I like the way you think, J.R. As "the locomotive" that wrecked WUS and then came back from the dead, I think it would make a magnificent piece of living history. Keep the Eisenhower Inauguration tied in as well.

Just call me "idea man". The story is that she was cut up into manageable sections and shipped back to Wilmington (my hometown and the home base for the electric locomotive fleet) and welded back together. I've never looked at her underside but she is supposed to have a fabricated steel frame vs the cast steel frame that the GG-1s we built with. Local legend is that Weldin V. Stumph, a PRR boiler maker and early Wilmington and Western volunteer was in charge of putting her back together.

Having heard the shaggy-dog tale of how the unit came to the B&ORM ... let's talk about B&ORM's desires and issues regarding the unit.

What offends them about it? Is there anything other than "away" that the B&ORM would prefer to see the unit become?

If they drove into work one day and found it looking handsome in Tuscan Red, would that change the landscape at all?

It sounds this GG1 has a story to tell.

As far as rusting body goes, you cut away the rust area, weld in a sheet metal and smooth/polish it to fit.

Does the museum have its own operable motive power?

To make your move to restore it you just have to start your drive, announce it, look for interested persons/ group to help and just flat out start on it. Make it a weekend saturday thing to do. slowly you'll get the engine back. We all talk about "sad shape" the restorationist will see that and take that as the -challenge-, you have to be visionary, or you get all the comments seen here in this thread...its a rusting hulk, scrap it...

It does no good if your a prez of a museum just listening to the razzamtaz of people, stick to your guns, and do it.

Restoration is NOT always about the money, its the people and dedication.

I can't speak for the Museum, but knowing what I do know, I doubt it would change their minds much. There is a possibility that if an outside group came along and said, "Here's our plan, here's our money, and here's our timeframe", they may get a warmer response. I can say though that they simply don't want it around at this point. They also have nowhere to keep it under cover if such a paint job should appear, so in a couple years, it's just gonna look shaggy again.

As I said before, the only way that thing is gonna survive is with a boatload of cash, and the people who have the cash know better than to bother with this in a "restoration" capacity". Something like Mr Gears suggested above is about all the effort that will ever get put into this locomotive. And with all the other Gs around, that is as it should be.
Russ

While it is true that preservation isn't always about money, it does suck up more than its fair share of ducketts. Last weekend, the CRHS acquired a "free" flat car that cost us $7,200 to move and we haven't restored a single bolt yet.

If you wanted to cosmetically restore the unit, it'll take a heck of a lot of time and money. Sure it -can- be done, the question is should it. Would the funds spent to cosmetically restore this one unit that has no where to be properly kept and displayed be better spent on other GG1s like 4800 (class engine, only riveted unit, only one to wear CR paint and bicentennial paint), which sits outside or the GG1 thats in Harrisburg station in its natural habitat (under wire and in a town it served frequently), or the G at the RRMPA, which would most likely end up in the new roundhouse being built there? These three examples are in better shape and for the cost of the '76, could all be brought up to A1 standard. There's a whole other thread about being choosy, and if the decision was mine, the three units listed would be in line for the cash and labor before the '76. Sometimes you have to take the emotion out of the equation and make the most logical decisions.

HI all

This thread is going to go on and on , on the what Ifs and what should be , the B&O museum has too get Dead Center and make a decision , on what to do with the locomotive . Basically the same as anything , it comes down too money , the effort to be put in and the time and help into the engine to make it a decent display for the General Public , rather than and eyesore . Maybe the museum is trying too get a grant from the Government for a cosmetic display ? / again the museum is the only one that can reply to the question ?

Tom,

A guy named Weldin did the welding? Love it!

JR is right, in a fleet with very few stars or unique units, '76 is one with extra marketing value.

I was sad she didn't have a home in NJ. I still have the dream of a G plinthed behind glass and all lit up somewhere along the NEC (Hamilton, NJ would be a great spot as she could join the existing artwork).

Dreamer...

No they don't. They can also continue to let it exist and do nothing about it.

Armchair quarterbacks don't get to make any such demands. To do so is misguided and presumptuous.

Since it is seen by the public I would suggest as a short term solution to get some black paint and paint the grafitti out touch up the paint a bit and maybe add a simple PRR or PC logo just to make it look a bit better.

Also, anyone have any pictures of the GG1 (4877?) that was just restored in Boonton for the URHS collection (or any of the other restorations there)?

Sure... Here are two views from November 2011...Boonton, NJ. One of each side.

No more "Big Red".

WOW! That 4877 is beautiful. Way to go!

I often that a GG1 displayed outside the Wilmington Shops on the NEC would be most appropriate. It would take a group or organization working very closely with Amtrak to make that happen. Which GG1 and how much $$$$ would be the question. Would have been a nice nod to Amtrak 40th.

Let the thread go on indefinitely! All good opinions and ideas solicited, provided we don't spiral into name calling. I still think there's a place for this particular intact GG-1.

Museums collect, preserve and teach.
I would tally the movement costs to "collection", not to "preservation".
That makes the tally so far $7200 collection costs, $0 preservation costs.

Really? I've always wondered about that "heck of a lot of money" business. It sounds like a heck of a lot of monkey business.

Time, sure. The heart of painting is prep, and prep takes work. But work takes volunteers, not cash, unless you have some sort of funding source I'd really like to know about :) that lets you hire out the heavy lifting :)

I've done a few critters. Generally my prep is blast to silver metal, or wire-wheel/grind/sand to gray-brown then douse it with phosphoric acid. I don't paint over rust. Then I like to use West System for fairing, fiberglass and gluing. Awlgrip for primer and topcoat. We're talking the "good stuff".

And even then, my material costs on a critter are around $500 give or take. Pretend a GG1 is 4x bigger, that's still only $2000.

So what else drives the price into the "heck of a lot" range?