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  • Wolfeboro Railroad 2-6-2 #250

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

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1010981  by Trainlover479
 
Ok your right cosmo, i may dont have any of those things, same with experiance, but hey, i DO have SOME railroad experiance myself, Ive drivin a Loaded Coal Train with 5 P&W Locomotives and 66 cars in tow for 6 miles. This was thanks to a buddy i know in Pan Am Railways, i cannot say what the locomotives or the date or the name of the engineer, because he might be fired, this was when i was 13. and as in a remark from you earlier, i DONT even like zenga, im not that stupid, i know this is a railroad thread, i MADE this thread, and she isnt an ex engine, she still IS an engine. so i think i made my point, and steamer that would be a good learning experiance for me to work in your shop. What locomotive is in the shop?
 #1010983  by steamer69
 
It's a 1922 22 ton Heisler. Nice little engine.
It as well as the shop and everything else on the property is owned by the Passumpsic
 #1010997  by Cosmo
 
steamer69 wrote:It's a 1922 22 ton Heisler. Nice little engine.
It as well as the shop and everything else on the property is owned by the Passumpsic
Ok, man, now were talking, see... that's exactly what I mean.
"It's a nice, LITTLE engine." Like Flag Coal 75 is a nice, LITTLE engine. You can put it on a truck. You can take it ANYWHERE.
Oh, and it suits the NEEDS of Passumpsic. And to boot, they already own it. Its yours/theirs to work on whenever you/they/whomever you invite is free to do so.
And yeah, given time and a lot of money, almost anything is possible... but let's not kid ourselves, and let's not puff Cullen's head up with too many unrealistic dreams.
It's time (that you are NOT using to make money doing something else, or that you would have to pay someone else, perhaps along side you, or would have to be volunteered, etc, etc... because time IS money and I know you know that as well as I do...) spent doing tough, dirty and often frustrating work arguing with pieces of steel and doing your level best to convince them to do what you want, when and how you want them to. And yes, Brett, I know you know that as well as I do too, but that is precisely what Cullen needs to learn if he wants to have anything to do wit a "successful steam program," wherever, whatever gauge, whatever state, big or small.

Cullen, sorry to have been speaking of you in the third person, but...
1) If you wish to assist in preserving steam in this, or any other region of the world, VOLUNTEER. Find a place that has active work going and help out in the shop. Talk to the guys doing the actual work (like me and Brett.) 9 times out of 10 we'll be able to find something to suit your skills and capabilities that you can do and to move up from there. That's what I did, and that's how I did it.
Be prepared to get DIRTY. Be prepared to go home aching at the end of the day. But don't be afraid, the rewards at the end of that long, tiring, and often frustrating day will be worth it. The more of those days you put in, the greater the rewards.
2) Find an engine to work on that is not owned by someone who has no interest in seeing it run anytime soon.
 #1011007  by Trainlover479
 
HAHAHA afraid to get dirty? no sir, i am 100% MAN. Hell, during (just a reference) CSRR's railfan's weekend 2011 i had my hat covered in soot from #7470, and its still on it.... and i really really want to volunteer, though i need to fit in the time to do it. I mean im in Southern NH, im not that close to any railroad museums. so it will be tough....
 #1011025  by Cosmo
 
Trainlover479 wrote:and dude sorry if im being a jerk to ya, I shouldnt be like that anyways. so whats it like working for the Valley?
Working for the Valley for one season has been more rewarding in some ways that my 14 years in the Navy.
As I said, the work in the shop and on the engine (#40) has been rough, but very worthwhile.
The work on the Riverboat? MUCH less stressful, equally rewarding (and a nice break from all the soot, dust, rust, paint etc...)
Riding in 3025's cab the day it first moved? PRICELESS!
 #1011029  by Trainlover479
 
thats nice, Would love to do that someday, some big things that prevent me from anything railroad are 1. My Parrents and 2.School. and another that i cant help is 3. distance. So i cant seem to do a thing about it. Though the only thing i could expect to be interesting is that in Manchester they are proposing a steam railroad there, though i cant expect it to happen it soon or it even happening or it being good, because it just seems unlikely... and just to get back on topic, heres a picture of the #250 working hard with a frieght
Attachments:
bhs250b.jpg
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 #1011155  by steamer69
 
Cosmo wrote: Riding in 3025's cab the day it first moved? PRICELESS!
I bet it was. It's days like that that make all of the fighting and cursing of the engine worth while. Sometimes you even forget all the setbacks, late nights and very early mornings. Bringing one of the old girls back to life is priceless, and on that we will always agree pete.
 #1011225  by Cosmo
 
steamer69 wrote:
Cosmo wrote: Riding in 3025's cab the day it first moved? PRICELESS!
I bet it was. It's days like that that make all of the fighting and cursing of the engine worth while. Sometimes you even forget all the setbacks, late nights and very early mornings. Bringing one of the old girls back to life is priceless, and on that we will always agree pete.
Well, I hear you there, but they're not "girls," they are machines. Big dirty and dangerous, and VERY powerful. Even "little" ones like FC75 will kill you deader than a doornail if you're not careful (as you well know my friend.) Not to discourage anyone here at all, but it is something you must keep in mind.
Even without steam in it's boiler, a locomotive still has many surprises and ways "she" can bite you, no matter how romantic you feel about "her."
 #1011237  by steamer69
 
Cosmo wrote:Even "little" ones like FC75 will kill you deader than a doornail if you're not careful (as you well know my friend.) Not to discourage anyone here at all, but it is something you must keep in mind.
Even without steam in it's boiler, a locomotive still has many surprises and ways "she" can bite you, no matter how romantic you feel about "her."
Sounds like "She" is the best way to describe them to me....LMAO!!!! :-)

A healthy respect of the locomotive is a very good thing to have, but fear of it is not. I don't want people on the crew with me that are scared of the locomotive. That means there is just one more thing on the engine I have to baby sit. Besides the functioning crew.
 #1011247  by Cosmo
 
steamer69 wrote:
Cosmo wrote:Even "little" ones like FC75 will kill you deader than a doornail if you're not careful (as you well know my friend.) Not to discourage anyone here at all, but it is something you must keep in mind.
Even without steam in it's boiler, a locomotive still has many surprises and ways "she" can bite you, no matter how romantic you feel about "her."
Sounds like "She" is the best way to describe them to me....LMAO!!!! :-)

A healthy respect of the locomotive is a very good thing to have, but fear of it is not. I don't want people on the crew with me that are scared of the locomotive. That means there is just one more thing on the engine I have to baby sit. Besides the functioning crew.
On THAT we agree. :wink:
 #1011254  by steamer69
 
Us agree?! Are you feeling ok? Do you need to go to the Dr? Speak to us Cos..... Say something about how 250 is junk or something.... are you ok?
 #1011271  by Cosmo
 
steamer69 wrote:Us agree?! Are you feeling ok? Do you need to go to the Dr? Speak to us Cos..... Say something about how 250 is junk or something.... are you ok?
Well... it IS! But that's beside the point... oh, no, wait.. that IS the point... umm... yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh...
Look, seriously, I think it'd bee great if the thing saw steam again, I really do, but I just can't see it happening anytime soon. For one thing, except for Wolfeboro, it has no significant New England history, so no groups with the right kind of financial backing are looking at it. Certainly not for operation.
Now, if there was a Wolfeboro historical group that could pry it from Mr Priscoli, it might make a nice static display back up on it's "adopted home turf."
Wouldn't it look GREAT sitting on the restored turntable in Sanbornville?
 #1011293  by steamer69
 
It would. I get the point about not much New England History, but there isn't an engine to do with New England History. Let's look at this for a moment.
By railroad, and location. I'll list the engines, and we can chat about touchable or not. You will see why I still think 250 is a viable option. I know there are more engines than I am listing, but I'm talking main line possibilities....so no switchers or other junk.
B&M
1455 (2-6-0) Danbury, CT - At the Danbury Railroad Museum....(IMO) not touchable. They will not give it up to run....
3666 (4-6-2)Portsmouth, NH - Sunk in the harbor....not touchable. Unless of course you can convince someone to salvage it....or what's left of it....
3713 (4-6-2)Scranton, PA - At Steamtown. Owned by Steamtown....not touchable. Steamtown will not release any of it's colection. They (like some clubs I know) would rather see the locomotives rot than run. There has been a push to finish the work on this engine, but it is planned to take over from the Canadian engines as the only American main line engine there.....beyond not touchable.
494 (4-4-0)White River, VT - Owned by the town. There is the slight chance it could run again, but not really suited for the main line due to its small size and age. Not to mention that the current managers are scared of the railroad crowd doing work to it because of a prior BAD experiance.
MEC
470 (4-6-2) Waterville, ME - Owned by the City.....rotting.....not touchable. People have tried.....
501 (2-8-0)North Conway, NH -Owned by the 470.....not touchable. We've talked about this on another thread. Like steamtown, would rather let it rust than run.
519 (2-8-0)Scranton, PA - At Steamtown. Owned by Steamtown. See Steamtown comment above.......not touchable.
CV
220 (4-6-0)Shelburne, VT - Shelburne Museum....not oposed to an operational restoration, but can only use it during time when museum is closed....so only winter.

If I've missed one, we can talk about it as well....but 250 doesn't look so bad now does it......
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