Took the camera with the 80mm telephoto lens and left the camera bag on the table with the other lenses at the house..grrrrrrrrrrrrr I did take a picture of the second and third unit but was bumped and came out fuzzy. Took these at IRL museum. http://www.irm.org/
Looks like they moved the 6930. When I was there a couple years ago, it was pointed at a shed with filled tracks on either side making it impossible to get a satisfactory picture. This was the best I could do.
God I hate to see those beautifull old engines looking that bad...if a museum can't keep them clean, they should not have them...
Well, IRM has a huge collection and they work on them as they go. in most cases, the equipment arrived in that condition and they just haven't started on the restoration process. Any other group wouldn't take it at all. As for what the BN unit was in my pic, I thought it was a U30C, but I don't have it marked down. It was a Uboat of some kind or maybe a C30-7. When I saw her, she was by barn 2 and I wasn't supposed ot be there I believe based on the picture that they've moved the DD40 over to the LArge steam and Diesel locos area. [ June 27, 2005, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: YoHo ]
Steve No steam was running as approval for the Frisco rebuild has not been obtained, hopefully the approval will be granted for the rebuild this year but there is some spectulation that is won't be until next year. I also posted some pictures on the CB&Q forum and the MILW ROAD fallen flag forum. They are also expanding the south yard and trying to get a new building finished. they have more equipment than buildings and getting more. George
Boxcab, I just checked the museum's site and you are correct. 6946 is indeed the last Centennial built (Sept 1971), and the first donated. I wonder if she still runs?
John- If not operable, perhaps it's in decent, and complete enough condition. So that some day.... Boxcab E50
UP 6946 does need work to run again. While it is unlikely she will, we do want to keep her in at least a presentable condition. Since it is missing key parts, money for operation would have to come from a dedicated fund drive and individuals aimed at doing the work. In the mean time, we have two WP F-7's in need of work, 3 GP-7's in need of minor work, 2 GP-9's in need of work along with the running maintenance of the cars used for operations. Top it off, track maintenance and building improvements. All vying for funds and volunteers to do the work. So Portola's and IRM's task is formidable to say the least, but the equipment hasn't been lost to the torch. Greg
Greg- They gave you a few free minutes at home? Just out of curiousity, and since we're on the topic- What is the 6946 missing? Parts and pieces that could be located without extreme difficulty? Boxcab E50
Their website is excellent. Loads of information and pictures. Must be an awesome place to visit. Some of the pictures show the many tasks involved in keeping equipment running and the work involved in restoration. As Greg says, at least the stuff there has been saved from the torch
I had a chance to visit the museum a while ago, even rented the 921-D for the hour Rent A Loco. It's a great place! I need to get back so I can pilot 2001!
What could a DD40 be missing that isn't easily obtainable? I mean there are plenty of 645 series EMDs running around to get parts off of. I realize time and money are the bigger factors, but I'm curious as to what's missing.
I'm not sure about the exact parts missing but can look into it. Sure all of them are attainable but at a price. We want to install sound parts that won't fail after a few running sessions. Like I said earlier, we have several WP engines that are listed in priority above the Centennial. After all we are a WP museum. Since spring was so wet and cold, our visitor numbers are way down. That means the Rent a Locomotive revenue is down as is voluntary donations. Also membership volunteer time is behind last year at this time. So current projects, rehabilitation of the grounds to make it more visitor friendly are our priority and stretching the meager budget.
