Help! Save Detroit & Mackinac /LSRC ALCO RS2 #469 from scrap

[mikesullivan]

I am trying to get the word out to save Detroit & Mackinaw (LSRC) #469 and possibly #974 from the scrappers torch. In an attempt to try to obtain one of these locos for a local museum, I communicated with the current owner (Waymore Power / Spencer Garrent) and found they were planning to scrap these during the week of 11/7/10! If they can find a place to park these locos for now for free, he will refrain from the scrap out on these two (other ALCOs have / will be cut up (He is salvaging powerplant parts, etc.)) Storage costs at Lake State yard are too $$$$ and times are tough. Its hard to blame LSRC or Waymore. Please contact me if anyone knows of a place via rail these can be stored. Then, negotiations with the owner could be made by a historical group that might be interested.

(Saginaw Rail Museum may be an option, but there might still be a slight storage cost and security could be an issue. Here is a note from Harry Vitek from Saginaw "I received a call today from Michael Sullivan from Millersburg, MI. (15 miles southwest of Rogers City on the old D&M) He is with the local history group & is looking for a piece of D&M equipment to restore and place on site there, namely a RS-2. He has been in contact with Spencer Garrett of Waymore Power, the owner of all the ex. D&M Alco's about obtaining either of the two RS-2's (469 & 975) here in Saginaw. He was told that they are scheduled to be cut up starting next week except for the power assemblies. ------But----- As a Alco lover he would put a hold on the RS-2's if there was interest in saving the remaining assemblies trucks frame & hooding. He knows that would take time to line up interest & money, so he is willing to store them for a period of time, but not at the Lake State roundhouse site which costs him to much. -----So---- I have expressed the interest of the Saginaw Valley Railway Museum in storing them here at a price yet to be determined. I have seen a lot of interest in saving the 469, but we have an interest in the roller bearing trucks off the 975 as I have told Michael to convey to Spencer.")

CORRECTION of Mr. Vitek: 975 is in Alpena and will probably be scrapped #week of 11/7/10 also. #974 is the one in Saginaw with #469 and is more complete than #975

HELP RAILFANS!!! I am to get back to Mr. Garrett early this week. D&M was the first (or near first) line to fully dieselize. #469 is a 1946 ALCO RS2 and one in their order of 5 locos that year they dieselized. It ran Michigan's east shore for 60 years and I believe it is the last RS2 of this group in Michigan that hasn't been scrapped. (There are only a handful left in the country.) #469 is near operational too. Mr. Garrett is an ALCO fan and seems reasonable enough. Most of his work is marine, but he seems interested in saving this historic loco(s), but can no longer fork out $$$$ for storage. He is in business. He asked me to help him find a free home somewhere fairly close to their current location for now, then he will see what would work out for a permanent home in the future.

Mike Sullivan

(989) 619-2121

[hoborich]

Maybe I'm missing something here. How much does it cost to store a loco on a weed overgrown, unused track, that you already own?

[AARR]

466 is still around owned by MSO in White Pigeon, MI.

Good luck Mike.

[mikesullivan]

LSRC sold all ALCOs to Waymore Power of Illinois over a year ago. They have not moved #469, #974, #975 (maybe others) out of the Lake State yard. Mr. Garrett said it is too costly to move them to Illinois so he has and will scrap his ALCOs here in Michigan. He no longer wants to pay storage on these locos, so he will scrap them or if we can find a place with no storage cost, he will hold off and look at options of seeing them acquired by a historical group.

[LSRC]

These are the units I grew up watching every day, and it will make me very depressed to see get ripped to shreds, but I can't think of anybody who might be interested in storing the units for free, so there's not much we can do.

[Robert MacDowell]

Southern Michigan Railroad Society. Live track at Lenawee Junction in the middle of nowhere. All-shortline routing to anywhere in the state. They are a nonprofit railway museum whose mission is preserving railroad history.

[SD80MAC]

Getting it there would be the challenge.

[Larry G]

LSRC sold all ALCOs to Waymore Power of Illinois over a year ago. They have not moved #469, #974, #975 (maybe others) out of the Lake State yard. Mr. Garrett said it is too costly to move them to Illinois so he has and will scrap his ALCOs here in Michigan. He no longer wants to pay storage on these locos, so he will scrap them or if we can find a place with no storage cost, he will hold off and look at options of seeing them acquired by a historical group.

Caught the 975 in a daytime move through E Tawas in 2004 with a short worktrain.


LSRC (ex D&M) Alco 975
Alco 975 pulls work train through East Tawas to Baldwin Township.
Materials will be used to build new passing siding to replace E.Tawas Yard.

[GP9R]

LSRC sold all ALCOs to Waymore Power of Illinois over a year ago. They have not moved #469, #974, #975 (maybe others) out of the Lake State yard. Mr. Garrett said it is too costly to move them to Illinois so he has and will scrap his ALCOs here in Michigan. He no longer wants to pay storage on these locos, so he will scrap them or if we can find a place with no storage cost, he will hold off and look at options of seeing them acquired by a historical group.

Last I knew LSRC 1280, 181, 281, 381, and 3 MLWs are still owned by LSRC

[Clay320]

Any updates?

[CAT345C]

I suppose the 469 is going to fly on to the SMRS then, as the rail is not connected to any exsisting railroad. Nor will that track down there support any type of movement.

[Clay320]

I suppose the 469 is going to fly on to the SMRS then, as the rail is not connected to any exsisting railroad. Nor will that track down there support any type of movement.

The track south of the NS is connected to the ADBF, so yes it could supposedly get there by rail. But there's been almost no upkeep on that part since the Conrail days.

If we could we would, but it's just not gonna happen.

[GLC 392]

its not connected to the ADBF there is a 5 foot section or so mission not a big deal but still i wouldn't see them reconnecting it anytime soon

[AARR]

its not connected to the ADBF there is a 5 foot section or so mission not a big deal but still i wouldn't see them reconnecting it anytime soon

They had to reconnect some rail in Shepherd when they parked one of the AARR RS1's then they removed the connector rail when finished moving it

[Robert MacDowell]

its not connected to the ADBF there is a 5 foot section or so mission not a big deal but still i wouldn't see them reconnecting it anytime soon

That itself is not a problem. The rail is not missing, merely unbolted and "turned over". A poor man's derail.

This is commonly done by museums and heritage lines to comply with an FRA policy, which says most FRA regulations do not apply to railroads "not part of the general system (i.e. stand-alone lines with no freight traffic.)" http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/counse ... elines.pdf page 2.

FRA has since made clear that turning a rail is unnecessary, and it will allow those museums to interchange anything for their own use - historic equipment and cars of ballast or ties -- just not freight for hire.

Not sure if that's why SMRS did it but that's my hunch.

[CAT345C]

Do you guys have any sense of logistics? (more than railroad routing) By the time you pay to move that thing down there even it was possible, what is it going to do, sit down in the feild for 10 years until it gets to the point that railfans have stripped all the componets off it? It is better off that the owner scrap it, as it prolly already has been juding by the date. Plus, even if this all came into play, that crossing and rail would have to be re done to get the engine across it, just to derail on the other side. I would really doubt the parties that would be involved would allow a bunch of volunteers to reconnect the track. It would not be worth the time to send an experienced track gang out there for one movement such as that. Scrap the locomotive and let the owner get his money out of it.

[Sppengelly]

Cat345C, I would have to strongly disagree with you on just letting the locomotive be scrapped. If the owner is willing to work with museums and historical societies, people should take that opportunity. The historical society I am will is working on a plan to save the #469 or at least one of the DM alcos. I am sure there are many societies interested and we should be lucky that the owner of the locos at Waymore POwer may be willing to work with us. It is senseless for rail history fans to let this opportunity go to waste. If people are willing to work for it then that is great!

[Clay320]

Do you guys have any sense of logistics? (more than railroad routing) By the time you pay to move that thing down there even it was possible, what is it going to do, sit down in the feild for 10 years until it gets to the point that railfans have stripped all the componets off it? It is better off that the owner scrap it, as it prolly already has been juding by the date. Plus, even if this all came into play, that crossing and rail would have to be re done to get the engine across it, just to derail on the other side. I would really doubt the parties that would be involved would allow a bunch of volunteers to reconnect the track. It would not be worth the time to send an experienced track gang out there for one movement such as that. Scrap the locomotive and let the owner get his money out of it.

This is exactly why its not practical for the SMRS, the cost to move it plus fixing up Len Jct is to much for us. We wouldn't have much use keeping it, if anything it would have only be to buy time until another group could get it.

HOWEVER do not think that just because we're "a bunch of volunteers" that we are not "experienced" when it comes to track work. Many of our volunteers work for other railroads as their day jobs, some at class 1 railroads. We are more than capable in that department.

[ETR#101]

HOWEVER do not think that just because we're "a bunch of volunteers" that we are not "experienced" when it comes to track work. Many of our volunteers work for other railroads as their day jobs, some at class 1 railroads. We are more than capable in that department.

That's very true. With the restoration group I'm with, SOLRS, we have our own people that do the track work and like yours, many work on track gangs for RR's. And it's not like it's our own track, it is an active rail line.

Too bad about this ol' girl. I wish we had the funds to take her in, but on top of everything else, the move to Canada would just be too much for our group.


I hope someone can help. Has anyone tried reaching out to places out of state? Maybe they have more resources to make the move happen.

[AC60CW]

What about the Bluebird guys? I wonder if they would be interested in the ole girl. I don't have any contacts with them. But I know a few members on the board are actively involved with them.