Movement of Friends of 35 equipment today (3/27/06)

Hi All,

While I do receive the newsletter of the Friends of # 35, I don't see where it is scheduled to be completed and back on the rails in excursion etc. service. Anyone out there that can give us a calculated Guesstimate ??? Seems to me that they have spread themselves out and are tackling many jobs at once. Also, how is the money holding out, or is that the gating factor ?

You have to hand it to Friends of 35. They have a narrowed scope of projects at one time, get the work done, or at least settled so it can be finished within reasonable time, and a site being developed. My only fear is that they don't have enough land at Oyster Bay, and that is a critical acquisition. They have a historic station structure and defined plans for it, as well as a potential direct track linkage to the LIRR, though not yet hooked up.
I would like to see them move their collection out of Garden City and get it all over to the Bay as soon as land is made ready.
As far as #35 is concerned, they are doing the right thing with evaluations and reassembly. I think (my opinion) that "Friends of 35" is overlooked in the Forum and maybe that's a good thing for them! I would like to see more financial and muscular support thrown their way. I have found them to be, as a group, dedicated, active, progressive, and directed. My membership renewal is sitting (neglected) on my desk at work. My bad.

The LIRR is taking out the switch & crossing at Commercial Ave. Roadwork is planned & the only use of the siding is for Fo35, so there's no justification to keep the crossing. The switch is considered a safety issue so it's coming out.

The equipment will be stored near Endo Blvd temporarily (how long that is is a guess). The hack #50 will be moved soon to Mineola and the rest of the equipment will be going to OB as soon as there's room. The area around the turntable has been cleaned & regraded. A section of track was installed by the group for the wooden hack. Turntable work has to be done by a contractor due to its historic status.

This group has plans & rough schedule for each piece of equipment. Priority is given to what's at risk. For example, the wood caboose in OB will be getting work done first. #35 is still being evaluated. Work/plans for the station is going on behind the scenes. There's a lot of coordination with the Town of OB, Village of OB & Nassau Co. They have a plan for the whole OB waterfront & the RR museum is part of it. As usual, a volunteer group working with limited $$ & manpower & the help of local governments goes slow. Any support we can give helps.

If you find out when the coaches are going to be moved, please give us advance notice. It would be great to get some shots of it going past Mill Neck "station".

I heard they're going to bring Loco 35 to Mineola to celebrate mineola's centenial this summer. Are they going to use any of the hacks or coaches in the display for the celebration too?

It's the hack, #50, that's going to Mineola.

Where in mineola?

I just went buy today and shot some clear exterior shots from comerical ave, along with the last shot of that sideing.

"MSBA" got a NEW drive way.

NIMBY, go see the buses on the tracks looks cool. some one told me they were makeing them remaining diesels into "hirailers"

Moving #35 to Mineola? That sounds a bit far-fetched, and a bad use of money that could otherwise be used to rebuild her. BTW, I sent my check into "Friends of 35" today. I suggest anyone reading this pick one of the restoration groups on Long Island and contribute what you can to get two great Belpaire steamers back in service.

Hi Richard,

Already done.

By the way weren't you the one that told me of the break up between Eydie Adams and Pete Candoli ? I tried to find out what happened and couldn't, so, could you fill me in on the details ? Can't believe he almost bankrupted her.

35 is NOT being moved to Mineola. Hack #50 is being placed in one of the parks in the village for Mineola's Centennial Celebration. It will be there through the end of the year.

Joe, afaik, 35 is not ready to have boiler work done. Her boiler has been evaluated as have her other pieces. "Friends" is considering which steps to take to to reasonably reassemble her so as to have a useful exhibit and not hinder future rebuild plans. One step at a time. The goal of "Friends" is to eventually have an operable G5s, and to make that transition with funds in hand for each completed phase.

Thanks to Richard_Glueck and alcoAL for keeping things in check with this topic. Rumors and speculation seem to be the biggest enemies we have on this site and you guys have done a great job of keeping the facts straight on this thread.

To all, the informaiton provided by these two gentlemen is accurate. The relocation of these cars was a necessary one, not a desired one. The last thing we wanted to do was to remove the cars from the relatively secure location they were in and put them in some obscure location. Unfortunately, The LIRR is a business and certainly cannot justify tax dollars to reconstruct a crossing for a bunch of privately owned cars that are going nowhere anytime soon. Hence the relocation to avoid being landlocked.

Looking at the bigger picture, one needs to realize that this is the last siding in existance on the Garden Mitchel Secondary. Truly a loss to railroad history, but more importantly, the loss of the last place on the Secondary to store this equipment. In essence, we are now on borrowed time before the LIRR looks to have this equipment removed from the property completely. The site in Oyster Bay is nowhere near ready to receive the cars and we do not yet have the manpower or finances to get it ready. This is the sad reality that faces us at this point.

So, how do we save and secure the cars for future restoration and display? In short, we are doing all we can with what we have. What we need is more members and a lot more money. We are prepared to document exactly what needs to be done, how long it will take and what the associated costs will be. If anyone can be of help with this issue, please contact me directly at [email protected]. The same issues face the station building in Oyster Bay. Don't misunderstand what I am saying, these things are not in immediate danger. But to keep moving forward, we need everyone's help.

PLEASE do not speculate on this issue in this thread. If you have a genuine suggestion or a question, please contact me directly. In the meantime, help us out by keeping an eye on our equipment, supporting our efforts and, if possible, getting involved. For details on this, see our website at www.LIRR35.org.
Steve Torborg, President
Friends of Locomotive #35 Inc.