Yup.
The real deal.
While we were at a day out with Thomas this afternoon, I noticed two old E-units in Rock Island Line colors sitting on a siding. I asked a couple of guys working with Midland Railroad what the story was on them. (Midland RR sponsored Thomas today) Apparently they were running them for awhile but they were privately owned engines. The owner has decided to sell so they had to be parked to prevent any possibility of an accident. MLRR made an offer and they were refused as have been several other potential buyers. The owners are asking $100,00 for both engines firm.
Sounds like a great deal at first but there are some drawbacks.
1) They have sat long enough that no one is sure if they still run.
2) It would probably be another $100,000 at least to restore them.
3) Santa Fe will not let them pass on their line so whomever buys them would have to haul them out by truck.
It's really sad to see these two pieces of history just sitting and turning to rust.. It's too bad Midland couldn't get enough donations to pay the $100,000 the owners are asking and get them running again. Of course, if anyone else is interested in buying them privately and saving them, that would be cool too.
Pics Engine 1:
The real deal.
While we were at a day out with Thomas this afternoon, I noticed two old E-units in Rock Island Line colors sitting on a siding. I asked a couple of guys working with Midland Railroad what the story was on them. (Midland RR sponsored Thomas today) Apparently they were running them for awhile but they were privately owned engines. The owner has decided to sell so they had to be parked to prevent any possibility of an accident. MLRR made an offer and they were refused as have been several other potential buyers. The owners are asking $100,00 for both engines firm.
Sounds like a great deal at first but there are some drawbacks.
1) They have sat long enough that no one is sure if they still run.
2) It would probably be another $100,000 at least to restore them.
3) Santa Fe will not let them pass on their line so whomever buys them would have to haul them out by truck.
It's really sad to see these two pieces of history just sitting and turning to rust.. It's too bad Midland couldn't get enough donations to pay the $100,000 the owners are asking and get them running again. Of course, if anyone else is interested in buying them privately and saving them, that would be cool too.
Pics Engine 1: