Restoration candidates

[NW Mailing List]

Everything that has been said about restoring locomotives is correct, it costs a lot of money and there are a lot of inspections to go through.
If you watch American Restoration on the History channel, when someone brings in a pedal car for restoration, it costs almost $5000 to restore the piece and it only cost $50
new.  Talk to anyone that restores old cars, buying the car is the cheapest part the balance of the restoration costs the most money, which you normally never recover when you sell it.
Even those of us that buy old models to restore and resell never make a lot of money, I know I have never do so, we do it for the love of the hobby.  So restoring
locomotives is no different, just a lot larger and you need bigger equipment.
 
Kurt S. Kramke


On 12/21/13, NW Mailing List wrote:

I agree with Mr. Miller on signing posts. If you can't sign it, don't post it.

I also agree about the monumental undertaking of restoring such
massive machines. EVERYTHING on the railroad is heavy, and hard to
work on. It was made that way because the railroad is such a brutal
environment for the machines and men and women who work on it. It has
to be built tough and beyond durable. That in itself makes for a more
complex restoration. This is not to mention the costs, which he also
expounded on a bit. That doesn't include the unexpected things that
always seem to come up when restoring rail equipment, which also add
to the time and costs.

I encourage anyone who wants to be part of the solution. Many folks,
such as myself, belong to preservation groups, historical societies,
etc., and these groups are always short handed when it comes to
finding help with manpower and funds. We all can always use more
help. So please, join a group, volunteer your time and skills, and
lend a hand.

Ben Blevins
signal maintainer and railroad preservationist


On 12/19/13, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:

> Thanks for your insight Ken.

>

> I've supported restoration projects but never been able to commit the long

> term enough time to work on one. I have every admiration for the many 000s

> who do - including one friend from University who has done it since

> schooldays - so that's probably 40+ years. Others I knew also made a

> life-time commitment - to the Waterways Recovery Group who re-build whole

> canals! As a narrowboat skipper (volunteer - that takes a fair bit of time)

> and a trail walker I appreciate that work as much as steam locomotive or

> traditional narrowboat restorers.

>

>

> I thought I'd try and find some data on the preservation scene from the UK.

>

> There are many hundreds of ex British Railways locomotives, ex industrial

> locomotives, imported

> locomotives, locomotives withdrawn from service before the formation of

> BR in 1948 and increasingly ‘new build’ locomotives (e.g. Tornado, and now

> the new P2 locomotive 'Prince of Wales') - many restored to working order,

> others awaiting restoration, some conserved against the day when resources

> (people and cash) may be available to work on, and others that have been

> cosmetically restored. Some, though not now 4472 Flying Scotsman despite the

> millions it is costing, will likely never steam again even on a

> preserved/private line. And J611 - which I will support once they sort out a

> tax efficient channel for donations from the UK - is going to take some

> financing - for the running costs, servicing etc., etc.

>

>

> There are apparently a total of 387 ex ‘BR’ locomotives operating or

> awaiting restoration based at over 115 heritage railway centres/preserved

> lines and the National Railway Museum (York) and Locomotion (Shildon) - and

> that's what has survived (some after decades of rusting in breaker's yards)

> from the around 20000 steam locomotives that British Railways operated at

> nationalisation in 1948.

>

> Many of the locomotives are certified for mainline running, and increasingly

> preserved lines are being re-connected to the main network.

>

>

> An estimated 18,500 volunteer supporters devote their own time and money to

> running, maintaining or developing their railway - together with an employed

> workforce - and these operate throughout the United Kingdom today with no

> direct financial support from central or local government.

>

> Heritage railways make a major contribution to the economies of the areas

> they serve both in terms of attracting tourism and of substantial spending

> on local services. Research - though limited in scope - undertaken for a

> number of railways suggests a mean benefit to the local economy of around

> 2.7 times the railway’s turnover. In aggregate, this would suggest that the

> economic benefit nationally is just under £250m.

>

> Add to that the major diesel, diesel-electric, electric and other

> preservation groups, the rail charter and tour industry ....................

> you've got a significant industry on top of the main freight and passenger

> operators.

>

> Living history is invariably more attractive than static and cold displays

> ....... and we should be extremely thankful for those who have made this

> possible, and continue to do so, both the massive effort and commitment that

> provides live steam and also those well-cared for and occasionally not so

> well-cared for colder set-ups.

>

> Dominic

> London

>

>

>

>

> I walked 12 miles for the Pirate Castle for the 4th time on June 22nd -

> please help bysponsoring me

>

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