From the Elkhart Truth newspaper 10/17/11.
ELKHART — The trains still roll through downtown Elkhart, disrupting traffic and piercing eardrums. They still transport from one end of the country to another.
Elkhart has celebrated its locomotive history since 1987, when it established the National New York Central Railroad Museum. It houses model locomotives, a children’s train and the New York Central Mohawk No. 3001.
The Mohawk. It was a steam engine that ran from New York to Chicago and made stops in Elkhart. The museum got the Mohawk when Robert Spaugh, a former president of the Lakeshore Railroad Historical Foundation, convinced a Texas museum to trade it for another engine. The foundation leased the Mohawk to the Elkhart museum.
Now a group of volunteers has assembled to get the train in working order by fixing the parts that have rusted over, replacing old parts and painting it.
There’s a million things that need to be done,” Spaugh said.
When asked how long he and the other volunteers need to fix the Mohawk, he said, “Forever.”
Their main obstacle is money, or lack thereof. Fixing the rust and doing some of the metal work will cost $10,000. To get the train running again will take more than $1 million.
Spaugh, who worked as a painter on the New York Central, said the group won’t be able to do much more work on the train until spring.
The hope is that if it’s restored it could do long-range excursions,” said volunteer Dick Bowers.
More at http://www.etruth.com/article/20111017/ ... ail%3dtrue
ELKHART — The trains still roll through downtown Elkhart, disrupting traffic and piercing eardrums. They still transport from one end of the country to another.
Elkhart has celebrated its locomotive history since 1987, when it established the National New York Central Railroad Museum. It houses model locomotives, a children’s train and the New York Central Mohawk No. 3001.
The Mohawk. It was a steam engine that ran from New York to Chicago and made stops in Elkhart. The museum got the Mohawk when Robert Spaugh, a former president of the Lakeshore Railroad Historical Foundation, convinced a Texas museum to trade it for another engine. The foundation leased the Mohawk to the Elkhart museum.
Now a group of volunteers has assembled to get the train in working order by fixing the parts that have rusted over, replacing old parts and painting it.
There’s a million things that need to be done,” Spaugh said.
When asked how long he and the other volunteers need to fix the Mohawk, he said, “Forever.”
Their main obstacle is money, or lack thereof. Fixing the rust and doing some of the metal work will cost $10,000. To get the train running again will take more than $1 million.
Spaugh, who worked as a painter on the New York Central, said the group won’t be able to do much more work on the train until spring.
The hope is that if it’s restored it could do long-range excursions,” said volunteer Dick Bowers.
More at http://www.etruth.com/article/20111017/ ... ail%3dtrue
