The Flying Yankee

I have a vague recollection of seeing a photo with a flatscreen (tilted inward slightly) at the end of the car. I think that the Powers That Be planned to (or did) get some educational funding dollars for doing this.
-John M

The flatscreens were to show highlights from the galas.

Stuff it...mount it...hang it on a wall....and leave it alone.

if theyre looking for a place to store it while they work on it, why not the Bartlett Roundhouse? would the cars be too long? perhaps the yankee group and roundhouse group could piggyback off each other for support?

or am i dreaming too much lol

If the train is staying in the Lincoln area...perhaps Clark's would be a good home? You know it would be kept safe there. Plus, with their "captive" railroad route, a fully operational restoration could be much cheaper to pull off...and no worries about wyes and couplers either!

If they can't afford to move it as is, how are they going to move it, and even, why would they move it to a pair of locations with existing train use that don't have the resources to deal with it? I don't see any point in moving it to Clark's, their operation is tiny as is and has NOTHING to do with Streamliners. The roundhouse group has enough on their hands doing minimal cosmetic work on their plow/boxcar/roundhouse, why would they take on such a massive project?

Agreed, Clark's is a business, not a charity, so that isn't the place for it.
Bartlett probably isn't either, but the round house folks don't have to "take on" such a project. Clear a spot on the wye for the train set, the FY group can come down and polish the stainless steel and foam about it, not to mention compensate the Bartlett group in some way, be it paying rent or providing some other consideration ( track work, painting, carpentry etc.) At least while its there the set will serve to draw some much needed attention to the roundhouse groups efforts.

That's what I was trying to convey with my post, I suck at explaining things

I was not suggesting that CTP should simply host the FY...I suggest they buy it outright ( for very cheap $).

And yes, it's a bit different from what you normally see there, but I don't think its a huge stretch. They do have a rather wide variety of non-logging railroad items in their collections, including an authentic B&M wooden caboose, a wood reefer, an REO speedwagon railbus, and GE switcher. I couldn't see them using it on the daily excursions, but it would make nice exhibit along the riverside where it would be maintained and protected from vandals.

IMHO, there's very little benefit to running the FY on the national rail system. The bottom line is that the costs associated with making that happen are astronomical, and the costs are perpetual. I say unless a truly "captive" operation like Clark's picks it up, it will likely never run again. ...and that might just be the right call.

CSRR573 wrote: Thats what I was trying to convey with my post, I suck at explaining things

Nah man, you're cool, but what your post hints at is a partnership, which opens the door to someone being taken advantage of. I've seen plenty of cases where one partner raided the supply room and bank accounts and left the other partner holding the bag. Considering one of these groups' history, a landlord-tenant arrangement would ensure that didn't happen.

One of many mistakes was trying to rebuild this train to be Amtrak compliant, the rebuild should have been for heritage operations only. Between New England Southern and Plymouth & Lincoln both railroads could have operated this train with a limited number of excursions per year. The other mistake was the state requiring licensed contractors to do the work. It should have been volunteers doing the work, that way all money raised would go to the train and not the contractors.

unfortunately. unless you were very very lucky, if volunteers were doing all the work the finished product would typically look very sketchy at best or linger for 20 years with little or nothing to show for it.

I still feel like Conway Scenic would have been, or still would be, a really great place for the FY... but I sort of doubt they'd want to be involved with it at this point.

I also recall that Maine Eastern expressed a willingness to allow it on their rails once it was fully restored, which would have been spectacular, but sadly Maine Eastern's ship has sailed.

b&m 1566 wrote:One of many mistakes was trying to rebuild this train to be Amtrak compliant

"Amtrak compliancy" only really applies to private cars? I'm sure there would be some FRA waivers involved with the Flying Yankee, but it's not a "Amtrak compliancy vs tourist train compliancy" thing. Fix it up and get it a blue card, and pawn it off to Pan Am as their new business train...

B&M 1227 wrote: Fix it up and get it a blue card, and pawn it off to Pan Am as their new business train...

LMAO. The thing is, they'd probably go for it.