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RE: [CBQ] Re: Status/Access to CB&Q K-2 #637 at IRM

To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [CBQ] Re: Status/Access to CB&Q K-2 #637 at IRM
From: "Phil Stepek" <pstepek@mindspring.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 15:24:14 -0500
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with applause to the lengthy and fair report here, I can add a request for 
anyone with the interest to care for ANY piece of equipment to make themselves 
known to the museum. 
Each department has its own group of volunteers and we all could use more 
...help and money....
even a slow effort is better than none at all. specialized skills are not 
needed. Everyone starts easy and "backs into" the project. But first, it has to 
be something that YOU want to do, otherwise is does not satisfy.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 8/7/2006 9:55:57 AM 
Subject: [CBQ] Re: Status/Access to CB&Q K-2 #637 at IRM


Rob,

The last time I saw it (about two years ago), it was stored inside, 
but little if anything has been done to it since it arrived from it's 
former location in an Aurora, IL park. When it left the park, it was 
in very poor condition. As I recall, the boiler was pretty well 
stripped of most details except the major fittings such as domes and 
stack. The boiler face may have also been off.

There is an IRM Yahoo groups which may be able to supply more current 
information. Like all IRM equipment, each piece needs to have a 
"champion" and necessary funding (donations) in order to be located 
in the museum or to be restored. Many pieces await such champions. It 
seems a strange way to run an organization, but that is the way they 
have done it for years; and for those pieces that have been restored, 
it has worked very well. It is a labor of love and a very slow 
process. Some equipment never gets restored and a few, (mostly wood 
freight cars) have deteriorated so much that the only recourse is to 
scrap the piece. Fortunately, not many pieces have gone that route.

To it's credit, the museum has built many storage buildings and has 
tried to get as many pieces under cover as possible. They have also 
surveyed their fleet to determine those in most need and have made 
major efforts to stabilize those pieces in serious condition that can 
not be placed under cover. By museum rules, for a piece of equipment 
to be placed under cover when space is available, money has to be 
raised to "buy" a piece of track for it to rest on. Once purchased, 
the piece stays under cover, but additional funds need to be in place 
specifically for that piece in order for it to be considered for 
restoration. Then, manpower and interest have to be available for 
work to proceed. For steam locomotives, that work is slow. Diesels 
seem to be easiest to restore, (they just completed a multiple year 
restoration of a Q diesel switcher). Trollies are the next easiest 
to restore, then steam locomotives. Keep in mind that once restored, 
diesels and trollies are much easier to keep in working order than is 
steam. Some steam may only be cosmetically restored because they 
don't lend themselves to operation on the museum railroad. The N&W 
2-8-8-2 or even the Q hudson are good examples.

The three Q steam locomotives at the museum, (637, 2-8-2 #4963 and 
hudson #3007) are thankfully all under cover. However, all three are 
pretty much in an "as received" state last time I saw them. None of 
them look very good, they are not in good positions for photos and 
they are not complete as they stand. Many other steam locomotives are 
the same way. The museum tends to run smaller locomotives (the Frisco 
2-10-0 is the largest run so far). There has been no steam operation 
for the last two years because no locomotive is serviceable. They 
have been working on a U. P. 2-8-0 for some time and, I believe, it 
is nearing completion and may be the next locomotive to operate.

If someone has several million dollars that they would like to donate 
or designate for specific projects, they museum could sure use it. If 
I ever won lotto, that is what I would do with some of the money! 
BTW, in recent years, the museum has been dealing with a new problem. 
Their once remote site is not remote anymore. The public is 
encroaching and more government (county) oversight is occurring.

Sorry for the long post. You may know all of this already, but I 
simply wanted to let you know why the 637 is not in pristine condition.

Bill Barber 

 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



 
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