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Hi All,
Several folks have emailed me asking pertenant
questions regarding the post on the O5 restoration group and project. I
emailed Lindsey (See the copy at the bottom of this email), and below is her
response and her email address if you would like to contact her.
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: Lindsey Fowler [mailto:lindsey_m_fowler@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 8:45 PM To: dave_lotz@bellsouth.net Cc: Karl Rethwisch Subject: Re: [CBQ] CB&Q Steam , answers for Dave. Hi Dave,
Here's some answers to your
questions:
Who are you Lindsey, where are you
located and what are your credentials?
I am a die hard
50's and 60's railfan, 100%.
I am a photojournalist, 50+ years young. I've
worked in TV most of my life. I
worked one year as an assistant signal maintainer, and was going to hire out on
the ICG, but decided to forget the railroad after a year and quit. I was also
certified as a conductor in those days, but never went to train service
officially. Women were kind of frowned on..even though I paid my BRS union dues
every month just like the rest of them did.
I am a go getter. I get something in my head and will
"not" abandon it until it's either done, or I'm dead.
I
am from an almost all railroad family, both grandparents worked for the
C&A/GM&O as Agent, lightning slinging trainer for the west end of the
C&A and Operator, two uncles as clerks/operators, one at the GM&O Tower
near Joliet. One brother who worked for the Mop Passenger Service, then Amtrak
for a few years and took the buyout when it was offered. The family name there
was Sheley and Meyers. I also had a favorite uncle by the name of Sam Demoss..
(Uncle Lester to us) who worked for the CB&Q as a hog head. I have a funny
story about that for you sometime. He worked out of Galesburg for 43
years, retired off the North Hump there. He ran the C&I, West Quincy and
Chicago I think he said. I've
been involved in several railroad museums, the main one was acquiring the
GM&O 880B from ICG at Paducah. I orchestrated it's movement from there to
Farber, I worked with the track department to build a shoe fly off the siding
there and moved it down to the Depot/Museum. Sadly it is not there
anymore. Another story. I've lived in Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Kansas. I
am a born again follower of Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Saviour..
I have never been arrested, nor do I even
have a speeding ticket for over 30 years now. I grew up with Steam Tractors as a hobby. My
grandfather Fowler had two Case coal burning pufferbellies.. and we made the
trip to Mount Pleasant, Iowa most every year just to watch, not to participate.
I am a railroad historian by nature and hold the Board Secretary position until
such a time that we have an operating Burlington Steam loco up
and running, where I will be the Steam
Manager. I have the 5632 print by John Winfield as I'm sure
everyone in the CB&Q Group does, hanging on my wall.. I stare at it every
day dreaming of what we could accomplish with the right people
involved.
Who and what is the Burlington Route
Locomotive Group and where is it located?
We are a group
of ex-railroaders and CB&Q fans, who miss the Burlington so much, we'd step
up to great lengths to work on placing an O5 under steam again. I have the 5632
print by John Winfield as I'm
sure everyone in the CB&Q Group does, hanging on my wall.. I stare at it
every day dreaming of what we could accomplish with the right people
involved. As I said in my post, we are a
new group, dedicated to Burlington Steam restoration with our focus on one of
the O5s still in existence. We are putting together a Board of Directors of Who
we think are really great people for this multi-year task. We are working on our
501(C)(3) this week so that should be done soon. Karl Rethwisch of Pueblo,
Colorado, myself and another gentleman whom I do not know but plan too really
soon now, who Karl has just recruited will be on the working board so far. See
more below.
Has it been set up as a legal
operation?
As I said above, we will be legal. I will
not have it any other way, period.
Who are its directors, board members
and who are the consultants who have had experience in doing a
restoration?
Karl Rethwisch
and I are the main body of the board so far. We are very picky who will be on
this board and who won't. Karl has worked on two steam projects now I think. He
can answer this himself. As I said earlier, he also has spoken to a third
gentleman who also has steam restoration experience. My list of contacts and
advisers are Don Crimmin and Karl Rethwisch advisers. We are to speak with
Steve Sandberg of the CNW 261 project, Jim Conner of the Soo Steam project, Bob Franzen of the Grand
Canyon CB&Q steam project. These
names have already been notified, and we hope to speak to each of them as well
as others who may be able to assist in
the near future. We shall see. Maybe I'll
talk to Steve Lee as well, if he even remembers me. I will say it is a blessing to had Don Crimmin behind
us.
Which O5B do you have access to, the
one in St. Joe or the one in Golden? (I believe the other two
O5’s are O5As.
I'm afraid that the' 29 at Golden and the
'14 at St. Joe are land locked, not to mention, I think St. Joe want's to keep
their O5 right where it is since it is under canopy now, though anything's
possible.. There are others we are looking at. One is is pretty good shape, but
will need allot of restoration due to the asbestos wrapping on the boiler.
Running gear wise, it looks good. The boiler test will cost us.. You see, we
cannot even know for sure if we have a workable O5 until we have it FRA
inspected, and that's going to take allot right there. This is a step by
step process. One which we will not get in a big hurry on, although we will be
diligent once we know we have a re-build-able O5 that is practical to
pursue. We also have a fully rebuilt feedwater heater, power reverser and air
compressor ready to go for an O5 once we secure the one we want. One thing, if
we obtain an O5a, we will convert it to oil because oils are cheap compared to
coal.
Has there been any discussions and a
WRITTEN AGREEMENT about taking it over to rebuild, if so, is that document
available for review? No written agreement yet. All I really want at this
time is to know the level of interest in bringing an O5 back to steam. Once we
secure a locomotive, all will be disclosed to the requesting
parties.Have you worked up a detailed plan
on what the costs would be, how it would be distributed, and most importantly, a
time line.
Yes we have a rough draft of Phase I of
this project. Once we assemble a working and knowledgeable Board of Directors,
then we shall review what has been done and investigate further actions "before"
we lay down a detailed master plan. My estimated time span for completion is
under ten years. It all depends on our resources how fast it will all come
together..as in any steam project. Do I hope for a millionaire to step up to the
plate and fund the O5? Yes..I think everyone would, but we mist be realistic
here in that the monies needed for this extensive of a project will most likely
come via smaller donations, and allot of
them.
There is
much more I could speak on that we have addresses here, but it really would
serve no purpose until we do have more of an idea what's going on and where. We
have been hitting all the pros and cons we can think of. Right now we are our own think tank,
getting ready to propose our plans..Again, we "are not" asking for donations of
any kind yet. Once we have satisfied our legalities to the organization, and we
have a project in hand, we will then be asking for help.
I hope this has
answered a few of your questions Dave. If you would like to know more, please
feel free to write or call Karl or
myself.
Lindsey Fowler,
The Burlington Route
Locomotive Group.
From: Dave Lotz <dave_lotz@bellsouth.net> To: lindsey_m_fowler@yahoo.com Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 1:30 PM Subject: RE: [CBQ] CB&Q Steam. Hi
Lindsey,
I
know there are MANY folks on the CBQ list who are excited about the possibility
of a restored O5B. However, there have been several false
starts on restoring CB&Q steam, and the folks here would like to know more
before any commitments are made. We want to make sure this is
a legitimate effort and not a scam, so don’t expect donations until most of the
following questions are answered.
Who are you Lindsey, where are you
located and what are your credentials?
Who and what is the Burlington Route
Locomotive Group and where is it located?
Has it been set up as a legal
operation?
Who are its directors, board members
and who are the consultants who have had experience in doing a
restoration?
Which O5B do you have access to, the
one in St. Joe or the one in Golden? (I believe the other two
O5’s are O5As.
Has there been any discussions and a
WRITTEN AGREEMENT about taking it over to rebuild, if so, is that document
available for review?
Have you worked up a detailed plan
on what the costs would be, how it would be distributed, and most importantly, a
time line.
If this is a serious effort, I’m
certain that you will receive serious support for the members of the CBQ
list.
Dave Lotz
CBQ List
Owner
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