Please do not flame me or anything because this isnt what I believe, but I was about to polish a brass bell on a switching locomotive at the LSRM and my friend (respected train expert) told me not to because it would draw attention to it and a railfan might take it just to say they had one. I believe him that SOME might but I dont think most of us would.Are any of us getting desperate enough to steal a locomotive bell???
Only godzilla or a team of people could steal a bell with what they weigh! That being said I’ll bet somebody has at some point.
Yes, they will, and yes, they have already, along with number boards, builders plates, just about anything they can get their hands on…
Never underestimate the greed of the common thief, or the stupidity…
Ed
You bet they will steal anything. On our Tourist line here in Missouri they have stolen crossbucks, signs and I can remember 3 times stole our diesel horns.
When the LSRM’s SOO GP30 was being repainted at Horicon, they had the remove the numberboards so people wouldnt steal them.
BTW, how exactly do you steal a #board???
You reach inside and unbolt it!
???
Ed
Oh…sorry, never stolen a numberboard before…
To answer the question in a more exacting way; ARE WE; railfan,trainspotter,ferroequinologists,ironhorse loving, diesel chasing,train photographing, railroad historical, geographically knowelgdable, and happy bunch of folks CRAZY (On these and related subjects)??? YOU BETCHA, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
People are greedy, and will practically take anything they can spot if they can. I am guilty of nabbing scrap railroad spikes, washers, et cetera, but that’s it.
~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~
Perhaps some of the tourist lines should steal a march and market charming, cosmetically similar and wholly overpriced copies of things like numberboards. (Yes, I know, that in particular would be hard to duplicate, but something in the ballpark with the correct numbers would do.)
As an adult it took me a long time to realize that the world isn’t made up just of saints and thieves. There are a whole hell of a lot of passionate (“crazy” [V] to the uninitiated) folks out there who can talk themselves into grand larceny for the sake of their railroading, opera, futbol, whatever. I mean, how hard is it to find someone to make you a cheap wooden crossbuck and an even cheaper pole? It’s the middle ground of people who ordinarily wouldn’t begrudge even Uncle Sam a quarter who can get caught in the spirit of derring-do and narcissism. Trouble is (besides the very real possibility of arrest), this can lead to kleptomania, not just among the overly passionate but to those who must tie their sense of self-worth to their possessions. But we Americans love commerce, and give us a chance to BUY that will almost always out. If not, 1000 hours communitiy service to anyone so low as to steal a crossbuck! [:0]
I work on the Ventura County Railway no. 2 at the Orange Empire Railway Museum.
It’s currently undergoing boiler work. Admittedly, the bell and headlight did have to be removed for the work, but we have also removed the builders plates, number plate (the thing that says “2”) and marker lights (it was used on a switching railroad–it has no number boards). If this isn’t enough for you, we have another locomotive, Mojave Northern no. 2. It hasn’t run in years at the museum (someday, hopefully…), and it’s boarded and under lock-and-key, but just for safekeeping, we removed the bell from it (reasonable), but also the throttle lever and hydrostatic lubricator (I guess some people are persistant).
Then again, there is our UP 2564 (probably next up to be restored). It sat in a park for decades, and a heck of a lot is missing. For a recent ghastly happening, go to www.trainweb.org/rlhs.
Nonetheless, never underestimate the capacity of people to do nice things.
Sincerely,
Daniel Parks
Also had a guy rig up a come a long, and lower himself over the side of a plate girder bridge on a cable around 1 in the morning, all to steal the SP Logo sign.
Managed to make quite a lot of noise, with a hammer and cold chisel…of course, he didnt scout his area of work too well, the headquarters for my railroads police department was less than 100 yards away.
We sat in the yard tower, watching through binoculars, drinking coffee and taking bets if he would end up hanging himself, or dropping the sign on any of the cars passing on the street below.
He got his sign, and a trip to the Harris County Jail, in about a hour…
Ed
The suggestion that museums should offer replica plates is a good one - also worth exploring is selling off old items in the gift shop, a number of preserved lines over here have a “railwayana” section in their shop where they sell stuff that they can’t use in order to raise funds - I’ve picked up a few plates showing the date of the last inspection of a vehicle in this way. It’ll provide a legal way for railfans to get hold of memorabilia and also turn “old junk” into useful money.
The problem with replica plates is that there is someone, somewhere, willing (and eager) to brag up that “they sell the replica’s at the store, and there’s a replica on the engine, but I’ve got the real one!”
I know of a fire department that has a nicely restored antique truck - inside a locked cage, inside one of their fire stations. Can’t trust anybody with some of that stuff.
If someone wants it bad enough they will steal it.giving us good railfans a bad name
stay safe
Joe
well to be hones ti have “stolen” a #board before… the unit was being scrapped and most parts were gutted from it never to run again i decided to hang on to this numberboard to remeber the fallen unit… I wouild never steal anything that the railroad still neeeds to use or may have an intention to use again!
A lot depends on how much security you have. I think any railway museum should be equipped with a modern electronic security system so that intruders during closed hours are immediately noted at the local police station.
I think we are a little bit stir crazy.
I dont know anything about no bell. In fact nothing here rings a bell. =)
I find it interesting that those things have weight to them. Such weighty matters in this thread to consider this morning.
Have a great day.
Good idea, but prohibitively expensive for most tourist operations & museums.
Our steam crew offers replica’s of our locomotive’s builder’s plates (Baldwin, 55415). They are made of high quality poly-somethingorather, hand painted, but when I first saw them, I thought they were the real thing. Everyone who sees them thinks they are metal as well, until I tell them… If anyone wants, we still have some for sale.
Sincerely,
Daniel Parks