Re: 481’s Builder’s Plate For Sale
| June 24, 2022 01:07PM |
|
If you 'knew a guy' with the railroads, the right guy, you could nab what you wanted. A friend of mine has the number plate off a N&W Y class loco that was sitting on a scrap line and the guy he got it from greased the skids with the guys in the yard and was told to go grab what he wanted. H estopped once he had as much as he could carry. Sadly, he passed away and his wife apparently tossed some of it, not realizing what it was all worth.
That happened all the time. And if you knew someone really high up the food chain, you could nab all kinds of neat stuff. I know a guy who as the smokebox door, headlight and number plate (all mounted on the door) of a loco which actually later was preserved, with the missing parts from another loco from that class. The museum that one is at, I bet they have no idea that's not the original stuff up front. He was a golfing buddy for a VP with that RR (and yes, I'm being intentionally obscure as only this guy's closest friends have a clue he had it in his basement).
As distasteful as some of you find it, that's the reality. If the RR handed it over to someone, it became private property for as long as the current owner wants it as such.
All these reactions sound familiar to me:
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout
That happened all the time. And if you knew someone really high up the food chain, you could nab all kinds of neat stuff. I know a guy who as the smokebox door, headlight and number plate (all mounted on the door) of a loco which actually later was preserved, with the missing parts from another loco from that class. The museum that one is at, I bet they have no idea that's not the original stuff up front. He was a golfing buddy for a VP with that RR (and yes, I'm being intentionally obscure as only this guy's closest friends have a clue he had it in his basement).
As distasteful as some of you find it, that's the reality. If the RR handed it over to someone, it became private property for as long as the current owner wants it as such.
All these reactions sound familiar to me:
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.