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The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got stranger..
http://rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41659
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Author:  jayrod [ Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Hopefully, the scrap dealer mentioned was astute enough to hang onto some of that material and that any video captured by WMSR is useful.

We also use deer cams strategically placed and moved often to make it harder not to be detected. Very few people know where they are at any given time.

Author:  Chris Webster [ Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

A February 15, 2018 article on WCBC Radio says that an arrest warrant has been served on a former employee of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad: Arrest Made In Connection With Large Theft

Author:  Charlie [ Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Maybe they should start a Gofundme campaign saying that if $600,000 isn't raised by the end of March, the locomotive will be scrapped...

Author:  bigjim4life [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

I'm just curious - using publicly available information (that anyone with a computer can legally pull up) - why would you hire and keep employed someone with this many court records on file?

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Author:  rem1028 [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Exactly Jim. Since joining the full time work force nearly 20 years ago, every company I've worked for has conducted a routine background check prior to hiring, even checking driving records. This is SOP these days....WMSR seriously dropped the ball here.

Author:  co614 [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

A critically important issue here is that for whatever reason(s) Kevin Rice ( CMO-Steam) and the entire steam qualified staff have been let go or have quit. Even if they somehow find the needed $600,000.00 they say will finish the job ( very unlikely unless the state comes up with it IMHO) whose going to do the work and sign off for it on the Federal forms??

Sorry to say but the chances of the 1309 being under steam any time soon are nil.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

Author:  Rob Gardner [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Do we have any idea if the crown brasses and other items he made off with been recovered?

Rob Gardner

Author:  Charlie [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 7:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Also, do we know the monetary value of the 1309 parts that were stolen? I believe the $100,000 figure was a preliminary estimate before an inventory was taken.

Author:  hamster [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

There was an article in today's Trains Newswire about the 1309 theft. Gary Bensman was interviewed and he indicated that much of the brass and bronze that was stolen has been recovered but damaged beyond further use. Apparently the thief pressed the brasses out of 8 driving boxes destroying the brasses in the process.

This was no "smash and grab". The perpetrator had to have been working hard for a long time.

Author:  train guy [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Maybe they should have left 1309 at the B&O museum, at least it was a complete locomotive then. Now it's just another overambitious restoration project, like a few others, that may remain a pile of parts for years or forever.

Author:  Dave Lewandoski [ Sat Feb 24, 2018 10:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

and put the money spent into returning 734

Author:  jayrod [ Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

hamster wrote:
Apparently the thief pressed the brasses out of 8 driving boxes destroying the brasses in the process.

This was no "smash and grab". The perpetrator had to have been working hard for a long time.

I'm am constantly amazed at the amount of time and effort expended by criminals for minimal, if any, short term gain when that industriousness could be channeled into something so much more productive. And to think you wouldn't eventually get caught....

Author:  Rick Rowlands [ Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

jayrod wrote:
hamster wrote:
Apparently the thief pressed the brasses out of 8 driving boxes destroying the brasses in the process.

This was no "smash and grab". The perpetrator had to have been working hard for a long time.

I'm am constantly amazed at the amount of time and effort expended by criminals for minimal, if any, short term gain when that industriousness could be channeled into something so much more productive. And to think you wouldn't eventually get caught....


I am amazed that there apparently was no supervisor at the WMSR that would notice any of this going on. Pressing brasses out of boxes takes TIME. It isn't like he showed up one night and filled the trunk up and left. Any supervisor worth his wages would have noticed brasses going missing from the driving boxes, or machines appearing to have been recently used when there was no need to use them etc.

This criminal has been caught, but he is unlikely to face any real repercussions from this. More than likely he has no real assets to confiscate, no job to garnish wages from, and putting him in jail for a period of time allows him to live free without working for a while.

Author:  co614 [ Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

Let's face it, the only prayer this project has is for the state & county to agree to come up with the $ 600k the WMSR say is needed to finish it. If I were the state I'd insist on getting a quote from an established steam restoration contractor ( who has a track record of successful restorations ) as to what it will take to get her back under steam as my guess is that the current mgt. has lost its credibility.

If that long shot doesn't happen then she'll join the 1361 ( exhibit A ) as exhibit ( B ) as how to NOT do a mainline steam restoration.

Sad but true.

Ross Rowland

Author:  Dave Lewandoski [ Sat Feb 24, 2018 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The strange saga of C&O 1309 restoration just got strang

I was thinking the same thing Ross.....either let Strasburg have it in the beginning...or don't get ride of all your experienced trustworthy team.

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