The 470 Railroad Club (Equipment and Activities)

Stag Hound wrote:It is clear many of you have not spent a significant amount of time around steam locomotives. Yes, some of the "romance" is seeing the rods go round and round but even more is the sights and sounds one produces, especially when working hard. Cosmo, I'm sure, will agree with me whole heartedly given his experience at the VRR. As for Frakenengine (or whatever we are calling it), kudos to the the 470 club. A matched pair of operational B&M F7s is an incredible sight. The only thing better for me would be a matched pair of New Haven FA1s, which is not out of the realm of possibilities!

Absolutely!
Fire it, park it or just SCRAP it. There's no point in taking an existing machine made to burn coal and produce 200lbs of steam pressure and putting a diesel motor in it's tender. To do so would be to create the cheesiest of park rides.
Now, if you want to go out and CONSTRUCT yourselves a fake steamer, complete with smoke, sound and a diesel unit in it's tender from the rail up, go ahead! It'll be yours and you can do what you want with it....
...you'll have either Thomas, The Little Engine That Could, or a glorified parade float, but like I said, that's your prerogative, and power to ya!

Cosmo wrote: Now, if you want to go out and CONSTRUCT yourselves a fake steamer, complete with smoke, sound and a diesel unit in it's tender from the rail up, go ahead! It'll be yours and you can do what you want with it....
...you'll have either Thomas, The Little Engine That Could, or a glorified parade float, but like I said, that's your prerogative, and power to ya!

Well, pardon me, but if the 470 should undertake a motorization project of 501 (and I am not saying they would or wouldn"t), they CAN do that. And the result
will be the same.

BR4 wrote:

Cosmo wrote: Now, if you want to go out and CONSTRUCT yourselves a fake steamer, complete with smoke, sound and a diesel unit in it's tender from the rail up, go ahead! It'll be yours and you can do what you want with it....
...you'll have either Thomas, The Little Engine That Could, or a glorified parade float, but like I said, that's your prerogative, and power to ya!

Well, pardon me, but if the 470 should undertake a motorization project of 501 (and I am not saying they would or wouldn"t), they CAN do that. And the result
will be the same.

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, they couuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllllllllllllllllld, buuuuuuuuut......


...they're not the ones who are talking about it. "We" are.

The question was asked if the 501 could be converted and the answer was yes.
The question was asked if it has been done to other steam engines and the answer was yes.
The club is not interested in this let alone restore it to operate under steam, so can we move on from this idea please.

b&m 1566 wrote:......so can we move on from this idea please.

Clap clap clap.....hit the like button.....clap clap clap.......

Steamer thanks for that. Not to stir the pot but as nice as it would be to see it "run" I wouldn't think dieselizing 501 would be as successful as it would seem. I meen yes it might bring in more people and donations but once word gets around about it would people still come? personally I don't mind the idea because I have seen it done. but its a cheep way oit and could hurt more then help

passumpsic1 wrote:Steamer thanks for that. Not to stir the pot but as nice as it would be to see it "run" I wouldn't think dieselizing 501 would be as successful as it would seem. I meen yes it might bring in more people and donations but once word gets around about it would people still come? personally I don't mind the idea because I have seen it done. but its a cheep way oit and could hurt more then help

Oh I don't know about that....seems like the 470 likes stuffing things in dead engines throwing good money after bad....that they don't have....

b&m 1566 wrote:The question was asked if the 501 could be converted and the answer was yes.
The question was asked if it has been done to other steam engines and the answer was yes.
The club is not interested in this let alone restore it to operate under steam, so can we move on from this idea please.

Please give us your idea. If we want anything to happen to it, the discussion needs to continue.

And this is not the place to make change within the club. Become a member and make your way up to the board/trustee level, it's the only realistic way to invoke change on these issues.

Excuse me sir, but I am a member, been one for a while.

I will discuss whatever I please in here because that is what the thread is here for .

You don't like it.....sorry. I'm not going to stop coming up with ideas.

You want to be "blah" about it fine, I think the $$ should be spent on 501.

That is my opinion. Sorry that I am not drinking the 470 Kool Aid about 4268.

I am a firm believer in finish what you started. So finish the steam and have her run.

The two F9's ran there for 15 years. They were let go for Yellow Birds. I am past it and over it.

Now, they will have the two F7's at some point. And the 501 will still sit on a spur neglected.

It's a crying shame and I will NOT stop the discussion.

Good for you being a member, I happy for you! Since you brought it up, I would like to know where I said not to talk about it? I asked if we could move on from talking about turning the 501 into a diesel engine, it just silly talking about something that's knocking on the door of fantasy land. For other issues knock your socks off, just don't expect a website to have the power to change the minds of those in charge. The change needs to happen within and since you're already a member, make yourself heard.
Next time I would appreciate it if you did not take things so personal, it offends me

Reader#108 wrote:You want to be "blah" about it fine, I think the $$ should be spent on 501.

That right there is why I said you're not a foamer....you have a brain.

Reader#108 wrote:Sorry that I am not drinking the 470 Kool Aid about 4268

You're not the only one. CSRX got rid of the sisters because they were "underpowered, and don't have dynamic brakes". Soooo, that would be why 4266 is a BACK UP ENGINE. It's nothing more than the code brown locomotive. So they're going to spend all this money on Frankinengine to have what? ANOTHER BACKUP ENGINE! Only then, CSRX will have a matching set of BACKUP engines. How many times does it have to be said.....not just by me, but by others. I bet if we go up there and paint MEC on it, they'll avoid it like the plague.

b&m 1566 wrote:And this is not the place to make change within the club

Neither is being a member....especially when members of the board of trustees won't even let members work on 501, and go as far as saying that it can go to scrap for all they care....sounds JUST like a place I want to send my money to. Sounds like it's time.....READER FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!

Steamer, the FP-9's were not underpowered, as you keep stating. They handled the train just fine. It was
the dynamic brake issue that prompted the trade. Regardless of what the 470 Club does, CSRX still has the
units with dynamics for the Notch. CSRX is not spending any money on the F-7's, 470 is. Nothing 470 does
is binding on CSRX. If this move provides another unit for 470 to lease out to CSRX, nothing says sthe RR has
to use them in the Notch, at least without one of the dynamic equipped units. And actually, nothing requires
the RR to operate ALL trains in the Notch with dynamics. It's their choice.
I am not a member of 470 because of the old fogey mentality, and I don't have the time to them on. If you
are, maybe you could get some momentum going to field a few candidates against these guys and vote them
out. Then you could institute some changes. Whoever said that this is not the place to change the club is
right. It starts with the members.

I think the club is making a wise decision to restore 4268 rather than 501. 4266 is arguably the most beloved locomotive on the fleet following 7470. It only makes sense to have a second cab in order to run F-units attractively and safely. 4268 will have the added advantage of having a complete set of roller bearing axles, which enable it to move on other railroads. Perhaps, however, they would be better used in 4266, so that it could be shipped out for re-wiring some day.

I feel that a restoration of 501 is a huge gamble to take. Her boiler is 100 years old (left cold for half of them), and made of steel containing all the impurities of pre-1950s steel. She could turn out just fine, or perhaps there could be persistent problems and patching required. And furthermost, how can you forecast what level of government interference will grow over time? Environmental and safety regulations could erase every cent of revenue with a stroke of a pen. I think, so long as 7470 is operable, 501 is best kept aside with a glimmer of possibility for some day.

1055 was shipped to Bangor on friction bearings, so I'm inclined to think if 4266 needed to be shipped out, it wouldn't be an issue; atleast not with NHC, SLR or Pan Am.