I saw about 15 years ago SRY 385 (I think that was the number) a Consolidation. It was owned by a museum. It was converted to oil. One of the historical groups ran an article on it years ago too.

Anyone know what has become of it? where is it? what condition? Etc?

Be nice to see it migrate South to some old Southern tracks.

-- Gordon Andrews (joshin@erols.com), October 15, 1998

Answers

As far as I know, the 385 (Class H4 consolidation, very similar to the 401 which is also preserved) is still owned by the Morris County Central RR up in New Jersey. The latest word I have heard is that both the 385 and the 401 are undergoing restoration with a view toward running them again. Last word I heard on the 385 was that her drive wheels and axles had been sent to the Strasburg RR shops in PA to be turned on their axle lathe--that was over a year ago, so I would hope that the restoration is progressing well.

-- Lamar Wadsworth (LW.Sou.Ry.steam@juno.com), October 29, 1998.

Southern #385 came nder the ownership of Delaware Ostego Corporation at some time in the late 70's or early 80's, but I'm not sure exactly when or how. This is the parent company of the NYS&W Railroad chaired by Walter Rich. Sometime about 6 or 8 years ago it was given to Bergen Technical Institute to be used as a training tool for their boilermaking, welding, and maching classes (the only high school boiler training program in the country as I recall). The idea was the brain-child of Frank Vopasek who had worked with the loco on the Morris Country Central years earlier and is now one of the instructors at Bergen Tech and a member of C&O 614's crew (Ross Rowland's engine that runs on NJTransit). It is currently undergoing restoration and will be sold or leased for use upon completion. I, too, would like to see it return South (maybe to run with the '01 at TVRM :-).

Mike Brown TVRM

-- Mike Brown (Southern4501@compuserve.com), December 09, 1998.

I rode behind SR 385 back in the 60's when I was a teenager. It was being used by the Morris County Central near Whippany and Morristown, NJ. I took some 8mm silent movie clips of it while I was there. The MCC ceased operations and 385 was moved to a siding in Sparta, NJ along with some of its rolling stock. It stayed there for years and fell into disrepair till a developer was going to build on the property. A construction employee used a bulldozer to push 385 and its consist to moved it out of the way not realizing how far all that tonnage would roll on its own before stopping. Yes, it rolled off the siding!!! I saw it last at a community college in NJ where it was being used as a teaching aid for students learning stationary steam boilers. It was brought there by the professor who also ran the 385 for the MCC. I think he might also be the only steam qualified engineer on Jersey Transit. Somewhere in my dusty photo files I have a few pic's of 385 while it was at the college. I also heard it was going to be restored.

-- Dennis Shore (IrtLowVolt@aol.com), December 24, 2002.