Ghost of 4450 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Poor, defenseless?
>
> Good God, you people really are lunatics.
>
> You of all people, Margaret, should understand
> just how much time and MONEY it takes to make a
> restoration happen. You can't save EVERYTHING.
> 4450 wasn't worth it a decade ago at Hunter's
> Point. But Portola's supposed to sink time and
> money into, just in case somebody might come along
> some day and want to restore it? Instead of any
> of the dozens of other SD-9s in better shape? Or
> any of the dozens more worthy candidates in
> Portola?
>
> Yeah, OK. Right.

I was just expressing my affection for the 4450.

And I never said that I expected the WPRM to restore her --
just that I wish that she had been left alone so someone
somewhere might have had the chance to restore her --
because of her history as an SP commute-system locomotive.

She didn't look that bad to me -- just faded paint and some
rust. But, then, I had not been up to Portola to see her since
she was donated to the WPRM, so I really have to admit I did
not know what she looked like up close just before she was
scrapped..

Were her prime mover, generator, alternator, and appliances --
and her traction motors all in bad shape? Or was the main
problem her shell? I am only asking because I don't know, and
I kept reading that she was in terrible shape, and I don't know
exactly what that meant. I do know that those nasty copper
thieves had stolen most of her copper (wiring, cables) while
she sat in Hunters Point, so replacing all that would, indeed
have made restoration to operation much more expensive.

All I was hoping for was that she could have had some sort of
cosmetic restoration done on her somewhere at some time in
the future, and not by the WPRM, and found an appropriate
home. I did read that the WPRM had tried for 7 years to find
a decent home for her -- which I really appreciate -- but failed.
The WPRM, I read, even offered to give the 4450 to a group in
Colfax, at no charge, even for transportation, but, for some reason,
which I never found out, the group in Colfax refused the WPRM's
wonderful offer.

And I know the 4450 did not fit in with the WP focus of the WPRM,
which I understand, but I was hoping that she could have been left
there until another home could have been found. Was she in the way?
Did the few feet of space she occupied present a problem?

(The other surviving SP SD-9s were never used to pull commute trains.
Yes, one should be saved, and, yes, I am well aware that it is now even
harder than ever to find good homes for old locomotives.)

I'd appreciate any answers anyone can give me.

Margaret

PS: Is there a very young version of Doyle McCormack, who might grow up
and want to restore an SD-9? I don't know. I suppose such a person
would be happy to be able to get his or her hands on any surviving
SP SD-9, not just the 4450.

PPS -- I do NOT agree with Drew. The WPRM should NOT have its
tax-exempt status pulled for scrapping the 4450. The law is
much more complex that what Drew knows.