Seven buyers eye $2.5-million steam train

[Leafless]

Seven potential buyers have shown interest in the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train after it stopped operations indefinitely in May because of a dispute between the owner and the municipalities that own the line on which it runs.

André Groulx, who has operated the train for his father-in-law, Jean Gauthier, for 15 years, said yesterday the train is advertised for $2.5 million on www.ozarkmountainrailcars.com, based in Missouri.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...b8-1e77b21a3ff4

Not a word about how and why this train was originally acquired.

The Wakefield train used to belong and operate out of Ottawa Ontario from the Science and Technology Museum.

But it ran a deficit partly because of vandalism on the Quebec side where they regularly greased the tracks on a hill around Chelsea Quebec causing the train to slip backwards and needless to say ruining the excursion.

But a Quebec entrepreneur convinced officials he could make it work and the train was sold. Amazingly there was no longer problems with vandalism which was now a Quebec buisness.

Now it is being resold for $2.5 million.

Does anyone remember what price this train was acquired for?

[guyser]

Does anyone remember what price this train was acquired for?

No but if frenchies bought it they probably stole it...right?

My guess is $1 and they had to move it.

[Leafless]

No but if frenchies bought it they probably stole it...right?

My guess is $1 and they had to move it.

If it was $1 or some other very unreasonable amount, that is one deal. This puts the tax payers of Canada on the hook again, making a private individual Canadian very well off at the expense of ALL Canadians.

[guyser]

If it was $1 or some other very unreasonable amount, that is one deal. This puts the tax payers of Canada on the hook again, making a private individual Canadian very well off at the expense of ALL Canadians.

You dont know the answer?

Of course you may not have considered the fact that it may have been a white elephant, may have been costing the S&T Museum a boatload of money to keep it up, may have been sold off as salvage since so much work had to go into it.

And maybe, just maybe, the owners are merely re-couping their expenses.

Ahh...but they are french so it has to be they stole it.

Mon dieu!

[Borg]

You dont know the answer?

Of course you may not have considered the fact that it may have been a white elephant, may have been costing the S&T Museum a boatload of money to keep it up, may have been sold off as salvage since so much work had to go into it.

And maybe, just maybe, the owners are merely re-couping their expenses.

Ahh...but they are french so it has to be they stole it.

Mon dieu!

Or they got some free "stay in canada" money from the feds to make the buy.

Borg

[guyser]

Or they got some free "stay in canada" money from the feds to make the buy.

Borg

You mean like pretty much any other company in Canada? Like the auto sector?...the oil business?

Supported 100 employees , perhaps they qualified.

[Leafless]

You mean like pretty much any other company in Canada? Like the auto sector?...the oil business?

Supported 100 employees , perhaps they qualified.

Looks like the emphasis on 100 employees and the 'history' was part of the sales pitch to acquire the train initially, since they seem to want to keep the train localized, if it does sell.

The feds get suckered punched with this kind of deal all the time. This is especially true with the computer industry, where lots of public money is put up to initially start up some sort of a small computer firm and a few years down the road, if the business is successful, the owner sells and becomes an instant millionaire.

This is a bad deal for tax payers.

[geoffrey]

The feds get suckered punched with this kind of deal all the time. This is especially true with the computer industry, where lots of public money is put up to initially start up some sort of a small computer firm and a few years down the road, if the business is successful, the owner sells and becomes an instant millionaire.

This is a bad deal for tax payers.

Probably. Just like feeding GM and Ford. Time for that Eastern half of the country to learn to do business without Industry Canada.

[Leafless]

Probably. Just like feeding GM and Ford. Time for that Eastern half of the country to learn to do business without Industry Canada.

You know manufacturing is not as simple as partly refining black gold sludge like it is in Alberta and reaping the benefits.

And I could say more relating to the exploitation of Canada's natural resources, but is not part of this threads topic.

[guyser]

Probably. Just like feeding GM and Ford. Time for that Eastern half of the country to learn to do business without Industry Canada.

...of course in your own backyard nothing like this ever happens?

[AngusThermopyle]

You know manufacturing is not as simple as partly refining black gold sludge like it is in Alberta and reaping the benefits.

Actually if you learn about what happens in the patch you'll find that it is very very far from being simple. This is one of the major reasons that the patch sat untouched for so long. It was believed to be far too difficult to extract the oil so no one bothered. It's only in fairly recent times that we've developed the technology and methodology that allow the sands to be developed.

The majority of manufacturing is in fact easier and simpler than tar sands extraction. When one considers the northern location of the patch and the climactic challenges presented by this location the difficulty factor increases dramatically.

[Leafless]

Actually if you learn about what happens in the patch you'll find that it is very very far from being simple. This is one of the major reasons that the patch sat untouched for so long. It was believed to be far too difficult to extract the oil so no one bothered. It's only in fairly recent times that we've developed the technology and methodology that allow the sands to be developed.

The majority of manufacturing is in fact easier and simpler than tar sands extraction. When one considers the northern location of the patch and the climactic challenges presented by this location the difficulty factor increases dramatically.

What I meant is, it is much harder to create viable manufacturing in Ontario to successfully compete with the global economy, than it is cooking black gold oil sludge for great profit.

I also am quite aware of why the patch sat untouched for so long due to the fact it was not viable at that time due to low world oil prices.

I am also aware that tar sands extraction would not be a viable venture, if the energy that is used in the extraction process (natural gas) came for a price rather than a freebie.

Just think all the homes all that natural gas being used for boiling tar sand sludge could be used to heat 3-million homes a day, not to mention the creation of toxic tailing ponds and the fact for every barrel of tar sands oil created, produces 3-times more greenhouse gas emissions than a barrel of conventional oil.

http://www.desmogblog.com/report-alberta-o...roject-on-earth