Museum Board President Jeff Brown tells Trains News Wire that railroad equipment brokerage firm Ozark Mountain Railcar has received no bids for equipment owned by Gold Coast Railroad Museum near Miami it has listed for sale on its website. Brown says the equipment is garnering significant interest, but no formal offers have been made thus far. Brown says, however, that he is not concerned. “There’s no rush right now,” he says. “This isn’t a fire sale or anything.”
Among the pieces of equipment available for purchase from the 63-year-old museum is Florida East Coast Pacific-type steam locomotive No. 113, a sister locomotive to FEC No. 153, which the museum owns but is not selling. No. 153 has been one of two icons at the museum (the other is presidential office car Ferdinand Magellan), and it was operational for years. No. 113 also operated at Gold Coast.
Also available for purchase are two EMD cab units — an E8 painted as Florida East Coast No. 1594 and an FP10 painted as Seaboard Air Line No. 4033 — along with a host of passenger cars and other rolling stock. Brown says representatives from Ozark cautioned the museum that summer months are typically slow for selling rolling stock. He adds, however, that the museum has a good lead on a possible buyer for No. 113.
Brown told Trains News Wire in April that the museum was thinning out its collection of locomotives and rolling stock as part of a transition from a dedicated railroad museum to a special events area which may be rented out or may host special events such as dinners or movie and television production shoots. The museum, he says, is not getting out of the railroad business altogether and is considering the purchase of three stainless steel Budd-build passenger cars, two coaches, and one diner, in order operate special trains, such as Polar Express events. Brown said if No. 113 is sold, the museum may be able to move forward with the purchase of the Budd cars. He says he’s confident the museum will be able to move some equipment over the next few months. “We’ve been told things look good for the fall, so we’re looking forward to being able to move some of this stuff,” Brown says.
The Gold Coast Railroad Museum equipment can be viewed at ozarkmountainrailcar.com by clicking on Florida on the United States map.
Blair, that is why even though I am a life member of that museum, I no longer go there to help out. After the way some there treat donors, it is no wonder they don’t have money. They don’t care about history. You’ll also notice that besides the #113, they also put NASA #1 on the auction block. That was the first NASA loco at the Cape. In the past they also got rid of the Communications Car for the President of the US claiming it had no historical value. But yet a picture hanging in the Magellan shows it on its first run with the Magellan in 1951. The Comm Carr actually was in service from 1951 to 1973 and was last known run in 1971 with major upgrades done to it in 1968 for Johnson’s use. It therefore was in Presidential use longer than the Magellan was.
I guess dedicated regional museums aren’t what they used to be. Gold Coast railroad museum with a Florida East Coast steam locomotive? That seems germaine to the area. Makes sense. A string of Amtrak passenger cars including ex-ATSF HiLevels so they can be rented out for special events? Not so much. But this is a new era, I suppose, and they have to do what they can to stay in business when no one wants to visit and see old stuff anymore. This is the future of most railroad museums, I fear.