Sunday my wife's cousin, who lives in Clifton Forge, VA called. I asked him if he would shoot some photos of Ross's 614 which is sitting there in a paint job advertising the Homestead Express. He is not a railfan so the shots are not "roster," but he did get a good one from the front. Photo by Gary Shepard, my collection.
Jim, no complaints with Gary's photo skills. 614 is addressing the world in her full majesty. Besides, I think her green petticoat is neat...LOL
She's just on display there. Ross always has some scheme for running her again, just requires money. The scheme she is painted for never came to pass. I'm not sure of her Form 4 or 1472 day status, but she is probably in need of both. I don't remember what year she last ran on those runs to Port Jervis which were very successful. She was stored at the Blue Mountain and Reading for several years.
The word "scheme" always scares me. Mental pictures of happenings such as YW, and eastern OR come into mind. As far as I can recall, he has always been an upright person?
Ken, most certainly. I guess "scheme" was a poor choice of words. He has presented a lot of ideas, and like in this case, actually had the locomotive painted to reflect this particular one, but the funding never became available to bring it to fruition. Ross has been responsible for a lot of steam preservation efforts. He was instrumental in the creation and operation of the American Freedom Train, which resulted in the restoration of my lately favorite locomotive, 4449.
Jim & Ken, wasn't Ross instrumental in a steam efficiency experiment many years ago that involved a month of running 614 (possibly another, dunno?) in scheduled freight assignments through C&O's New River Gorge line? My memory is vague on this subject, but IIRC the goal was to show that modern Super Power steam could operate as efficiently as the then current modern diesels. I remember the major criticism was that he did not address maintenance, which of course ate steam's lunch compared to diesels. As I'm typing, I wonder if the experiment may have involved NKP's 765 instead of C&O 614,,,? (The second thing to go is the Memory...damned if I can remember what the first was.)
Wasn't that a proposal for ultra modern new steam engines? Ah. My memory, if it has not gone out to visit with Hank's, is saying it was called "ACE 3000" or some such...? Wasn't this Ross Rowland?
Yes, it was Ross, and the 614. If I (like you) remember correctly, the price of oil vs. coal at the time had a lot to do with the termination of this effort. It did result in some spectacular video of 614 running over the New River C&O line in the winter.
It was indeed C&O 614 in the great experiment when the price of oil was skyrocketing and they ran experiments using C&O 4-8-4 614. The plan was to develop a new coal fired engine since coal was cheap and plentiful. Then the price of oil dropped and that was the end of the experiment. http://www.american-rails.com/ace-3000.html
That experiment took place in winter 1984-85, IIRC, and there were a number of articles in "Railfan and Railroad" plus "Trains", if I'm not mistaken. It also seems to me that there were some videos of 614T (for Test, I think) during that time. Not sure if it was Green Frog, Herron Rail, or any other who produced those videos, but one or more of them aired on "Trains and Locomotives" on RFD-TV some years back. I grew up near Huntington but the only steam I remember was C&O 1308, stuffed and mounted in the west end--near a swimming pool, of all things!--and 2705, moved here and there before that one made it to the B&O Museum (I think).
given the current high price of oil, makes me think burning coal might be viable again... Oh wait there loads of eco mentalists that think shipping batteries, made from stuff dug out the ground in countries with no pollution regulations, half way round the world in diesel ships is the "green" solution. What's more natural than decomposed, compacted dinosaurs and trees...
