I have that issue of Trains somewhere, the article was from the early
1990's. I also spoke with a fan here in KC who had known Mr.Burkett
back in the 1970s when the transactions took place.
He confirmed two things I have already heard here on the group. That
both the train sets were sold to Saudi Arabia, and the details of
what equipment was in the sets appears in one of the early "Railway
Car Annual" books.
ISTR, initially, both trainsets and the N&W Obs-Lounge were stored
somewhere in Riyadh. More recently, I remember reading they had been
moved to the docks area in Dubai or Damman. Nothing else is known,
except that it would seem the docks area is a good starting off point
for loading them on board ship. Another comment was that the Saudis
were pretty well fixed, financially and that they did not need the
money, even if the trains were to be sold. The Trains article did
mention the sand problem, and that at least one of the trainsets ran,
but only for a brief period.
IMHO, this 'project'if it were to be undertaken, would have to be
sponsored by some individual or organization with pretty deep
pockets. The fact that the individual cars will not fit in a standard
ship container is a problem. Also, that a team of techs would have to
go over there and supervise the loading, de-trucking and crating, if
necessary. I would assume the Department of State would have to be
involved to negotiate and assist in liasion work with the Saudis to
make sure all the 't's were crossed. IF the equipment were available
for sale, this would be a very intensive project.
I have a couple shots I purchased from Bill Kratville a few years
back, after a cosmetic restoration had been done, and would be glad
to supply them off site for anyone who wants them, as soon as I
scrounge them up. The cars were then lettered for the 'Civic Plaza
National Bank', which no longer exists here in KC. They had even made
up a new neon tailsign that read: Civic Plaza Bank Express! This was
about 1975, the shots were taken at KCUS.
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, Ronald Peterson <rcp95240@...> wrote:
>
> A few years ago, Trains magazine ran a story about the railroads of
Saudi Arab.
> The Zephyr was not being used but it was stored outside in the
dry heat.
> There was a single picture of the trainset.
> Maybe a member has this issue in their library.
>
> Ron Peterson
>
> Don <ne-zephyr@...> wrote:
> No, I assumed that they would be stored somewhere in that
large yard
> near the docks. I was also told that is where their shops are. I
> don't know for sure. Like I said it was from a guy that was suppose
to
> be working there in the 80's. He identified them as some trains the
> Saudis bought second hand from an American railroad in the 60's. I
> just assumed it was the Burlington trains
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
========================================================================
Groups related to CBQ
========================================================================
MILW (248 common members)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MILW?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr0&sec=recg
Trains and Railroads/Railway Enthusiasts: A historical discussion list for fans
and modelers...
BNlist (219 common members)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BNlist?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr1&sec=recg
Trains and Railroads/Railway Enthusiasts: This List is dedicated to the
discussion of the Bu...
gngoat (187 common members)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gngoat?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr2&sec=recg
Models/Trains and Railroads: All matters both prototype and model related to
th...
NPTellTale (169 common members)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NPTellTale?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr3&sec=recg
Trains and Railroads/Railway Enthusiasts: At right: An Electro-Motive SD45 on
the factory fl...
PassengerCarList (161 common members)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PassengerCarList?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr4&sec=recg
Travel/Train Travel: Welcome to the Passenger Car List, or PCL. This fo...
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:CBQ-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:CBQ-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CBQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|