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| 27 March 2001 USA Three Rivers Rambler | (ex-R&R 2-8-0 203) Finally, we may have liftoff. Or at least rotating drivers. No. 203, built for the Washington & Lincolnton in Georgia, spent most of its life in storage on the Rockton & Rion in South Carolina, too small to be very useful to the gravel line. In the 1970s it went to the Orange Belt tourist line in Florida, then to the Mississippi Railway and Transportation Museum near Bay St. Louis, then to the Waccamaw Coast Line near Myrtle Beach, SC. Acquired by Pete Claussen's Lexington & Ohio, it's been under overhaul in the company's ex-Southern Railway complex in Knoxville, TN (see the archive). | |
 Gulf and Ohio 203 in Coster Shops. Photo by Steve Freer. Copyright 2001 Steve Freer, all rights reserved. | ||
| 203 was test-fired on March 23, and will make her debut on 31 March. She will be feautred on this summer's "Three Rivers Rambler" excursions in Knoxville. 203 has been relettered for her original owner for the first time since the W&L went under during the Depression. Congratulations to Pete Claussen and his crew; I'm looking forward to renewing an acquaintance with an old friend. (Thanks to Steve Freer.) | ||
| 27 March 2001 USA SLSTA Web Site | (ex-SLSF 4-8-2 1522) The St. Louis Steam Train Association has announced a non-revenue test run from St. Louis to Newburg, MO, and return on Sunday, 29 April. Trip details are available on the group's web site. | |
| 21 March 2001 USA Ohio Central Railroad | (ex-GTW 4-8-4 6325) Ohio Central's 6325 was fired up on Tuesday for the first time in over 42 years. Ohio Central owner Jerry Jacobson tossed a fusee into the firebox at 7:58am, and by day's end the boiler had been raised to 250 lbs. pressure, the appliances tested, and the throttle blown out. All went well, according to Master Mechanic Tim Sposato and Jason Johnson. Work will slow up a bit on 6325 as the crew prepares ex-CN 4-6-0 1551 for daily service from Sugarcreek, OH, beginning 5 May. But 6325 should be out for a test run in time to be ready for a 3 June trip from Dennison, OH, to Newark, OH, where passengers will take in the "Strawberries in the Square" festival. The trip will be sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association. (Thanks to Tim Sposato, Jason Johnson, and Rich Melvin.) | |
| 21 March 2001 USA | (ex-D&RGW 2-8-0 315) A group of enthusiasts in the Durango, CO, area, is investigating the possibility of returning ex-Rio Grande C-18 2-8-0 315 to service. The locomotive has been on display in Durango for a half-century; it ended its life as the Durango yard switcher, but previously ran on lightly-laid branches in the Montrose - Ouray area of western Colorado, and was constructed for the Florence & Cripple Creek. The group has the blessing of the city, and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has offered support. Good luck, guys - I hope that one day we see no. 315 doubleheading with Alamosa's 4-6-0 169 on a train over the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. | |
| 19 March 2001 USA Tarantula Train | (ex-SP 4-6-0 2248) Work has finally begun on returning the Tarantula Train's ex-SP 2248 to service. The town of Grapevine, which took over the operation after Coe Sun was terminated as operator (see the archive), has hired two full-time employees and contracted with Scott Lindsay of Steam Operations Corp. to begin a boiler overhaul. Other work to be done includes new wheelsets on the pilot truck. No timeline is being given for completion of the work. (Thanks to Jim Hollis, Jim Jake Templin, and Troy Minnick.) | |
| 19 March 2001 USA Kokosing Gap Trail | (ex-GSP 0-6-0 63) Bluegrass Railroad Museum's ex- 0-6-0 is on its way to a new home, on display at Gambier, OH. The locomotive will join an ex-C&O caboose at the Kokosing Gap Trail, a 14-mile section of ex-PRR right of way between Mount Vernon and Danville, OH. The locomotive has been moved to West Versailles, KY, in preparation for loading it onto a truck. Movement is scheduled for the last weekend in March. (Thanks to James Hamilton.) | |
| 1 March 2001 USA L&TPF web site | (ex-SOO 4-6-2 2719) The merger between Wisconsin Central and Canadian National appears to be about to kill what had become a vibrant climate for steam operation in the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin Central has notified the Locomotive & Tower Preservation Fund that the organization's trips on the former Green Bay & Western, planned for October, have been cancelled. (WC will still host the 2719 on trips out of Ladysmith, WI, in June, and the July trips on the Wisconsin Great Northern are unaffected.) The "end of steam" on the Wisconsin Central will also affect the owner of ex-SOO 2-8-2 1003, and may jeopardize the entire Minnesota Transportation Museum operation out of Osceola, WI. Should CN adopt a complete steam ban, 2719 would be "landlocked," as it must use either UP or WC/CN to ferry away from its base at Eau Claire (Altoona), WI. It might become increasingly difficult for 2719 or 1003 to get to the Wisconsin Southern, Wisconsin Great Northern, or other friendly trackage in the area. It's an object lesson that mainline steam remains a fragile proposition. (Thanks to Jeff Terry and Randy Lambertus.) | |
| 1 March 2001 USA CERM Locomotive Sale | (ex-Moore Keppel Climax no. 3) Connecticut Electric Railway Museum is divesting itself of the three steam locomotives in its collection, including Moore-Keppel (ex-Middle Fork Lbr. Co.) no. 3 and two 0-4-0 switchers. CERM reports that no. 3 is serviceable. Since neither Jim Wrinn nor I have a garage big enough to house it, we're hoping someone will give this West Virginia logger a good home, as well as the two New England switchers. Is anyone in West-By-God-Virginia reading? (Thanks to Jim Wrinn.) | |
| 1 March 2001 USA Ohio Central Railroad Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum | (ex-USA 2-8-0 610) On a brighter note, Ohio Central's Tim Sposato sends in this photo as a prime example of cooperation between preservation groups: the fabrication of a flue sheet for Tennessee Valley RR Museum's Army 2-8-0 at OHCR's Morgan Run shops under the direction of Jeff Miller, currently leading the restoration of PRR K4 1361. By the time you read this the sheet will be on its way to Chattanooga, and installation may begin as early as this weekend. One month and counting, George . . . (Thanks to Tim Sposato.) | |
 (L-R)"Uncle" Al Phillips, Mike Brown, and Jeff Miller at work on the McCabe flanger. (Rumor has it Mike refused to cooperate until the flanger was painted green.) Photo by Tim Sposato. Copyright 2001 Tim Sposato, all rights reserved. | ||
| 1 March 2001 USA Grand Canyon Railway Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad | (ex-D&RGW 2-8-2s 487, 488) Robert Franzen's crew is doing contract work for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic this winter, including the fabrication of a flue sheet for no. 488 and repairing damaged pins on the lead driver of no. 487. | |
 Robert Franzen at work on the McCabe flanger (note this one is painted yellow, Mike), fabricating a flue sheet for C&TS 2-8-2 488. Photo by Richard Ferguson. Copyright 2001 Richard Ferguson, all rights reserved.  Andy Barkes is using a Niles quartering machine (from the Southern Railway's Irondale steam shops) to prepare drivers from C&TS 2-8-2 487 for new pins. Photo by Robert Franzen. Copyright 2001 Robert Franzen, all rights reserved. | ||
| 1 March 2001 USA Mount Ranier Scenic Railroad | (Mount Ranier Scenic Railroad) The Mount Ranier Scenic has announced that their most recent rebuilds - Port Olympia 2-6-2T no. 2 and Vancouver Plywood Heisler no. 2 - will debut at the Elbe Railfan Event on June 30, complete with time trials. Both locomotives have been out of service for decades. Congratulations to Jack Anderson and his capable crew - y'all continue to turn out well-restored locomotives. (Thanks to Jim Wrinn and James Hefner.) | |
| 27 February 2001 USA Pacific Ry. Pres. Assoc. | (ex-SP&S 4-8-4 700) No. 700 made a test run yesterday in preparation for her April excursion dates. BNSF put the loco on the point of two freights between Vancouver, WA, and Longview, WA. PRPA Vice-President John Cox reports that the engine performed well. Now, who's going out for the trip? | |
| 27 February 2001 USA Kentucky Railway Museum | (ex-C&O 2-8-4 2716) This month's cover girl is on the move. C&O "Kanawha" 2716 must reign as the world's most-traveled non-serviceable steam locomotive. In 1978 it was towed from Louisville, KY, to Marion, NC (over L&N, C&O, and Clinchfield, behind CRR's F-units) for an overhaul which never took place. In 1980 she was towed back to Louisville, and shortly thereafter towed again to Irondale, AL, where Bill Purdie put her into service for the Southern Railway steam program. Her nine-month career ended weeks before N&W's 611 emerged from the shops. 2716 sat in the shops in Irondale from 1982 to 1995, when it was towed to Fort Wayne, IN, for return to service by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. It ran one weekend of trips out of Logansport, IN, in 1996, before being grounded again. Last year an attempt was made to tow the engine from Fort Wayne back to KRM, but the engine was returned to Fort Wayne. Until now. Over the weekend 2716 was towed by NS from Fort Wayne, through Muncie, IN, to Cincinnati, OH. (An old friend, CSX engineer Ed Hawkins, reportedly accompanied the locomotive.) Once CSX has accepted delivery, it will be routed over the "short line" to Louisville, then down the L&N main to Lebanon Junction, where a remnant of the Lebanon Branch connects KRM to the rest of the railroad network. What then? Don't expect KRM to put 2716 in service on its line. And don't expect a quick return to the mainline either. But hopefully, one day, those drivers will be steam-powered again. (Thanks to Gary Pope.) | |
| 27 February 2001 Canada | (ex-RDG 4-8-4 2100) Based on a report in the "Globe & Mail," Tom Payne's "Ferroequus Railway Co." (owner of ex-RDG 4-8-4 2100) appears to have filed a petition with the Canadian Transport Agency to force Canadian National to grant it trackage rights between North Battleford, Sask., and Prince Rupert, B.C. While nothing about steam operation is mentioned, the route in question passes through Jasper, AB, and Prince George, BC, in the Canadian Rockies, to the Pacific coast. One to watch, isn't it? | |
| 27 February 2001 USA Grand Canyon Railway | (GCRY 2-8-2 4960) Robert Franzen, CMO of the Grand Canyon Railway (and a Southern Railway fan at heart), has sent in photos of the winter work being done to the railroad's ex-Burlington 4960, as well as ex-Lake Superior & Ishpeming 2-8-0s 18 and 29. Look for more from Robert in Thursday's update. | |
 No. 18 now has the emergency oil shutoff control mandated by the new FRA 49CFR230. Photo by Robert Franzen. Copyright 2000 Robert Franzen, all rights reserved.  No. 29 is getting a new rear flue sheet as part of a long-term overhaul. 29 is expected back in service in May 2003. Photo by Robert Franzen. Copyright 2000 Robert Franzen, all rights reserved.  No. 4960 is getting running gear work. Here the no. 2 driver is getting new tires. Photo by Robert Franzen. Copyright 2000 Robert Franzen, all rights reserved. | ||
| 19 February 2001 Heber Valley Photos | Once again, sorry for the delay in updating. I've been on a two-week trip out west, waded through snow up to my hips in search of steam, and generally having a good time. First stop was Albuquerque and Chama on C&TS business. Then it was on to Durango, where ex-D&RGW 2-8-2 486 was powering the daily train; deep snow and bright sun were the order of the day there. Thanks to Kristi Cohen and Steve Jackson for the hospitality and the tour. Then it was on to the Heber Valley for two days of steam in the snow organized for a private charter. The Heber Valley staff rolled out the welcome mat as usual, and even put me to work on a scoop for a while. Thanks, guys, for a great visit. Last stop before heading home was the Union Pacific steam shops in Cheyenne, WY, where Steve Lee and Bob Krieger showed me all the work going on there this winter, from overhauling the Centipede tender behind 3985 to various shop improvements. (Belated Happy Birthday to Lynn Nystrom, by the way.) Now, for what's been going on lately . . . | |
| 19 February 2001 USA McCloud Railway | (MRR 2-8-2 18) McCloud River no. 18 is finally back in steam, and running on home rails. Sold in the 1950s to the Yreka Western, another northern California shortline, 18 returned home in 1997. The owners of the McCloud Railway tried to have it ready for an excursion for the 1999 NRHS Convention, but events conspired against them. Now that 18 has had a test run and its first revenue run, some interesting events with it and 2-6-2 25 can be scheduled. | |
| 19 February 2001 USA Ohio Central Railroad | (ex-GTW 4-8-4 6325) The countdown is on for the debut of Ohio Central's Grand Trunk 4-8-4. The engine has passed its hydrostatic test, running gear is being reassembled, and final assembly of the appliances and jacket isn't far behind. | |
 With an image like this, who needs a caption? Congratulations, guys! | ||
| And according to OHCR employees, the railroad is also hoping to announce soon that it will operate regular excursions from Sugar Creek again in 2001. You may recall that these trips were OHCR's mainstay until 1997. It will be good to see ex-CN 4-6-0 back in regular service on this line. (Thanks to Jason Johnson and Tim Sposato.) | ||
| 19 February 2001 USA Nashville "Tennessean" article | (ex-NC&StL 4-8-4 576) Over 20 years ago, the Southern Railway approached the City of Nashville about the possibility of returning Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 576 to service in its excursion program. Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum also expressed interest in the locomotive, offering to operate a statewide celebration train. The city offered a firm "no," only to change its mind and go looking for an operator afterwards, to no avail. This month, the Tennessee Central Railroad Museum has approached the city for permission to remove the locomotive from Centennial Park for restoration and return to service. The Metro Parks and Recreation Board's position is that 576 is a "major asset of the city," and the locomotive will not be moved without public discussion. While expectations should probably be kept in check for now, who knows what could happen? Is it out of the question to hope for a "Stripe" tackling Cowan Hill one day? We'll keep you posted - see you on the Tracy City branch bridge. (Thanks to David Johnston and Tom Randall.) | |
| 19 February 2001 USA | (ex-T&P 4-6-0 316) The annual Railfan Weekend at the Texas State Railroad is quickly getting a good reputation. Past events have included doubleheaders, as well as repainting the line's Tremont & Gulf 2-8-2 and its Texas & Pacific 4-6-0 into more accurate paint schemes. This year's event repeats the 316 repainting, for the purpose of celebrating the 25th anniversary of T&P 2-10-4 610's use on the "American Freedom Train." It also works out to be the 100th "birthday" of the 316. This year's event is just a few weeks away - March 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Tickets are available from the North Texas Chapter, NRHS. (Thanks to James Hefner.) | |
| 1 February 2001 | This month's addition to the Travel Resources section of SteamCentral comes from Erik Ledbetter of Railway Preservation News. The Netherlands is home to a surprising number of preservation efforts, and it appears that the end of May and the beginning of June will be quite busy for the steam fan there. You can get details on the | |
| 1 February 2001 USA | (O. Winston Link) It was with great sadness that I opened my email this evening to find it filled with messages regarding the death of O. Winston Link. Link's photography set the standard for both daytime and nighttime photography, and his 1960 letter to the Norfolk & Western proposing to purchase 4-8-4 611 played a role in its preservation. Winston will be missed. | |
| 1 February 2001 United Kingdom Swanage Railway | (ex-BR 2-6-4T 80104) The workforce of Southern Locomotives Ltd., affiliated with the Swanage Railway, have begun retubing "Standard Tank" 80104. 80104 has been in regular service on the Swanage alongside other Southern Region and Southern Railway veterans. No doubt the engine will be back on the road soon. (Thanks to Andrew P. M. Wright.) | |
 BR 80104 gets new tubes. Photo by Andrew P. M. Wright. Copyright 2001 Andrew P. M. Wright, all rights reserved. | ||
| 26 January 2001 USA Tennessee Valley RR Museum | (ex-USATC 2-8-0 610) TVRM' shop crews are making progress on the Part 230 work being done to US Army 2-8-0 610, as the photos below show. 610 is expected to be back in service this spring, after which work will ramp up on ex-Southern Railway 2-8-0 630. (And no matter what Mike Brown wants, 630 will emerge BLACK, not green ;-) TVRM is also making progress expanding their machine shop, which will expand their capabilities for contract work as well. (Thanks to Steve Freer.) | |
 TVRM's ex-USA 2-8-0 610 undergoing overhaul. Photo by Steve Freer. Copyright 2001 Steve Freer, all rights reserved.  Paul Burch preparing TVRM's ex-USA 2-8-0 610. Photo by Steve Freer. Copyright 2001 Steve Freer, all rights reserved. | ||
| 19 January 2001 USA St. Louis Steam Train Association | (ex-SLSF 4-8-2 1522) Burlington Northern - Santa Fe Railroad spokesman Jerry Jenkins has confirmed that SLSF 4-8-2 1522 will be on the point of this year's "Employee Appreciation Specials," which, over the course of three weeks beginning mid-May, will visit Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Houston, and Tulsa before returning to St. Louis via Springfield. As soon as the schedule is confirmed by BNSF it will be posted on the Schedules page. | |
| 19 January 2001 Canada Canadian Pacific Railway | (CPR 4-6-4 2816) With 2816's boiler back in Canada, now we get word that an auxiliary tender (inherited with the purchase of the D&H) has been completed for the Hudson. Word is the tender originally ran behind Delaware & Hudson 4-6-6-4 1517. It's currently stored at the Ogden Shops in Calgary, CPR's headquarters, awaiting completion of 2816's overhaul. | |
 Before . . .  . . . and after. Photos taken at Ogden Shops, Calgary, AB, Canada. | ||
| 17 January 2001 USA Placerville Mountain Democrat | (ex-Diamond & Caldor Shay 4) This logging engine, out of service since 1953, may get a chance to scoot down the Southern Pacific Placerville branch if the El Dorado Western Railroad Foundation gets its way. No. 4 spent its life on the Diamond & Caldor, and had been on display at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville for decades. (If I remember correctly, SP 0-6-0 1266, now in service at the California State Railroad Museum, spent some time at the Fairgrounds as well.) In 1992 a group of local residents began work on the Shay, now said to be 85% complete. The foundation would like to convert 4 miles of the abandoned SP branch between the outskirts of Placerville and the Shingle Springs station to narrow or dual gauge. Turntables at both ends, a hiking trail along the route, and development around the Shingle Springs depot have been discussed as well. There is no timetable for completing no. 4 or making the desired improvements. (Thanks to Tom Schultz.) | |
| 15 January 2001 USA Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad | (C&TS Railroad) The Rio Grande Railway Preservation Corporation has announced that R. D. "Dan" Ranger, Executive Director of the Tourist Railway Association, Inc., will become General Manager of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Ed McLaughlin, GM for the 2000 season, completes his one-year contract on 31 March. As a Director of RGRPC, let me quote myself on two things: First, the C&TS would not have had the successful season it did in 2000 without Ed. Second, Dan Ranger is universally respected in our industry, and will be a great GM. (He has already been GM of the C&TS from 1983 to 1989, when he took the job of GM at the Roaring Camp and Big Trees in California.) Thanks, Ed, and welcome aboard, Dan. | |
| 15 January 2001 Europe | (European Tours) Spring brings with it a host of interesting events and some bad news. Andre Sinn has been promising for years that each year's charters in Italy will be his last. Thankfully Andre is quite the masochist, and he has put together another package for the photographer. Northern Italy's beautiful scenery will host authentic steam and consists from 6 to 11 May. Gunter Oczko is planning a short tour of Sardinia 5-8 April, and Bernhard Lahner is accepting reservations for a tour of north eastern Turkey from 19 to 27 May. The bad news is that, effective with the spring timetable change in June, many Austrian narrow gauge lines still operated by Osterreichen BundesBahn will be closing or losing passenger service. Among them are the Gmund - Gross Gerungs line that features steam regularly, and the beautiful Mariazellerbahn from St. Polten. Overland Chapter - NRHS is offering a May tour of many of these lines. Back on the bright news, in the fall Gunter is offering a nine-day tour of Serbia starting 1 September. And Ad Van Sten will be offering two days in the mountains north of Prague, Czech Republic, for photographers. The subjects this time will be the 477 class 4-8-4Ts known as "Parrots" for their red-white-and-blue paint scheme. Essentially a 475.1 class 4-8-2 without a tender, these are powerful 3-cylinder engines right at home in the beautiful scenery of the Czech/German/Polish border area, and Rumburk is only about ten miles from Zittau. Look for a Travel Resource article on the Czech Republic in the February update. You'll find contact details for all these trips on the Schedules page. | |
| 15 January 2001 USA Heber Valley Railroad | (Heber Valley Railroad) The Heber Valley Railroad has announced its plans for operation during the 2002 Winter Olympics in the Salt Lake City / Park City area. HVR will be shuttling 500 passengers a day behind steam to the Soldier Hollow Cross-Country ski venue. (The Soldier Hollow venue is only a few hundred yards from the HVRR trackage.) Both UP 2-8-0 618 and Great Western 2-8-0 75 will be in daily operation> There are also plans to operate evening trains on a charter basis. Even if you don't plan to attend the events, this sounds like on to put on the steam calendar. (75 ought to look good with that snowplow mounted.) (Thanks to John Rimmasch.) | |
| DATE COUNTRY SITE NAME | (SUBJECT) I thought you fellas might like to know who is the REAL "man of constant sorrow" - ME. I actually had a chance to shoot the train during the filming and blew it off. Here's how it transpired: Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:38:07 From: David Hurt Subject: Fwd: Hey man lok at this!!!!! Craft: Just received this today. Is this steam?? Are you going to go if it is?? Later, Hurtman Note: forwarded message attached. From: "derrick davis" To: "D Hurt" Subject: Hey man look at this!!!!! Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 22:01:23 News from the internet. Mike Murray -----Original Message----- From: Tim Robbins I thought I'd let everyone know, the DR #4 will be loaded tomorrow on a truck. It's going to the Columbus and Greenville RR at Greenville, MS to shoot a movie for Disney. The engine should arive Thursday evening and will be unloaded on Friday. The tenative shooting schedule has us running to Leland, MS on June 29th, filming on June 30 and July 1, and returning to Greenville on July 3. We will be using one of our ex-SSW cabooses and about 6 or 7 freight cars from Texas State. The entire train will be set up to represent a 1930's shortline.(aka Yazoo and Mississippi) I am leaving tomorrow to set up, therefore I will not be able to get my email until I return. If anyone has any questions, they can call the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad. Thanks Tim My reply to David: Date Thu, 24 Jun 1999 171626 To David Hurt From John Craft Subject Re Fwd Hey man look at this!!!!! Hmmm . . . #4 is a W. T. Carter 2-6-2 that used to be on the Reader. Train sounds nice - but is the engine gonna be gussied up? (Reader had 'em pretty tarted up.) It would be great if someone nearby could give us a first-hand report. If it looks reasonably authentic, and if it's running in low light, I could probably be persuaded to dash over to Greenville on the 29th for the move to Leland, even if it is only 10 miles. A Noon ferry of a half-white engine with a fake stack isn't in the cards for me, nor is sitting around waiting for a filming move. Know anyone in Greenville who can give us a report tomorrow? JAC Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 08:52:23 From: David Hurt Subject: Re: Fwd: Hey man look at this!!!!! To: John Craft CRaft: I was off line until today. Derrick Davis who works for the Lux Valley told me this is part of the movie that Disney is shooting in Mississippi with George Clooney & John Goodman. They are supposed to run it to Leland & wye it there or somewhere. I don't have any contacts who can tell me what is going on. Weather is probably going to suck out! I am off tomorrow & on Wed., so I can't go. Sorry I don't know any more. Hurt Bad weather, a Disney production (which in my mind meant an orange locomotive, purple cars, fake stack, stars, etc.) - NO WAY was I going to drive across the Delta in June to shoot this . . . Fast forward to mid-January. Danah and I went to see the movie, and when we got back an email from JJ Templin of the Reader was waiting for me. My reply: | |
 ????. Photo by ???. Copyright 2001 ???, all rights reserved. | ||
| 13 January 2001 Canada | (ex-CPR 4-6-4 2860) There doesn't appear to be any good news to report on British Columbia's Royal Hudson yet. At present she's stored outside, minus tender, at the North Vancouver shop complex. Reports are also coming out that 2-8-0 3716 is also in need of extensive work. We'll keep you posted. | |
 CPR 2860 at North Vancouver. Photo by Trevor Heath. Copyright 2001 Trevor Heath, all rights reserved. | ||
| 13 January 2001 Canada Canadian Pacific Railway | (CPR 4-6-4 2816) There is good news, however, on Canadian Pacific's efforts to return Hudson 2816 to company service. The boiler, contracted to Doyle McCormack's Daylight Locomotive and Machine operation, was returned via special train to Vancouver on Thursday. Like a lot of steam restorations, this one is over budget and behind schedule, but the results will be well worth the wait. CPR is definitely a company not ashamed of its history; it's even created a website, cprheritage.com, to showcase its past. (A few of our US railroads, Union Pacific notably excepted, could learn a bit from CPR.) | |
 No, this is NOT becoming a diesel site (though that is an EXTREMELY cool F-unit). Look at the back. Photo by Drew Mitchem. Copyright 2001 Drew Mitchem, all rights reserved. | ||
 2816's boiler en route Vancouver. Photo by Drew Mitchem. Copyright 2001 Drew Mitchem, all rights reserved. | ||
| 13 January 2001 USA New Hope & Ivyland RR | (New Hope & Ivyland 2-8-0 40) Those of you looking for a winter steam fix should know that the New Hope & Ivyland is running ex-Cliffside 2-8-0 no. 40 on weekends all winter. With no major work scheduled, no. 40 is free to be one of the few locomotives operating in the winter. Do it soon - she'll be in the shop next winter getting the mandated boiler inspection. When she rolls out of the shop in 2002, she should be in the best shape she's seen for a while. Firebox and running gear work over the last few winters have been extensive - it's obvious this crew is taking good care of this attractive locomotive. Take a look at our Travel Resources page on Pennsylvania steam by Erik Ledbetter for photos of no. 40. (Thanks to Geoffrey Maits.) | |
| 1 January 2001 SteamCentral | (A New Year) Did you ring in the new year with steam? (About your only chance in this country was on the Heber Valley, or perhaps at Durango.) Do you have plans for more steam this year than last? If you do, take a look at the latest Crystal Ball from Jim Wrinn. He offers some heads-up ideas for steam in the new Millenium here in the USA. And don't ignore overseas. China is still the big show, where heavy mainline trains are stilled steam-powered. Perhaps the pockets of working steam left in Germany or Poland are more to your liking, or you prefer the atmosphere of UK preserved railways and fast mainline excursions. But whatever you do, get out and enjoy it. Obsolete here in the US for over a half-century, we're still lucky to have what we do - don't take it for granted. | |
| 1 January 2001 China Jitong Railway | (Jitong Railway) Speaking of China, the Jitong Railway is advertising its first Steam Festival on the Jingpeng Pass in early February. Learn more at their website, or read Michael Allen's Travel Resource article on China to learn about the Pass and other steam hot spots. (Thanks to Louis Cerny.) | |
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