NAUG RS-3 spotted in Selkirk - 7/18

Sitting on the fuel pad in Selkirk is an old RS-3 lettered "NAUG"... en route from Michigan.

-otto-

Started life just up the road in Skee-neck-tady in April 1954, as B&M 1508. Came back to life in Colonie Shop in July 1975 as D&H 1508 (later D&H 4085). It's on the way back to NE, by way of Steamtown-Scranton (1985-89), WMSR-Cumberland (1989-99), CC&O-Owosso, MI (1999-2005). We like RS-3s.

She fer parts or fer runnin?

It was test-run in Mich. 5-30-05, and needs some detailia when it gets home--got a set of junk batteries to replace, for example. But we 'spect to run 'er.

And expect it to sit there a while.

From Selkirk, CSX will take the 1508 on a scenic tour through the gritty, abandonded industrial landscapes out to Chicago, where BNSF will pick her up and show her a good time through the Minnesota and North Dakota wheatfields. Retracing the steps of Lewis and Clark, the 1508 will continue with BNSF through Marias Pass, where the lead locomotives and helpers will be gasping for a bit of oxygen, but she will simply enjoy the view. BNSF will take her southwest at Spokane, eventually coming alongside the Columbia River, where the 1508 can just imagine Lewis and Clark enjoying a downstream current for a change, but curse the up-river winds from Hood River on west. UP will pick her up in Portland and take her south through the fertile Willamette Valley, where she can enjoy the Coast Range to her west and the Cascades to her east. Setting her off in Roseville, CA, she might suffer a broken coupler or two, lose a few parts, and UP will make the museum pay for repairs and replacements (as it was clearly the museum's fault). After much prodding, the UP will reluctantly take the 1508 over the Sierra Nevadas, where she will look down on Donner Lake imagining a snow-bound winter some 160 years before. Coming across the Nevada desert via Reno, the museum continues to gamble their chances by letting UP remain the hauler. Finally, ending up at Chicago once again, CSX will pick her up and carry her east once again.... she will be anxious to stop moving for a bit and get cleaned up. After sitting for a bit in the West Springfield yards, the 1508 will slowly make her way down to Long Island Sound, head westerly once again, and finally north along the banks of the Naugatuck, through somewhat familiar country where she will come to rest, at what appears to her, to be a modern yard facility where she can breathe a sigh of relief, shake those old batteries, get fresh coats of paint and feel like herself again.

How's that for express service? Let's see what happens!

Last two posters correctly identified CSX's Black hole, or center of ineptitude A.K.A Selkirk Yard.
Any engine not powering a train, gets lost for weeks and charges are added to shipping for servicing the engine etc etc etc.
The Nuthouse run by inept managers, who bear no responcebility to rest of CSX or to shippers.

DutchRailnut wrote:Last two posters correctly identified CSX's Black hole, or center of ineptitude A.K.A Selkirk Yard.
Any engine not powering a train, gets lost for weeks and charges are added to shipping for servicing the engine etc etc etc.
The Nuthouse run by inept managers, who bear no responcebility to rest of CSX or to shippers.

"Dutch", I am not so sure about this one, the local people were doing a
good job running that place and did so for a long time. When the people
from Jacksonville showed up and told them how to do their jobs, the
place really got messed up and it was a long time before things got better.
From what I have heard, the place is running better now and maybe
cooler heads will prevail. I sure hope so.
To the poster who stated that the engine would probably sit a lot, yes, it
might but no engine on a tourist railroad gets the day and night banging
around and hard use that they got when they were still in active use on a
mainline railroad. Can you imagine what the Naugy's repair bills would be
for engine 529 if it was still in use like it was on the NHRR running 24/7
much of the time? It will likely see some running and some TLC and that
will be what it needs.
Noel Weaver
Noel Weaver

OK, now that we've had our fun... I dont think that the earlier poster meant that 1508 would be sitting idle once it got to NAUG rails.

NAUG 1508 came from the Chesaning Central & Owosso, a short-lived tourist railroad, running from Chesaning to Owosso, Michigan. It ran the summer and fall of 1999. The unit apparently arrived in Michigan in Boston & Maine colors (red-and-gold scheme), and was painted in a version of NYC's cigar band scheme from the 1960s, a wink to the fact that the tourist line was ex-NYC rails.

Check out this link for more info:

http://www.railroadmichigan.com/chesani ... wosso.html

-otto-

1508 made it to W.SPFLD early Weds. AM. So, it did escape the "void" of Selkirk in good time.

And, the CSX road crew out of Willard (or maybe Lansing) never bothered to release to handbrake; webshots clearly show it applied. We even applied a decal with operating instructions (in English) right next to the handbrake to help them figure it out. Yessir, real "pro"fessionals...

How much damage did that do!?

I can't believe that an engine or anything else for that matter would make
it very far with a hand brake applied. The hot wheels would trigger a hit
on the first HBD that the train came to and would be corrected at that time.
A picture of that move was sent to me and from the picture, I could not
establish whether the hand brake was on or not but the chain could look
tight and yet the brake piston not be out nor the brake shoe against the
wheel.
If the hand brake was on tight, the wheel would likely lock and slide on the
rail. Eventually and before long at that, either a major flat spot would
develop or major metal build up on the wheel would result either of which
would have required the engine be set out for repairs and it would never
have made it this far.
I wish the engine a pleasant journey for the remainder of its trip to
Thomaston.
Noel Weaver

Sorry Noel - but it appears (through the magic of Photoshop) that the brake cylinder is extended.

Check it out here.

Ok but picture is in Yard, so is train moving or secured ???

Noel- unfortunately, we had a major railroad ruin one of our locomotives that was in transit from Cumberland up to Rochester, NY. Ruined all the wheels and burned out two of four traction motors. Turned a new, working engine into another work project for our meager resources.


Has anyone spotted the NAUG 1508? Is she on the move again?

-otto-