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Copper thieves strike Connecticut Trolley Museum
It’s too bad that this is the way the world is now. This kind of vandalism and metal theft is endemic. Even fenced-in rolling stock and enclosed museums are vulnerable. Tighter security with alarms and maybe even night watchmen is probably going to be necessary to secure our priceless heritage.
I think its time to invest in security cameras and alarms.
Better leave the power on, on the overhead wires, that will slow them down.
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@Michael Melbourne:
Then the thieves and their families can sue the museum for injuries or wrongful death. It’s already happened with trespassers on other electric lines.
Let this be a warning: If you’re running ANY kind of a museum with tasty artifacts, much less lots of copper and brass you had BEST invest in a no BS alarm system plus security camera. And I like the suggestion of trolley museums leaving the overhead wire “hot”.
The occupational hazard of crime is death. If someone is killed in the course of criminal activity, the government should go after the perps surviviors to see that his/her funeral is payed for. No reason for the gov’t or private industry to foot the bill for a criminal’s timely demise.
The thieves have to sell the stuff somewhere. It would be useful to prosecute the buyers of the metal and then work a plea deal with them to find the thieves. As for the thieves themselves, hook them up to the 660 volt DC for 10 seconds before tossing their miserable carcasses into jail!
So they were vandalized last year and it happened again only worse. Was there some lack of learning there? First time shame on the bad guys, second time, shame on me/us. I must quibble about calling this “vandalism”, which implies destruction for destruction’s sake. This was purposeful theft, carried out in the most efficient manner, and with no regard (would you expect any?) to the collateral damage. I feel for this museum, and hope that other such operations will be warned to make their operations more secure.
Nowadays, thieves are removing anything and everything they can collectively “get their hands on!” Here in my state, local thieves stole our “Calif. State Landmark” of “Sycamore Tree” between Santa Paula and Fillmore on State Hwy. 126.
It’s $3,000 plus to replace the plaque that they stole made of brass through our state capital of Sacramento.
If you’ve got “fillings in your teeth” don’t stand around too long in our neck of the woods, they’ll take them too!
Local scrap yards should notify authorites if they see something suspicious like these items at their yards!!!
It makes me made that we have people that would destroy others property to steal material from others. I sure hope the thieves are caught and prosecuted to he fullest extent of the law. THIS SHOULD BE A WARNING TO OTHER MUSEUMS TO TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT THEIR PROPERTY.
Dan Heffner, Seashore Trolley Museum member since 1962.
Does this kind of stuff happen to preservation groups in the UK? In Germany?
Another example of you can’t legislate morality, you have to teach it. O.K., I’m old (70), but the schools taught morals when I went through. Today, kids are taught they can do anything without real punishment.
As for putting up fences - try that expense when the museum has 2 miles of track for storage. Even having cameras does not stop the problem. Hoosier Valley caught several young brats on camera breaking into passenger cars and just tearing things up. About $20,000 damage. They are too young for community service, and the parents don’t have the money. Laws are, unless the children are over 18, they cannot do any heavy work. That means they cannot use the mowing tractor, carry wood, chop weed or tree growth, wash railcars (too high) or even clean the inside of the car (can’t carry the water/soap buckets).
Sad state of affairs this country has come to.
When I worked in the architectural salvage business for most of the last 10 years, we encountered dozens of such thieves aiming to pawn their illegally snagged booty on us. Local laws were passed to aid us in catching the jerks: all such salvage sale offers had to be accompanied by 1) an adult over 21 with a current Oregon driver’s license as ID (no state ID cards allowed); 2) no cash payments would be made, and 3) anything obviously suspicious (pry marks, rarity…) would be first “inspected” by a department manager, at which point the local police or sheriff’s offices would be called to slow down the process until they arrived. Numerous brass and copper (and old house parts) thieves were thereby apprehended, and not just by our store but also by various scrap yards around the PacNW. One trio of coked-out jerks even cut down a bronze statue of lewis & Clark’s Indian guide Sacagawea and then sliced “her” up into three chunks trying to sell them to foundry/scrappers. They were also arrested. So, be forewarned: there will always be such herinous idiots out there looting and pillaging, especially in tight financial times and for drug money. Little can be done except be extra precautious in all regards.
If metal thieves really want to strike it rich, I dare say they ought to try and break into a gun and knife museum!
The Yakima Valley Trolley which has been continuously operated for nearly 100 years, was hit with theft of overhead copper wire in 2008. The cost of replacement is taking nearly $40k and 4 years work and still not completed. Around the same time frame, Doyle McCormack was hit with the terrible theft of copper from the traction motors on his Alco PA during restoration at the Brooklyn yard in Portland, OR.
These scumbags will stop at nothing to get their loot. We have had a recent rash of catylic convertor thefts around here lately. A few months ago, one would-be convertor thief got his just rewards though, They found his crushed body under the car he was “working on”. Yep, the jack slipped! No tears shed by me!!! What goes around, comes around…