Jim,<p>The difference between Pen Argyl, PA and Phillipsburg, Nj (besides 20 miles) is that Pen Argyl is a remarkably intact historic facility with shops, roundhouse and support buildings plus many remnants of the yard.<p>P'burg is a historic site, to be sure, and the best choice for a museum in NJ however it is vacant lot.<p>Pen Argyl has something authentic to restore.<p>P'burg needs full replication.<p>That is whay Pen Argyl makes such an attractive museum candidate.<p>Did not mean to knock P'burg, as the location is great, but the assets existing cannot touch Pen Argyl.<p>Patch<br>



MrPatchTown@aol.com

What you had talked about was the turntable being removed and Pen Argyl could be a museum. I know a lot of the buildings are there. With the LVRR Sayre Shop and the CNJ E-Port Shop gone you hope that we keep the Pen Argyl Shop. The thing is who has the money to save it as a museum. The NJ museum cannot move to PA, The PA Railroad Museum will not move and the same for Steamtown. Conrail had cut the rail link and the only way to get rail displays to it is by truck. I can see unloading a locomotive at the site of the Bangor engine house and moving it up that big hill to Pen Argyl. By the way the Bangor Engine house is gone. <p>The turntable was to be ripped out and sold for scrap like the L&NE steam locomotives. Now we have some one who is working on saving it! You know it looks like you do not like that. With out some one coming in with the money to turn the shop in to a museum the only hope of saving the turntable is the NJ museum. If we would have had some one who would have saved the L&NE steam locomotives that had been turned on the turntable. That would have been great.<br><br>



lvrr@enter.net

Jim,<p>There is an LNE 0-6-0 at the Illinois Railway Museum. I agree it would be nice to see an LNE engine on an LNE turntable bridge... just nicer in an LNE town, that's all.<p>I hasten to disagree... the NJ Museum concept is flawed in one way... they have forced it to be in NJ and NJ has no siginificant rail facilities left from the steam days that are not vacant fields.<p>It would be wonderful to live in a world where historic presevration actually lead politics and not the other way around. <p>P'burg will be a great site given its proximity to Bethelhem's Smithsonian and Easton's canal museum... but that's the rub. Rebuilding the CNJ to connect all three would be a great move.<p>Youa re right in that saving a piece of Pen Argyl is better than nothing, but given how intact it is, I will alwyas be saddened to see a museum in P'burg and eventually another empty lot in Pen Argyl.<p>If there were any justice, NJ and PA would combine efforts on a regional museum at Pen Argyl, but that of course would require vision of the future, and not border wars. It's just a dream.<p>Patch<p><p><br><br>