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Page Contents:See also: Photos of #18 and #29 in Colorado.
- 3-29-02 - EBT #18 and #29 to be Auctioned.
- 7-26-02 - EBT #18 and #29 purchased by FEBT.
- 9-28-02 - EBT #18 and #29 return to the EBT.
- 5-18-02 - EBT #18 and #29 Displayed at 2002 Fall Event.
- 8-1-05 - EBT #18 and #29 FEBT Acquires Lease on EBT Paint Shop.
See also: EBT Cars #18, #29 Arrive from Colorado at Bill Adam's EBT Pictorial.
See also: Bring Us Home - EBT #18 and #29 at the FEBT Site.
Left: EBT Baggage-Express car #29.
Right: EBT Combine car #18.
EBT coach-baggage combine car #18 and baggage-express car #29 are to be auctioned off as part of the liquidation of the Sundown and Southern Railroad, located between Fort Lupton and Hudson Colorado.
Unlike #8, #14, #15 and #20 currently at the EBT which were purchased second or third hand by the EBT in the 1900's and 1910's, #18 appears to have originated at the EBT and may have been built there. It was on the roster by the time #8, #14 and #15 were purchased in 1916.
#18 was sold by the EBT in 1954 to the Northwoods Railroad, a planned tourist operation in Michigan that never went into operation. #29 was similarly sold to the Northwoods in 1956. After years of inactivity both were subsequently sold at auction, along with the rest of the Northwoods collection. Both cars were purchased by Don Drawer for use on his planned Sundown and Southern Railroad and were moved to Colorado. The S&S lies on the plains of eastern Colorado north of Denver. It included many pieces of Denver and Rio Grande Western narrow gauge equipment, acquired when the n.g. lines were being phased out, as well as South American narrow gauge equipment and some miscellaneous others.
After a number of setbacks, the S&S failed to become the 'railroading camp' it was invisioned, and Drawer himself suffered prolonged health problems leading to his death in 2000. The equipment was largely left to the elements during that time and deteriorated somewhat, though not nearly so much as they would have in an eastern climate.
After Drawer's death, the collection became the property of the surviving members of the Drawer family including Don's son Brian. Although initially unwilling to sell any of the collection, the necessary settlement of the Drawer estate, including debt incurred during the setup of the S&S, necessitated the sale of the collection as well as the property on which it resides.
First rumored in late summer of 2001, the pending sale became general knowledge in early 2002 and was formally announced by an auction notice ad placed in the April 2002 issue of Trains magazine on p. 71.
The Wave of the Auction future since 1976
Pacific Auction Companies
COMPLETE NARROW GAUGE
RAILROAD AUCTION
NO MINIMUM - NO RESERVE!!!
Saturday July 20, 2002 @ 10:00 am,
Near Hudson, Colorado (1/2 hour to
Denver) SELLING THE ENTIRE RAIL-
ROAD KNOWN AS THE SUNDOWN
AND SOUTHERN RAILROAD.
THE REAL ESTATE IS UNDER CONTRACT AND
ALL ITEMS MUST BE SOLD TO SETTLE
THE DRAWER ESTATE. THE SUNDOWN & SOUTHERN
HAD BEEN SET UP AS AN OLD WEST TOWN. ALL
BUILDINGS WILL ALSO BE INCLUDED.
A partial listing - All items are in varying
condition - Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive and tender, Rogers 5
ton switch engine, 2 civil war vintage Broad top's,
Cuscatlan presidential car, 21 Freight cars including a rare
D&RGW refer car, caboose, 50,000 gallon water tank from
Alamosa, 70' power turntable, 3.5 miles of track and ties,
switch yard and 19 (+-) switches, plus all manner of tools
related to the railroad. BUILDINGS INCLUDE- The late
1800's Adams County territorial jail complete w/strap iron
cells, Ca. 1900 print shop w/presses, Late Victorian parsons
cottage, Early 1900's gas station, Small store front, personal
residence of "Rattlesnake Kate" of Co. lore, Many unlisted
items. TERMS: CASH OR GOOD CHECK DAY OF
SALE, 10% Buyers PremiumPacific Auction Companies
303-772-7676
Check our website as pacificauction.com for info.And so the wheel turns. Multiple narrow gauge operations have expressed interest in all or parts of the collection and reportedly offers were made prior to the announcement of the auction. Some loose parts of the collection are similarly reported to have been sold off to unknown buyers, possibly collectors, resulting in the withdrawal of at least one bid. With the announcement of the auction, a one-time, final method of selling the collection has been established. It is unclear from the announcement whether the collection is being auctioned as a whole or piece by piece, though the latter seems most likely.
For their part the Friends of the East Broad Top have been investigating the possibility of acquiring #18 and #29 from the collection and returning them to Pennsylvania. Costs for transportation have been found to be in excess of $10,000 per car. A decision has yet to be made as to whether FEBT can financially sustain an acquisition of the two cars.
Of the eight EBT passenger cars known to exist, these two are the last without a secure future. In addition to the four still at the EBT, combine #16, a sister to #18, is under cover in New Jersey and is under a 99 year lease to FEBT for restoration. Coach #5 is in fine, though modified, condition at the Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. #5 has been confirmed to NOT be for sale.
After a substantial fundraising effort, Friends of the East Broad Top successfully bid and won the auction of the two EBT passenger cars that were part of the liquidation of the Sundown and Southern Railroad in Colorado. The bid prices for the cars were $6,000 for #18 and $7,000 for #29. There was an additional 10% buyers fee to cover the auction for a total purchase price of $14,300.
Additional funds must be spent to brace the cars for transport and the actual transportation of the cars to Pennsylvania. This is expected to exceed the purchase price, although the total amount is not yet known. Once the cars arrive in Pennsylvania they will be offloaded into the EBT's Rockhill Furnace yard and stored there. Some protection must be provided to protect the cars from the moister Pennsylvania weather.
This project is a substantial expense for FEBT and it does not even consider the restoration costs of the cars as yet. An initial fundraising campaign by FEBT, between the decision of the FEBT board to persue the cars in April and the auction in July, produced sufficient funds to make the project realistic, but additional funds are needed to cover the moving costs and work toward the protection and restoration of these priceless pieces of the East Broad Top Railroad's heritage.
Please send your contributions for this initiative to FEBT restoration fund treasurer Nancy E. Jacqmin at the following address:
Friends of the East Broad Top
Restoration Fund Treasurer
513 Shady Avenue, No. 12
Pittsburgh PA 15206-4447
After about five weeks of arrangements, preparations, loading and moving, the two passenger cars have returned to their home of old, the East Broad Top. One of the most respected railcar movers in the industry, Venezia Enterprises, Inc., was contracted by FEBT to prepare and transport the cars. After initial travel to Fort Lupton, CO early in August to appraise the move and several days prep time to protect the cars during the move, the cars departed August 20, 2002 and arrived at the EBT September 5, 2002.
Venezia, although expensive by comparison to other movers, were the most highly recommended and respected mover. Also, they were the only mover of the several contacted who intended to brace and cover the cars for the trip to help insure they remained intact during the trip.
Photos of the loading can be found on the Bring Us Home - EBT #18 and #29 page at the Friends of the EBT website. Photos of the unloading at Rockhill Furnace can be seen at Bill Adams' EBT Pictorial.
The cars were gently moved into the Car Shop for temporary storage. Photos of them there will be added to this site soon. The cars will be viewable during the EBT's 2002 Fall Event. The recent sale of the three GE diesels has opened up enough storage space for the cars.
Plans call for the construction of an FEBT owned building in the yard for permanent storage and restoration of the cars, as where the EBT will need the Car Shop for its own storage. The details of the building and its location are still being worked out between FEBT and the EBT. Also, several professional groups in the antique railcar rebuilding business are being considered to be brought in to evaluate the cars and to formulate a plan for their restoration. The amount and ratio of professional to voluneer labor needed will be determined.
The cars themselves arrived at Rockhill without any more damage than they had when they left Colorado, a testament to the safe move. They are still encapsulated from the trip and will remain so until at least next spring. Both cars have substantial issues, the most serious of which is a failed sill in each car. Both roofs are severely deteriorated and there are some cracks in certain truck components. Overall, however, the cars are in good enough condition to be gently moved about on their own wheels until they reach their restoration location.
Cost of acquisition of the cars was $7,000 and $6,000 respectivally, and with the 10% auctioneers fee the total purchase price was $14,300. The cost of the move was $38,000, up $3,500 from the initial estimate. This was due to the fact that a crane was needed to move #29 as it was too close to the turntable pit. The auctioneers had said they would move it clear but did not. The $34,500 estimate included the use of three trucks (two for the cars and one for all the loose parts), transport and oversize fees, loading and unloading labor, materials to protect the cars during shipment, and installation of that material. As of the move time, the FEBT campaign to raise funds to save the cars was about $10,000 short of expenses.
In addition to recouping expenditures, FEBT will need funds to construct a restoration facility for the cars, as well as Combine #16 which is nearing its time to be returned to Pennsylvania. Also funds will be needed for the professional accesssment of the cars and to begin restoration work. Please send your contributions for the cars to FEBT restoration fund treasurer at the following address:
Friends of the East Broad Top
Restoration Fund Treasurer
513 Shady Avenue, No. 12
Pittsburgh PA 15206-4447
At this years Fall Spectacular (renamed the Fall Event for the year due to lack of additional steamers) the newly repatriated combine #18 and baggage #29 were displayed to attendees of the FEBT 2002 Fall Reunion.
Members of the FEBT Rockhill Furnace Restoration Crew cleaned up the Car Shop for the occasion. Guided tours around the cars were given by FEBT members and a display of the various FEBT restoration projects was available for viewing.
Left: Baggage car #29 inside the Car Shop.
Right: Combine car #18 inside the Car Shop.
FEBT announced in November 2004 that they had reached an agreement with the East Broad Top Railroad to lease the EBT Paint Shop in the Rockhill yard. The intention is to rehabilitate the building to use as a restoration shop and home base for the Rockhill Restoration Crew. For more details visit the FEBT's Bring Us Home - EBT #18 and #29 page.
The implications for #18 and #29 are that there will be an indoor, sell equipped facility in which they can be restored rather than out in the open or in a building with no windows, power or heat. There is not very much immediate implication for the cars. The FEBT is currently rehabilitating flatcar #119 in the Paint Shop and has committed to heavy work on EBT-owned Combine #14 next.
Although this means that there is no quick restoration for the cars in the near future, that is actually for the best. FEBT crews have only been working on railroad cars since 2003. In 2004 the crew restored Caboose 28, a hybrid wood and steel car, and gained much knowledge on techniques and construction. In 2005 the work on flatcar 119 is leading to the acquisition of some heavier woodworking tools to prepare the deck boards. Restoring #14 next is the next logical step in this "learning curve". Restoring an intact all wood car will be invaluable lesson needed before taking on one that will need much of its components replaced or rebuilt.
Will 18 or 29 be next on the list? That will have to be seen. Keeping the operating cars on the railroad operating and in good repair is vital to the financial health of the railroad and to the health of those cars that spend summer and fall in the elements. 18 and 29, though is poor repair, will spend all their time inside and out of the weather. They will find their turn in time.
