Michigan Southern Alcos

[12Bridge]

..Are meeting there maker this week.

[J T]

..Are meeting there maker this week.

Heard the news this morning. So sad.

[12Bridge]

Cant save everything.

[AARR]

Wish 466 could be saved. It is the very first RS2 built. Built in 1946. Rebuilt around 1956 (upgraded to 1600hp???). Sold to MSO around 1992ish. Served for a few years but I think it has been OOS for 10+ years on MSO. Gordy would have preserved it I think but Pioneer will not it looks like.

[GreatLakesRailfan]

It's about time. Those things have been sitting around collecting rust and dust so long I wondered if they'd ever actually do something with them. Now if only someone would take action and scrap some of those obsolete steam engines sitting around in similar states of disrepair, we could focus on what's important in life.

[SD80MAC]

It's about time. Those things have been sitting around collecting rust and dust so long I wondered if they'd ever actually do something with them. Now if only someone would take action and scrap some of those obsolete steam engines sitting around in similar states of disrepair, we could focus on what's important in life.

Way to stir the pot.

[penn central]

What would be nice to see is the 466 shipped up here to Saginaw to join it's brother the 469, Then have them painted into the heritage D&M colors of maroon and gray, Now that would be super nice, But ten chances to one that's wishful thinking.

[12Bridge]

The better question is has anyone actually contacted Waymore power with a legit offer to save 469 in some fashion? Cant talk about saving anymore when there is already one homeless.

[MP73point4]

What would be nice to see is the 466 shipped up here to Saginaw to join it's brother the 469, Then have them painted into the heritage D&M colors of maroon and gold now that would be super nice, But ten chances to one that's wishful thinking.

Maroon & Gold????? Did you mean maroon & gray. That would be nice. Especially with the stripe, as delivered.

So, what's the scrap value of the 466? $25,000-$30,000? Still a lot of money to raise. Then you have to move it and store it(=more money, probably another $25,000). Then there's the cost of restoration; even just cosmetic can't be cheap. It being the first RS2, I would think there could be some interest even outside Michigan in preserving this unit. This one (466) would be a better preservation target in terms of historical significance than the 469, although the 469 is certainly in better condition.

[penn central]

What would be nice to see is the 466 shipped up here to Saginaw to join it's brother the 469, Then have them painted into the heritage D&M colors of maroon and gold now that would be super nice, But ten chances to one that's wishful thinking.

Maroon & Gold????? Did you mean maroon & gray. That would be nice. Especially with the stripe, as delivered.

So, what's the scrap value of the 466? $25,000-$30,000? Still a lot of money to raise. Then you have to move it and store it(=more money, probably another $25,000). Then there's the cost of restoration; even just cosmetic can't be cheap. It being the first RS2, I would think there could be some interest even outside Michigan in preserving this unit. This one (466) would be a better preservation target in terms of historical significance than the 469, although the 469 is certainly in better condition.

My bad i meant gray

[railohio]

Good thing I got there in May:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/railohio/5738825756/

[Saturnalia]

Alcos are going, going, and now almost gone
At least I was able to witness their last 4 years on the LSRC

[~Z~]

Few photos from Brendan on Michrr:

[Robert MacDowell]

From the look of the photos it looks like they are doing other units ahead of the 466. It takes more than a day to scrap an Alco. For 466, It ain't over til it's over. It would help an awful darn lot if somebody knew who was doing the scrapping and who owned the units, and could say on this forum. Coz today is the day to call them.

We all know road-switchers replaced covered wagons in mainline service. This unit, 466, is the reason why. The RS-1 did not have enough horsepower to run the big mainline freights. The RS-2 did, having the power of a covered wagon and the convenience of the RS-1 body style. Alco fully intended to see four RS-2's hauling a mainline freight down the Water Level Route at 60 mph. That's what it was designed for.

Of course EMD copied the idea, design, which led to the legendary Geep. You would certainly save the first Geep if you could.

Because of this I believe 466 is nationally historic and I think a lot of stakeholders would be keen on seeing the unit saved. If not a Michigan museum, I could see it going to IRM or St. Louis Museum of Transport or the National Railroad Museum. If the Alco museum people were better organized, maybe them too. Naturally I'd rather see it stay in Michigan. I can help in a number of ways. Now who is scrapping it?

[Sppengelly]

Wouldnt it most likely be Michigan Southern? Are they a stand alone company or part of a large company like RA or how GLC is owned by Federated Railways or something similar? This is just an idea but since Waymore Power bought the LSRC alcos, maybe they also bought the MSO's alcos.

Also, is the 977 being scrapped to? I see it on Ozark Mountain Railcar for sale. Said it had been recently rebuilt or something like that. Why would they scrap that? If it runs fine, why scrap it. Run it until it completely dies is my ideaology.

-Sean

[AARR]

Wouldnt it most likely be Michigan Southern? Are they a stand alone company or part of a large company like RA or how GLC is owned by Federated Railways or something similar? This is just an idea but since Waymore Power bought the LSRC alcos, maybe they also bought the MSO's alcos.

Also, is the 977 being scrapped to? I see it on Ozark Mountain Railcar for sale. Said it had been recently rebuilt or something like that. Why would they scrap that? If it runs fine, why scrap it. Run it until it completely dies is my ideaology.

-Sean

MSO owned and operated by Pioneer http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/; http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/contact_us.htm

[J T]

Wish 466 could be saved. It is the very first RS2 built. Built in 1946.

If that is true, it's kind of odd that in this day and age, a locomotive of that significance wouldn't be saved for a museum piece. How hard would it be to just gut it and paint and place it somewhere for display?

[12Bridge]

The simple fact is these engines did not go out of service overnight. They have been sitting for some time. 977 has been for sale for a long time (at an insane price being its condition). A gentlemen on another forum has bought some parts from these, and also mentioned that all the jewelry was stolen pissing alot of people off..

in 398 views, how many phone calls were made to the various museums in MI, and to said RR about saving it?

Simply gutting an engine and stuffing it somewhere costs money as well. Crane costs, moving costs on rail, and where to put it. It can always be done, but it does not happen by itself.

I got news for to, this is going to be happening alot more in the next few years. Scrap is up again, and museums are stuffed with enough crap that cant be taken care of as it is.

[Raildudes dad]

I agree, they have been sitting there for years. It's too late to try save even one once the torch is lit. Buying them at scrap price is one thing, transportation is another. I bought a small tracked crane north of Minneapolis this summer. I paid $3500, a little over scrap value. I had direct costs of $700 in fuel, $530 for the RT on the SS Badger, $100 ifor a hotel to go get it with my own tractor trailer. Over $1300 and that doesn't include the cost of owning the truck.

[J T]

Simply gutting an engine and stuffing it somewhere costs money as well. Crane costs, moving costs on rail, and where to put it. It can always be done, but it does not happen by itself.

In this day and age, if something is deemed to have some historical significance, there often is some kind of effort to save it. That being the "first" of its kind, it appears to be a little more significant than others of the same model that disappeared years ago. However, it also appears there is no strong movement to save such pieces of railroad history as there is with steam locomotives. If there isn't an alco-based museum or rich railfan out there able to keep the piece of history alive, then there is nothing you and I or anyone else with no money can do about it. And that's what sad. So much history lost because there just weren't the funds (or care) to save them.

I have no stake in this game. I have no love affair with the alco like a lot of people do. Heck, I've never even seen one rolling down the tracks other than in some random video. But because of the affection people have toward these classic units that I have experienced over the years (here and other rr forums), I found it odd no one has tried to save this one-of-a-kind piece of railroad history.