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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1433248  by elecuyer
 
The Flying Yankee Group had a display at a local NH train show. I spoke at length with their two representatives.

They are keenly aware of the mistakes of the past. They claim they are a whole new group that want to take the project forward. They know they have to undo a heck of a lot of damage to credibility and supporters caused by their predecessors.

They indicated that there were 4 sites (not at the Hobo Railroad) where they are looking to move the FY too. It would be stored outdoors until some sort of shelter can be funded/constructed. Ideally it would be like a train shed (example he gave was the B&M loco display at White River Jct.)

A decision as to what should be used to power the train (Winton or something else) has not been determined. First order of business is to get it moved, finish the non-power portions of the restoration, and then go from there.

They are waiting to get some final decisions made before updating the web site, social media, railfan press, etc. They would rather get that right and accurate than put information out that is not fully formed.

My impression in speaking with them was "cautiously optimistic." I wish them well - and hope they can deliver on this important project.
 #1433266  by gokeefe
 
elecuyer wrote:They are waiting to get some final decisions made before updating the web site, social media, railfan press, etc. They would rather get that right and accurate than put information out that is not fully formed.
That is probably the most promising indicator of all.
 #1433438  by daylight4449
 
I'd argue that overall it seems promising. The FY group obviously knows that they screwed up aspects of the project. But now we're seeing an admittance of where they went wrong. For a group in general to come to that consensus is a good thing, only because they don't keep their heads in the sand and they understand that much of the criticism is well-founded. I look forward to seeing what they come up with...
 #1433838  by mxdata
 
I think I will just skip the festive gala this time around.

MX
 #1433864  by b&m 1566
 
They are scraping plans for a full restoration. The focus is now on a cosmetic restoration and static display, somewhere on state property in Lincoln, NH.
Click on the link to read more http://www.concordmonitor.com/flying-ya ... d-10393885" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1433877  by mxdata
 
How ironic that this result that could have been achieved years ago when the train was intact.

I recently was told that the containers with the Winton engine and all the removed parts had been moved to a NH DOT storage yard.

MX
 #1433886  by daylight4449
 
At least the parts are all still there... They could've been scattered to the wind as opposed to being put in storage containers. Does it suck that it's going to end up static, at least for the foreseeable future? Yes, yes it does. But it's still with us, and it will at least be view-able by the public. The FY group can at least use the opportunity to repair the damage that has been done to their image. If they pull it off successfully maybe, just maybe, a running Yankee could be a possibility one day.
 #1433924  by BandA
 
Display the Winton engine in a museum next to the Flying Yankee like one of those "Visible V-8"s with the cranks & valves exposed. Use compressed air or something to make it spin a few times every quarter hour. Have a display on the evolution of diesel engines & gasoline & steam engines. Have EMD/Caterpillar or some other loco engine maker sponsor a new prime mover.

So, they have managed to rebuild the trucks? Did they finish the interior? Does the generator need to be refurbished? What other moving parts remain, lol ;)

This is not a totally exotic beast like a steam engine. It's one of those great Budd stainless products. However it has been out-of-service since the end of the steam era. Remember seeing it at Edaville, thinking that's a nice looking slightly older version of what I now know are RDCs.
 #1433979  by MEC407
 
BandA wrote:Display the Winton engine in a museum next to the Flying Yankee like one of those "Visible V-8"s with the cranks & valves exposed. Use compressed air or something to make it spin a few times every quarter hour. Have a display on the evolution of diesel engines & gasoline & steam engines. Have EMD/Caterpillar or some other loco engine maker sponsor a new prime mover.
Exactly. That is what most of us have been saying for the past 15+ years, but the FYRG leaders/deciders thought they knew better.
 #1434002  by BowdoinStation
 
IMHO, I'm glad the Flying Yankee is staying up north, the vandals would have had a field day with it in Concord. The location was not very safe to leave this valuable piece of railroad history.
 #1434023  by NHV 669
 
BandA wrote:So, they have managed to rebuild the trucks? Did they finish the interior?
Trucks were done at NHCR's Stratford shops ages ago, there are photos out there. As for the interior, I recall it being at least fairly completed, although some genius opted to put [historically accurate] (*sarcasm) monitors in the headrests for some reason.
 #1434032  by mxdata
 
Someone on the project told me back around 2012 that electronic equipment was to be purchased for this train so the "children" could do their "lessons" on the train.

Apparently no concern over that stuff being totally outdated before the train would be completed.

MX
 #1434038  by shadyjay
 
NHV 669 wrote:As for the interior, I recall it being at least fairly completed, although some genius opted to put [historically accurate] (*sarcasm) monitors in the headrests for some reason.
I visited the Yankee in 2008 during a stopover on the all-day foliage trip from Meredith to Lincoln and return. According to the pics I took on that trip, one car was completed (with seats - didn't seen any monitors on the headrests), another was partially complete with some paneling over the steel, and lighting installed, and the last car was pretty much just bare steel (including the observation end). I'm not sure how much progress has been made since then - I'm guessing not so much. Too bad, it looked like it was coming along well at the time.
 #1434370  by NHV 669
 
Hadn't checked the site in a while, guess I was mistaken about the monitors.... must've blended mental images on that one. Although I could envision them doing such a silly thing, given the oddities this project has gone through since leaving Glen nearly 20 years ago.
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