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Tom Ruddell
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 | | 06/05/2008 6:56 PM |
| Thought this might be of interest to the GRS's:
After a six-year run, back in April the abandonment notice was sent out on MLS and elsewhere for the Bethlehem Central Railroad, probably one of the largest garden railroads in the Southeast U.S. The BCR may be unique in (besides being a great place to watch trains) serving as a ministry, with six Bible-related programs and a 39-minute railfan-type tour on DVD*. Thousands have visited the BCR since it opened in 1992 and the Tourist & Convention Bureau wanted to make it a stop on bus tours, but I had to turn that down due to the lack of public restrooms at our home and the railroad's location in a quiet neighborhood.
A couple of feelers are going out to find a new home for the railroad, including Branson, MO (see post on Public Forum). The railroad remains intact but hasn't operated since our Christmas open house in late December. Then came the second annual round of back problems, and the decision to sell our home and move to more manageable quarters. I haven't started dismantlinbg the railroad because of the very small chance a buyer may want the railroad as well as the house.
But now we have a very good prospective buyer and as soon as we have a contract, volunteers from our local train club and church youth group will start packing all the rolling stock back in the original boxes and removing the nearly 2,000 feet of mostly stainless steel track, etc., etc.
A replacement cost analysis is nearly complete and it looks like it will come out around $30,000 just for the rolling stock and track. There are bridges, trestles, many buildings, etc. to be factored in and the total should be a little over $40,000. The pricetag for the whole railroad, packed in a POD and ready to ship is $8,500.
If a buyer is not found for the whole railroad, I'll sell it off piecemeal and probably realize a good bit more than $8,500.
All proceeds from the sale, by the way, will establish the "Bethlehem Central Railroad Scholarships" for Providence Christian School, a large classical-education ministry of our Church.
Any and all ideas, referrals, and forwards to other sites, etc., will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks, y'all,
Tom Ruddell
On light duty as chaplain & chief gandy dancer of
The Bethlehem Central Railroad
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama
• Copies of the DVD, "Your VIP Tour of the Bethlehem Central Railroad," continue to go out. The movie is free but with donations of $10 plus $3 shipping most welcome to cover costs with checks payable to "The Garden Railway Ministry." Send me an e-mail at tomruddell@sw.rr.com with your snail-mail address if you'd like a copy. | | | |
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