Railroad plant auction July 28-30, Milton, PA

[Roger Cole]

A former ACF rail plant is being liquidated at the end of this month.  There is a WIDE variety of industrial rail-related tools and parts, some of which might be of interest to the WW&F Museum.  There are 3 GE 45-tonners (with side rods) that have been repowered with Cummings engines.  Don't know if it would be possible to re-gauge one from standard to 2-foot, but if nothing else, there would be a decent engine/generator, motors & trucks if the price was right.

http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44639

[Benjamin Richards]

There's an identical, privately-owned 45-tonner that runs regularly on the Bel-Del in NJ. It was rescued from the Gilbert generating station in Holland Twp, NJ where it was the in-plant locomotive while that plant was coal-fired.

Neat little engines, with the side rods.

[John Kokas]

Lots of parts that could be used on rebuilding the 23 ton GE.  Brake stand, prime mover, main generator, aux generator, traction motors, and trucks that may or may not be able to convert to 2 ft.  Probably worth a look over.

[Wayne Laepple]

I'm planning to attend the preview of this auction next week. There are several items of interest to the WW&F. In addition, I am inspecting some items for two other parties. Stay tuned.

[John Kokas]

Wayne,  PM me - sounds like something we can do together.

[Roger Cole]

Would there be enough room in the 23 tonner frame for the 45 tonner prime mover/generator?  Narrowing the 45 trucks or whether the traction motors would work/fit/be made to fit in the 23 would be another story.  I think a diesel with side rods would fit in with the WW&F.

PS  Who owns the 23 ton GE?  Is it even available?

[Wayne Laepple]

The Cummins engine at the auction is a replacement for the original Cummins engines as used in all the small GE locomotives, including the Whitin units which later went to Edaville. This engine was a spare for the 45-tonners at ACF and is in rebuilt condition, or so I am told. It will bolt up to the deck plate on the 23-tonner.

[Roger Cole]

Oh, I didn't notice the spare engine among the hundreds of lots up for auction.  I thought the WW&F was interested in one of the 45 ton locos for the parts to fix the 23 ton Whitin loco.

[John Kokas]

That could be possible but at an auction it all comes down to price and the complete units will probably go for a pretty penny.

[Roger Cole]

Hope your inspection this week goes well and you're able to be successful bidders on items you want for WW&F.  I notice the bidding has already started.

https://www.bidspotter.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/bscyello/catalogue-id-yellow10024/lot-d55301e9-2dc1-438a-8c64-abf3015b6093

[Mike Fox]

The board has yet to approve any spending for this that I am aware of, or at least I have not been approached. I would think it would need more than a concensus to get funding. The President can authorize up to $500, but I have a feeling it will be more than that. Of course if it is a donation, then by all means go ahead. 😁

[John Kokas]

Today Wayne and I attended the preview for the ACF - Milton auction.  There were several items viewed that would be of interest to us along with a couple of surprises.  Wayne will be filing a report with the appropriate WWF personnel to relay our findings.  All I can say is WOW and wish I had 100k to spare as there was enough equipment to replace our whole shop 10 times over.

One thing I will mention - if anyone is a professional welder, you need to bid on this.  The only place in Maine with more welders is probably Bath shipyard.

[Roger Cole]

Only 2 days to go before bidding ends.  The spare Cummins engine is currently at $125, but I expect that to go up before the hammer falls.

[Wayne Laepple]

John and I made the trip to Milton to inspect the items of interest. We did so, made our reports, and now it's up to others to decide whether to bid.

[Roger Cole]

Last-minute bidding drove the Cummins engine up from $425 to $1700.  I don't know anything about the value of such items, but the price seemed reasonable for a supposedly rebuilt engine and generator.  It'll be interesting to see who won it and what they plan to do with it.