker trying to keep himself and family in a Sunday pot roast and blue jeans. Also, remember that a donation, efficiently placed, is not necessarily a corporate loss but a gain with the residuals recieved. IMHO it comes down to the fact primarily that the corporate and large private funder has grown increasingly suspicious of the FYRG over the years to the point where evidence of the floor dropping through has been seen and anticipated more and more each year as the same phoney claims go unfulfilled and repeated.

3rdrail wrote:I believe that the problem really has been with the FYRG

BINGO!!!!!! No one wants to give money to restore items so that they can be auctioned at a group groap....er gala....er celebration of stupidity.....or what ever.
The Yankmee groap holds the ultimate responsibility for giving New England is own 1361. Just what we need in an area that could use a well put together restoration of anything on rails.

Did somebody mention GALA ???!!!

Well, Warren B could still swoop in and use some of his pocket change to buy and restore the FY and move it to...Nebraska!

At this point, if the ghost of Don Ho wanted to fix her up and put her under cover atop Diamond Head under a palm tree I'd be happy !

The Flying Yukelele?

Quick ! Sign him up for the next CELEBRATION !!! (formerly known as a GALA)

The link is Don's ghost's band, already in rehearsal for the CELEBRATION (formerly known as a GALA) just prior to official Hawaiian placement. (The drummer tells us that he was able to pick up a couple of the Yankee's Mars Lights at a roadside flea market for a very reasonable price that he made into very nice sounding drums !) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6ZBnbywj4