This sickens me. I know I've looked at that site within the past 2 weeks and did not see these cars listed, at least that I recall, and I think the interior photos would have caught my attention. It was apparently a very short-lived listing, if they were actually formally listed with that broker at all, and my guess is they weren't. That's about all I'll say about that, except I know of an instance where no broker contract exists and another where the car owner apparently doesn't even have the car for sale, yet it still wound up listed. Call it "trolling for potential buyers."

Maybe the owners didn't know what to do with them and finally decided to just get rid of them. Not everyone is as in-tune with the desirability or potential future of a particular piece of railroad equipment as we are. Maybe they just needed to get some fast cash.

That said, it sure would have been nice to have had a shot at them. I'm surprised there was no earlier mention here of these cars. How did they slip away under the radar? Did anyone get a chance to look at them before they were cut up? The ACF C&NW car would have been an aluminum car.

Apologies, Les. I admired the Golden Banquet diner a few years ago and never imagined the owner would scrap it. What a waste. Very, very frustrating news.

These cars were caught in a maze of bankruptcies, forecloseures, bad loans, lawsuits, etc. by the owner of the Gas City chain of stores named McEnery. You can do a search and find a long list of articles on this topic - here is a good one:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ys-mcenery

I know various banks have been working to foreclose on his properties - this has been in the local media. Sounds like one of them finally won in their day in court and cleaned out the property.

I don't recall these cars being offered to anyone before being scrapped. They were not on live rail, and were in a hilly spot not close to any live rail.

Chris.

Unfortunately, as we all know, even giving them away could take years before someone willing to take them and arrange for the costly move can be found. A museum (IRM, Monticello, maybe a few others) could possibly step to the plate quickly IF they were offered and IF they wanted them. Maybe even if scrap value must be paid owing to the ongoing bankruptcy. If they were never approached then that avenue is closed. It's not like museums can be constantly monitoring the status of every car nearby.

If the bank is trying to prepare the property for sale quickly, sees the cars as a detriment rather than an asset, maybe they just went through the motions of listing them for sale, did not swiftly obtain serious interest from someone able to move them quickly, and decided to take the easy way out, gaining a few thousand dollars in the process. More when the track is taken up.

Likewise, I would have thought IC Office Car 2 would have been a nice addition to Monticello. But I have no idea if they were approached. The owner's representative only said that they reached out all over and no one wanted it. (FYI steel-sheathed wood car) The land it was sitting on was being sold and the car exists no more.

This long discussion is entirely based on assumptions and innuendo, which may or may not be true. Since I like to know facts, I contact Sterling Rail and got this message back:


Now back to our random projections based on perceptions and misinformation.

Steve -

Thanks for posting the TRACK ONE Menu. I have my doubts that a photo of the Rock Island cars at the restaurant operation there at La Salle Street Station will show up, but we'll see.

Les

Excuse me, but you're mucking up the waters even further here.

WHAT rumor is not true?

That the cars are being scrapped? That the cars were posted on Sterling Rail? That the cars were tied up in legal problems/whatever that precluded a quick and easy deal? That IRM only wants stuff from three railroads????

I honestly don't have a proverbial "dog in this fight;" I'm just a huge fan of clear and unambiguous writing and communications (which is why I hate politics so much, I guess)............

Well, it would appear that something got scrapped there unless someone posted completely unrelated photos for some perverse reason. The gravel visible does correspond to the harness-racing track on the property. (McEnery is said to have trained horses there.)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/9896 ... 2bee_b.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3720/9896 ... baeb_b.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5446/9896 ... b42e_b.jpg

Sterling may not even know.

Steve

???
Not sure who "o anderson" is, but if you are reading this, can you explain your post above? What exactly did you ask Sterling Rail? And please be specific: what misinformation has been posted in this thread? Please correct us if we have posted anything incorrect.

Thanks.

For what it is worth, the cars do not appear to be listed on the Sterling Rail website anymore and the links at the satet of this thread now go to blank pages.

Jason Midyette

o anderson's query tipped them off. At least we have a few photos saved. I wonder if I have more buried in a browser cache.

Steve

I had simply asked the gentleman if the cars were scrapped or if they were a rumor. I am sorry that his assertion that it was indeed a rumor was inaccurate. I would imagine a party acting in the interest of a client to sell equipment would actually maintain levels of communication that would preclude such problems, and try to sell the equipment at a lower than unreasonable price or at least notify a community that scrapping was imminent. I guess that was over expectations of the situation, on my part, and I am sorry to assert wrongly of others, yet I did not see earlier any proof that the cars were indeed scrapped I really want to know before discussion gets too long in the tooth. It is a sad outcome for those nice museum-worthy cars.

The linked photos of the wreckage loaded on the trucks appear to be of the ex-C&NW flat-sided car. Is it possible that one was scrapped and the fluted RI diner was saved?

Wikipedia has this Golden State consist from 1950. A pretty big train at 16 cars.

Nine sleepers (highlighted in orange), three coaches (highlighted in red), and one diner (Golden Banquet). That dining car staff was busy.

1. SP RPO 5067 (Heavyweight car with 6 wheel trucks)
2. RI Baggage Dormitory 6014 (Heavyweight car with 6 wheel trucks)
3. RI Coach "Golden Harp"
4. RI Coach "Golden Flute"
5. RI Coach "Golden Trumpet"
6. RI Coffee Shop "Golden Goblet"
7. RI 6-6-4 Sleeper "Golden Locket"
8. SP 6-6-4 Sleeper "Golden Canyon"
9. RI 4-4-2 Sleeper "Golden Desert"
10. RI 4-4-2 Sleeper "Golden River"
11. RI Diner "Golden Banquet"
12. SP 4-4-2 Sleeper "Golden Cavern"
13. SP 4-4-2 Sleeper "Golden Rock"
14. SP 10-6 Sleeper "Golden Mountain"
15. RI 12 Double Bedroom Sleeper "Golden Ray"
16. RI Sleeper Lounge Observation "Golden Vista"

Fingers crossed but don't get your hopes up. My basis is that both are gone from the Sterling site.

Steve