The preserved steam engine destroyed for no reason - 5629 & Richard Jensen

[@TrainFactGuy]

*Was that the scrapping of 87???*

[@terrier_productions]

Jesus Christ, Tyler

[@TankEngineMedia]

It might be

[@autobotoctolingthomasho3362]

We been here every night to finally roam and invite kzbin.info/www/bejne/inioZainp9-Fqcksi=dQrlFBmG8WFaAr3Y

[@kingadam69]

"The Trains can get quite busy after the yard is closed."- The Phone Man from 5 Nights At The Railroad.

[@Comeng_]

Egg

[@tymsky1122]

I didn't expect you to make a video about 5629, but I'm not complaining. And you even mentioned 5632 and 4963! Thank you!

[@tymsky1122]

@@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan Jensen didn't bought 4960, he bought 4963. 4960 had a diffrent story, look it up

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

@@tymsky1122 that’s why I deleted my comment I had no idea that 4960 had a sister it’s a miracle that she survived the perils and made it into preservation I’m happy that she currently sits probably on display at the Illinois railroad museum

[@TankEngineMedia]

It’s sad how life got in the way (plus the fridge) ended with the engine being scrapped, but at least one of the 3 engines were preserved so there’s that at least

[@jayo1212]

And there are preserved USRA Light Pacific's, which 5629 was derived from...

[@crabapple7704]

I actually have an HO model of 5629. It was a problem child for the longest time, would only run under the factory default number 003 instead of its road number, stopped and started or blew its whistle on its own. Even sent it back to the manufacturer a few times and they couldn’t fix it. Only once we had to try some fancy tricks to get an NYC Hudson working did we try the same thing on 5629 and it FINALLY started working properly after nearly a decade. Hasn’t had any issues since

[@drmsig.r1000]

What was wrong with it?

[@CPorter]

DCC moment

[@JOEMAMA_534]

What company made this? I might want to purchase one

[@SynchroScore]

That mention of all the 0-8-0 switchers has a very interesting story behind it. Northwestern Steel & Wire of Sterling, Illinois (now operating as Sterling Steel Incorporated) is sometimes called "the first mini-mill", in that rather than refining iron ore in blast furnaces, it melts down scrap steel to produce new steel. Some of my great uncles worked at that mill. A source of that scrap was old railroad equipment, and they ended up with a group of 0-8-0 switchers from the Grand Trunk, sold as scrap. Mr. Dillon, owner of the company, was a rather frugal man, though he also didn't hesitate to invest in new electric furnace technology. Figuring there was still some life left in these engines, he had them put to work, shuffling cars around the mill. They kept working up until he died... _in 1980_ After that, they were shoved off onto a siding west of the town and left there. IRM acquired a number of them, and as mentioned, some were traded for the 4963, but four of them are still in existence. One is at IRM, where it is getting a cosmetic restoration. One is in Sterling, cosmetically restored and kept under a pavilion behind Mr. Dillon's home, which is now a museum (incidentally, the Big Boy ran right past it during its excursion). One has been cosmetically restored and sits at the former Illinois Central depot in the nearby town of Amboy. And one is still sitting off in the woods west of Sterling. I shall have to go see it one of these days.

[@lukechristmas3951]

That's good to hear that four of those 0-8-0s have survived as that means that trade, while still spelling the end for a few steam engines well into the preservation era, all sides got a decent compromise.

[@garybensman1358]

I believe there were 11 at the Mill when Mr Dillon died. One was scrapped in the process of cleaning everything out. It only had three drivers remaining under it. Years later, IRM traded 5 locos back to a scrapyard for the 4963.

[@mattevans4377]

Puts a whole new meaning to the term "getting fridged"

[@merafirewing6591]

For sure.

[@AnimalsVehiclesAndMore]

History in the Dark also did a video about this locomotive, and he was basically the one who revealed the truth of the story of 5629 to everyone in the modern day. What I mean by that was that there was actually a lot of people who believed that Metra was solely responsible for 5629's destruction, and that they hated steam and wanted it gone. However, the real villain of the story is Richard "Dick" Jensen. He turned from a loving, caring, kind-hearted, respectful railfan who strongly advocated for preservation to a selfish, greedy, money-hungry, unforgiving, scrapful madman. A real Dick, indeed.

[@michaelramsey82]

Agreed. Metra tried to be reasonable, and Jensen became the villain of his own story.

[@KarlBisila261]

You beat me too it! Such a sad tale all around

[@GrandCanyonStudios844]

Actually, he wasn’t. He was the first to do it in *video form* , don’t get me wrong, but before that, publisher Thomas Dyrek made an article online called “A Passion for Steam”, with the hopes of spreading the real truth and renewing interest in this topic. And then I later translated that info to a Wikipedia page about No. 5629 someone else had made, and then Darkness the Curse seemingly used said Wikipedia page as the main source for his video.

[@bostongeis5123]

The exact moment Richard Jensen became Dick.

[@mikehawk2003]

Jensen won a lot of money in court from the scrapping of his CB&Q 4-8-4, so he assumed he could try fighting Metra to get compensation out of moving 5629. Metra refused so he refused to move his engine. Metra tried everything and numerous groups reached out to Richard but he declined their offers.

[@TheYardLimit]

When Flying Scotsman first came to Chicago in 1970 (I think it passed through Chicagoland like 3 times). It took the Chicago and Western Indiana from 74th street junction to Dearborn Station after taking the Wabash up from St. Louis. It would have passed the freshly demolished roundhouse and passed just a mile north of the scrapyard where 4963 and 5632 were at 83rd street. There are photos of CWI 263 piloting Scotsman into Dearborn Station and there are also photos of it hauling 5629 out of the roundhouse in light steam being prepared for an excursion.

[@TheYardLimit]

If you look at the map at 5:12 Flying Scotsman got off the Wabash and headed north up the CWI at "Belt Junction'. Jensens locos in the scrapyard were at 83rd street just below that. You can just barely make out '47th street' half way up to Dearborn Station, where the old roundhouse was.

[@tiernanstrains]

Instructions unclear, built a refrigerated boxcar

[@trainlover16]

This story also pisses me off. Though I’m conflicted on who the true villain is here. Richard isn’t entirely unsympathetic, and the C&WIR were the ones who planted the idea that he could sue railroad companies for destroying his engines without consent and get big money in his head after all. But losing 2 already preserved steam locomotives, 1 through the C&WIR being total scumbags with no respect for the importance of preservation, and the other through its also pretty scummy owner wanting it “illegally” scrapped just so he can get lawsuit money, is completely shocking to me. This story goes against literally everything railway preservation stands for.

[@Mrblackhawk709]

Yeah, the way I read this story is that Richard did what he could to get justice for those who wronged him. I'm astonished that he lost every single lawsuit he was involved with concerning HIS property. He also wanted to properly store his engines he outright bought and to maintain ownership. I get he also wanted to keep those engines running and not have them resigned to sit as static displays in museums. Two engines were stolen from him in an illegal sale and Metra wanted 5629 scrapped and to claim the worth of the scrap! It's sad that he was drowning in debt that he couldn't pay off everything and had to fight an organization that intentionally cut the rails on both ends of where 5629 was resting on. Metra was the real devious villain in this story. Manipulating the situation to their advantage and twisting the blade to be predatory monsters. Adding onto the fact that workers (cough*thieves cough*) stole critical parts from the engine for their own selfish gain, making it neigh impossible for Richard to move the engine. I hate how the person who made this video misunderstood Richard's reasoning for wanting the money. He didn't want it for himself, he wanted it to be able to fix HIS engine that was wrongfully mistreated, vandalized, and left to rust. The fact that Metra "wanted to preserve the engine" was a rude slap to the face with how they acted prior. They knew what they were doing, Metra wanted the money! Even if Richard had agreed to give the engine to Metra to be preserved, they would have turned around and scraped the engine without telling Richard, I guarantee it! Imagine that I took 2 of your cars without your consent, sent them to the salvage yard and benefited from it while you lost every single lawsuit against me. Wouldn't that make you furious? Wouldn't that make you fearful that the car you were driving at the time be taken from you by me in the near future? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to prevent me from doing so? That is what I believe is what was going through Richard Jensen's head. Anyone who still thinks that Richard ended up a money grubbing scoundrel and didn't care about his engines are nothing short of being ignorant blind jackass' that are more willing to side with a hateful mob than actually see the obvious truth.

[@SynchroScore]

@@Mrblackhawk709I'm afraid that your analogy is a little off. Should be more like "Imagine that I parked a car on your property for years, stopped paying rent, then refused the offer of somebody else to take that car off and put it in a museum". The idea that having a locomotive operating is better than having it on static display, when the alternative is getting scrapped, is also rather silly. As far as Metra pulling up the rails on either side of the locomotive, they were reconfiguring the entire yard at the time, and it's a pretty simple matter to lay out some panel track to a little stub; that's how a fair number of 'park engines' were recovered and moved for restoration. Also, there's not as much money in scrapping a steam locomotive as you might think, considering the large amount of manual labor involved. Indeed, that's how quite a number of British steam locomotives ended up preserved at the Barry Scrapyard; it was easier and more profitable to scrap obsolete freight cars than to handle the locomotives, and so they just sat around.

[@Mrblackhawk709]

@@SynchroScore That's fair. I do agree about your assessment of my analogy. Also, I wasn't too familiar with how they configure railyards, so I appreciate the added detail. Just hate the fact that people are so quick to label Richard as a person who was more concerned about money than his engine.

[@SynchroScore]

@@Mrblackhawk709At this time, Metra was working on rebuilding the Blue Island yard to construct a maintenance shop and storage areas, for both the Metra Electric and the Rock Island lines. One could be more charitable, and say that Richard Jensen was a well-meaning guy who got in over his head, but at the same time, I've also read about how he didn't do himself any favors in his relations with host railroads, which certainly didn't help matters.

[@Mrblackhawk709]

@SynchroScore Ah, gotcha. Damn. I'll admit, the guy bit off more than he could chew and not having goodwill with the host railroads, I can see how that can come back to bite you. Just a series of unfortunate events. Oh well.

[@peters1127]

Living in Chicago and being a rail fan, I followed the 5629 and Jensen's story all the way to the end. All your information is spot on as far as I am concerned. Thanks for bringing this story back from the grave so many more people know and could learn something from it.

[@jerrysgardentractorsengine2243]

Being a lifelong fan of the Grand Trunk Western, mostly thanks to being from a family of GTW employees, I have a personal connection to all GTW steamers (both preserved and scrapped) as my great grandfather was a machinist for GTW at their yard in Durand, Michigan. Seeing as 5629 was primarily assigned to GTWs Detroit Division between Grand Rapids and Detroit (Durand was the half way point between the aforementioned cities), the chances are fairly high that he worked on 5629 MULTIPLE times throughout his career

[@Videoman2000]

Sounds many stories what happened in Norway: One of them is that the largest steam locomotive was hijack on the way to the scarp yard in North hidden on some siding in the forest, until time was good to bring it to the museum. Nobody at the scrap yard realized a locomotive was missing.

[@lukechristmas3951]

What engine was that exactly?

[@Videoman2000]

@@lukechristmas3951 The Dovregubben, type 39. The president of the norwegian railroadclub told me that story.

[@PowerTrain611]

Luria Brothers was a company that was well known for scrapping steam locomotives. Most engines from the CNJ were scrapped by them, as well as numerous other railroads.

[@lukechristmas3951]

Essentially the Cashmore's Scrapyard of America?

[@TheYardLimit]

Accounts vary on 5632's derailment, but I heard that it derailed on the turn going into the scrapyard, trapping a Belt Railway of Chicago switcher in there with it. I think they cut the offending drive wheel off and then it languished there for a few years before being scrapped.

[@DOLRED]

The K-4 is a distinctive locomotive I thought. AC Gilbert Company produced an S Gauge K-4 Penn Engine and a friend of mine had one so I ended up acquiring one myself, which I still own. My impression is most of the railroads who owned them scrapped them so the loss of one is a big deal. It is difficult to believe a fight over a vintage steam engine continued into the 1980s!!! The last steamer I saw in routine service was in 1958 (On the Belt Line Railroad shown on your map!!). The Belt line remains in business to date along with the double track I saw that last steamer on! In 1969, I witnessed a mover hauling a small apartment refrigerator strapped on his back down a flight of stairs from a 3rd floor. I thought he was crazy but realized the stairs were narrow and you could not haul this appliance other than straight up. Otherwise, the oil inside the compressor would run into the freon lines and ruin the appliance. Cheers!

[@TrainEnthusiast2]

Great video definitely learned a few things.

[@iankemp1131]

What a sad and incredible story. Two things stand out for me, being based in the UK. Firstly that it's a tragedy that the engines weren't offered to a preservation society somewhere to store and use them - there are plenty in Britain but maybe fewer in America. Secondly, it makes me very thankful that in the UK, essential medical treatment is free thanks to the NHS and you won't end up in huge debt for medical expenses.

[@Sp4mMe]

Better villain arc than your typical Marvel movie. ... also shows the importance of a functioning health care system.

[@tolucaheights]

Or just hire movers, or sue your friends homeowners insurance.

[@mnic3931]

Eh it's really the fault of insurance (it usually is), both health and rail. Of course, when it's time for them to cover what they're paid to cover, they throw a tantrum.

[@androidemulator6952]

Almost nothing sadder than seeing the cut-up remains of 5629... such a loss of history ! ;(

[@johndonlon1611]

The reason #5632 and #5629 are gone is because of one man who could not play well with others. The only reason steam is on high iron today is through collaborative efforts and collaborative money. That is also the reason #4963 was saved in the end.

[@garryferrington811]

In those days, collaborative efforts by Americans (as opposed to Brits) were rare, the general attitude being "let the rich guy do it." I still see that in comments today.

[@Voucher765]

Well if you look at mainline excursions that took place in recent times such as those of Ross Rowland and Fort Wayne Historical Society and other groups like it they actually did better than what Jensen pulled off because was Metra was not happy with what his actions with GTW 5629 were

[@killerbees177]

Sad how now we are wishing these steam engines weren't scrapped.

[@cykablyatman6242]

well now that a prr t1 is nearing completion, maybe we'll get 5629 and 5632 back after all......

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

The T1 is so ugly and impractical, of all things to replicate.

@@MilwaukeeF40C Opinions are like...well, you know the rest.

[@OriginalBongoliath]

@@MilwaukeeF40C We already have two USRA Light Pacific's preserved vs. no Duplexes.

[@cykablyatman6242]

​@@MilwaukeeF40Cgo back to huffing your own farts you mark

[@MrFazz84]

From the UK, I heard this story a while ago, sad

[@mikeyhowell5449]

My grandfather was a engineer for nickel plate road they use 5629 steam trip s in early 1970 and my grandfather runs on 5629 on the nickel plate road from Michigan city to Indianapolis.

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

I have a huge number of b&w negatives of the 5629 in excursion service in '66 taken by a former B&O employee I knew. And later in '86, buddy of mine was briefly detained by Metra police for trespassing to photograph it. He got his shots!

[@Voucher765]

A friend of mine Thomas Dyrek had relatives who knew him, The 5629 was a sour case of preservation gone wrong because Metra was pissed off at Dick since he couldn't get his act together legally in court when the locomotive was stored

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Hello from Detroit Michigan USA Great video Brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us on your adventures through time and history on the rails

[@Alpha-oo8]

Sounds like a quality villain origin story. Good hearted to start with, suffered some severe injustice and eventually became corrupted and blind to what was happening. Could make a good movie

[@ThePTBRULES]

Honestly feel bad for the guy, he kept getting fucked over, probably made him very bitter.

[@OriginalBongoliath]

No one here mentioning how the original hosts were taken over by unsympathetic newcomers (first the president of C&WI stepping down then the Rock Island collapsing too).

[@bluecat0132]

I saw 5629 in Royal Oak, Mi. back in 1967, I think. My first working steam engine in person and I just remember how BIG it was. And obviously not one of the REALLY big ones. I saw it on the cover of a newspaper insert magazine years later, rusting in a yard somewhere and it mad me sad. There is a nice video of it somewhere on youtube taking a run out of Valparaiso, IN.

[@sharkymcsharknose2979]

Unfortunately there are more stories like this in the post-steam era in the US. There's scant detail to make a full video on them individually but if enough stories are collected perhaps they could fill out a video. Off the top of my head, there was a ninth Big Boy (no. 4019) and a Baltimore & Ohio class EM-1 2-8-8-4 (no. 650, originally 7600) slated for preservation. However, both were scrapped after supposed paperwork mixups. Losing 4019 sucks but hey, there's 7 preserved and 1 running Big Boy. Losing the EM-1 sucks more because the class is now extinct, and they were handsome and highly-regarded machines by their crews.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I remember the Belgians scrapping the last of their Caley (Scottish-designed ) 0-6-0s. The very last was scrapped in great haste even though a British society would have had it.

[@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014]

Thank you for joining the trend of exposing the real truth of this story!

[@martincraw7698]

What a terrible fate for such a terrific and magnificent steam engine like that and over some stupid fridge.

[@comicfan1324]

I’m glad this ended up at the Illinois Railway Museum

[@clonecommando-cn6bo]

Makes my blood boil of the mean people who disrespect steam locomotives. They can resurrect the steam locomotives they wrongfully scrapped. Like the huge T-1 4-4-4-4

[@DCSk8er529]

That idiot turned down FIFTEEN GRAND!!! Him losing the lawsuit was karma.

[@paulne1514]

A steel mill I worked at had locomotives from the 1950’s. museums contacted the mills main office, to try and save some Fairbanks Morse and Baldwin locomotives. Instead the mill cut them up, “to teach the union a lesson”!

[@lukechristmas3951]

More onto that Silver Lining, is that the two engines that were scrapped due to being illegally moved and Jensen's unwise gamble were not the sole survivors of their respective classes. GTW K-4a 5629 has a sibling, No. 5632, on static display in Durand, Michigan and Burlington O-5A 5632 has four siblings surviving on static display, Nos. 5614, 5629, 5631 and 5633. While still a big blow to American steam preservation, I think the hit would have been a lot harder if those two engines were they only surviving members of their respective types at the time they were cut up. And part of me does envy Jensen, three steam engines in the early preservation era under your name and ownership is every steam fan's dream!

[@alicehodges9964]

I Like The Steam Engines Thay Look Amazing

[@xRaymond9250]

Man this is just the most tragic tale

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

8:36 I don't want to be that guy, but 4963 (the locomotive on the bottom) was never scrapped. She sat in the scrapyard that 5632 was cut up in for decades, and when Jensen passed away, his sister opted to just sell the 4963 for scrap, but before the 4963 was cut up, the IRM traded several 0-8-0s that they didn't need anymore to the scrapyard in exchange for 4963. 4963 is still with us thankfully, and interestingly enough, there was another engine that was owned by Jensen, but never used. A 4-6-0 was at one point owned by Jensen, but never used, and when he died, the engine was mere minutes away from being torched when preservationists found out about it, and after several desperate calls, they managed to receive that 4-6-0 that was almost cut up, and is now on display.

[@TheSudrianTerrier653]

And one of 4963’s siblings, 4960, is currently operational at the Grand Canyon Railroad

[@andrewchapman2024]

I personally believe that he would have done better selling the locomotive to someone who could take care of them. But he was desperate and didn't see any other option.

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

Once the first engine was taken from him, he carried the attitude that if he couldn't keep them, then no one else was allowed to have them. There were several groups ready to preserve those other two engines and he refused to let them have at it.

[@andrewchapman2024]

@@SD40Fan_Jason the need to take control over something it usually stems from urgency.

[@carltonleboss]

The real villain was the American healthcare system

[@bouncyindignation2987]

agreed

[@killerbees177]

Oh yeah let's blame that 🙄

[@Priyodarsono]

Agree, that's why I reject some offers to live there. My country have a free healthcare & education because my country prioritize health & education.

[@gravitrax6478]

We seriously should have free health care

[@notcardlinsytaccount1355]

Hey guys, I agree with the popular thing. Please accept me, oh god, please validate me.

[@gravitrax6478]

What a sad sad story...

[@MainlineThruTheRockies]

Richard Jensen Fridge Calamity

[@DiegoGonzalez-cz6gu]

Nice video! If you take possible video ideas, then maybe I suggest taking a look a Francis Webb’s Compound designs for the LNWR. I think those are fascinating and would like to see you cover the rather unique fleet of engines.

[@NCMA29]

Great episode! Although I know this is getting into the touchy world of US politics, frankly 5629 wouldn't have been lost if the US had universal healthcare - like the rest of the developed world. I feel extremely sad and sorry for Jensen since his actions seem to have be entirely motivated by his need for money to deal with his severe medical issues from the accident. They poor guy died at fifty-nine, very likely due to his ill health. It's like the running joke about "Breaking Bad". If that show had taken place in Canada, there would have only been one episode - the one where Walter White went to a state-funded hospital to be treated for his cancer.

[@jandoerlidoe3412]

Trying to help someone else is a most dangerous proposition....

[@theblackleafninja3858]

Wow because off a fridge this is just wild

[@DennisLora2001]

Amazing video well done

[@GoofyVirginian630]

The fact that moving a fridge can get a steam locomotive scrapped is terrifying

[@420sakura1]

Cold Beer is more valuable than a locomotive for Americans

[@GoofyVirginian630]

@@420sakura1 Fair enough

[@Austriantrainguy]

Make a video about the Engerth locomotives, it´ll be another one for your steep-track-engine-collection.

[@craigpennington1251]

Pitiful & sad story of corruption & greed. Those steamers will be needed one day & more will be also needed if certain events happen.

[@KevmonDproductions2]

Wait the Illinois Railroad Museum sacrificed five steam locomotives just to save 4963?

[@garysprandel1817]

They were pretty much clapped out 080 switchers that the museum had donated to them with the others intended to be trade bait or sold to fund other museum projects or acquisitions. IIRC one was transferred to the museum, one tender was used to replace a clapped out rust bucket of a tender for one of the museum's other steam engines, several were sold to towns for display and the five traded for the Burlington steamer had been sitting in the elements unmaintained for about 10 years at the point of the trade. Funny thing is if you look up Galt Illinois on Google Maps you can see the the treeline of an old siding leaving the former CNW main and circling around towards state route 2 IIRC and if you zoom in near the road and work west you can find the forlorn rusting hulk of the sole remaining survivor landlocked when the siding was pulled up and the locomotive was deemed no longer able to be moved,missing it's tender and the scrap value outweighed by the cost to get it.

[@ChimpManZ1264]

I think the dark path started when the C&IR Company committed an illegal act. When you sell something that doesn't belong to you a trial doesn't need to decide whether you were justified.

[@justandy333]

If this happened in the UK, then he wouldn't have needed to worry about his medical bills. The NHS would have taken care of his medical issues with no bills to worry about. And we would quite possibly have 3 more steam engines in preservation. The NHS isn't perfect but its a damn sight better than being landed with 6 or 7 figure medical bills.

[@snagletoothscott3729]

Richard Jensen. The name that sends a shiver up the spine and a bit of puke in the mouth of railfan over 40.

[@marka5478]

Probably had undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. Very Immature attitude.

[@iankemp1131]

Well it sounds as if all of them are forgetting that without his efforts none of the 3 locomotives would have been preserved in the first place, they would all have been scrapped years earlier and never run any railtours at all. The tragedy is that some preservation society didn't agree with him to house the engines permanently before C&WI got stupid.

[@westinbridges7321]

The fridge to Jenson: You can't do anything, so don't even try. Get some help.

[@spartan117ak]

I thought the butterfly effect was the notion that something as insignificant as the fluttering of a butterflies wings could eventually lead to a massive storm far away?

[@GavinMarioGanahsen-zn1uh]

This was one of my favourite type of steam engines ever built so it’s makes me sad

[@ethribin4188]

So sad that 3 engines were scrapped just because railway owners went behind the owner's back. And well... the third because the owner gave up, and just saw it as a money bag...

[@alhasanbeitelmal6218]

You know I feel guilty. True he shouldn't have done what he had done but in the situation he was in He needed the money disparately. So it hard for this to be all of his fault

[@MatNichols-iz9dy]

I'm still depressed about SP&S 866 or whatever it was.

[@David_Mattox]

2:31 …Uh, are you talking about a different No. 5632? Cause Grand Trunk Western No. 5632 is actually still around today. It’s on static display in Durand, Michigan.

[@TrainFactGuy]

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 5632, I understand the confusion

[@kosmostimber1174]

that’s CB&Q 5632, not GTW 5632. it’s funny you mention that, because if you swap the numbers of the scrapped dick jensen engines with the railroads then you get two surviving engines, GTW 5632 and CB&Q 5629 🤣

[@EForrest88]

Just had the weirdest video transition, had Lindsey Stirling anew music video queued up before this, which ends with her surrounded by butterflies, then fades to black - and then suddenly your voice appears asking about the butterfly effect!

[@wyndhamcoffman8961]

Were people just completely nuts in the 1970s? Okay so here C&WI have rolling stock that belongs to a customer, and they sell it for scrap. So that is a pretty standard grand larceny. Now metra is doing something different. They only moved the costumer property over to a more manageable area for them. Then they tore up the rails on both sides of the locomotive. Now with the rails gone, they demand that Jensen come in and move it somewhere. They might as well have sat the locomotive on the ground, for a all the more Jensen is going to be able to move it. But they insist that that they don't want to scrap 5629, meanwhile yard men are taking parts off it, before Jensen even started. Really if Metra didn't want to scrap the machine, they could have kept shunting it around the yard, possibly even putting it on a flat car. This is actually more common practice with railways; where they have lost rolling stock, so they shunt it around and sometimes back and forth between different yards. As for Jensen, I sympathies for his medical problems; however he got too greedy on trying to force Metra's hand. And when a judge issued the order to scrap 5629; Jensen had already lost his lawsuit; because now the court records showed that he had been taking parts off the locomotive, and generally being a nuisance to the yard. So now they get to scrap it as if it was their own property. And he is lucky that they didn't go back and overturn his previous lawsuit, because of this situation. However the judge should have been harder on C&WI, for both scraping his property, and ensuring he got paid in a timely manner.

[@nicholaspeberdy8537]

Scrapped for no reason? Golly!

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

There's always a reason...

[@merafirewing6591]

​@@SD40Fan_Jason because of the fridge.

[@BiggsHobbies]

Man, if I owned 3 locomotives and they were sold without me knowing, consider me peeved. Especially if they were scrapped. They better be paying me in full and up front.

[@jayo1212]

And then commission 3 full-size replicas to be constructed!

[@BiggsHobbies]

@@jayo1212 And that. Definitely that.

[@iankemp1131]

The USA seems bad in this respect. I owned some US shares from when I worked for an American company and had the share certificates safely at home. Turned out that the company and issuing state had then "escheated" them and sold them without my knowledge and consent. Can't happen in the UK!

[@davidkavanagh189]

Sounds like a more realistic version of the 'American Dream'

[@dominik_lenarcic]

Here's an idea: maybe you could do a video on the Lindal railway incident? You know the one.

[@michaelcurrie6008]

59 years old. Dat refrigerator

[@Xylem3Keys]

This story is so painful to listen to... Such a sad story...

[@Steamer96]

Well if I was in that situation where I owed that much for my medical bill I would just take the $15k and let 5629 go somewhere she could be safe. It's funny Alan Pegler also gambled 4472 Flying Scotsman and he almost got scrapped but was saved by Alpine. (Though It wasn't out of greed Pegler just wanted to drive his loco and British Rail wouldn't let him cuz he wasn't a qualified engineer)

[@Pyrotrainthing]

I almost felt bad for Richard Jensen in this. He could've saved 5629, but instead he took parts from it so it HAD TO BE SCRAPPED. He won a lawsuit fairly, and then saw the greed of it, and let the fate of another engine be that of cut up, a Grand Trunk Pacific at that.

[@jayo1212]

Fortunately, it's mostly a copy of the USRA Light Pacific, so there are similar engines that have been preserved...

[@Voucher765]

I think it is quite a grave mistake that this locomotive got scrapped but it happened because of disagreement between Jensen and Metra, A friend of mine's relatives were mutal friends with him and is also in contact with Freedom Train founder Ross Rowland

[@vincentberkan605]

May 5629 rest in peace.

[@Voucher765]

All due to the incompetence of one man

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

It's resting as a bridge beam in nantucket and a series of car parts that are back in the junkyard after a short 130k-160k miles on the road as a Ford or Honda maybe?

[@marka5478]

The railroad preservation community is full of ASD cases who refuse to cooperate with others. There was also the owner of a tourist railroad in Indiana who blamed former President Obama for his decision to close his little tourist railroad. He had no prior railroad experience before this. Had he been in the industry, things would have been much different.

[@EMEME27655]

There is a new video from that suger plant railway where you talked a bout in the live stream

[@plaidzebra5526]

tragic story. guy wanted a train for himself. Had a chance for a possible huge payout, declined offers he thought were less then h deserved and at the end lost it all

[@CPorter]

This is literally the story of coperations being completely corrupt and being alloud to get away with whatever the fuck they want. And they never are punished for this.

[@Modernelvis]

When i listen to her whistle i cry😢

[@danielwalton9012]

So Let's Fight in 1988!

[@GamingJamesGames]

10:00 And whenever you do plan to move a fridge, please, bend with your knees otherwise you will bend you back in half

[@TheKubelman]

Butterfly Effect. Not the "killing of the butterfly." It's: "The tiny air movement by it's wings builds into a storm." Big things have small starts and perhaps unintended consequences.

[@AnimalsVehiclesAndMore]

I'm sure there's some people out there who are like "Scrap 5629? IT'S A STEAM ENGINE! THAT MEANS IT MUST AUTOMATICALLY BE PRESERVED, WITHOUT QUESTION!" The truth is, though, just because something's a certain object from the past doesn't mean it's automatically viable for preservation. Still, though, I actually imagine a federal law being placed in the future where it is completely illegal to rip apart and scrap any and all steam locomotives built before 1970.

[@Shadowtiger2564]

Then again its not like there's a lot of steam locomotives left. It's better to preserve what we do have left. Just because you personally don't like something doesn't mean it won't have value to someone else or have historical value in way.

[@barnykirashi]

Yeah, look at Warships.............You, know, especially the USS Enterprise (CV-6) C611 Colbert was also scrapped recently, even though she was a museum ship a while before.

[@ThePTBRULES]

If you made a law like this, you'd have to set up a way where you could more easily change ownership in the case of legal issues, in a fair and just manner. Where debts, liens and convents could be forgiven or broken for the sake of preservation.

[@TheCreativeType]

The CWIRR sound pretty lame, at least after the new management came along.

[@KianWesternRailway]

I think he was wrong he could of got a lot of money from selling the engine anyway and the engine would still be here

[@indridcold8433]

If nobody wanted to buy the steamer to move it of private property, there was no alternative but to scrap it. It is not going to be moved for free. Everyone wants vintage machinery to be saved until they have to pay for it.

[@simon-oy6um]

So this is justice for all is it ??😢

[@jeremyasher297]

Idea, but not a request: “The Philippines’ most overkill steam locomotive: Insular Lumber Company number 7 “Siete”” Just an idea.

[@jeremyasher297]

How has no one replied yet?

[@mcbenman1793]

This sounds like something out of Thomas, like where a controller commits damage fraud and kills his engine for money.

[@raztaz826]

Seems that preserving anything that won't fit inside a normal garage is really hard, and without a large body of volunteers will eventually be lost to attrition.

[@tr673]

"I love refrigerators" *falls*

[@percyengineproductions061]

when are you going to upload ur cursed trains video?

[@ethribin4188]

Even 3-6 decades ago, the american medical system was horrible!

[@brenlc1412]

Metra: Oh I wouldn’t say “freed”. More like, “under new management”!

[@TailsFan369no2]

AND ITS RESURFACING 😫

[@CrazyBear65]

That's a damn shame. Nobody wants to stand up and speak for the engines themselves who have no voice. Reading 2101 is still languishing on static display in a museum in Baltimore instead of pulling revenue service. She needs a new boiler. Makes me sad.

[@RailheadProductions]

I think she needs more than just a new boiler mate.

[@richardjames3356]

America has a shameful disregard for its own history.

[@steveashcraft718]

Sad they scrapped them. He should've sold them.