In reply to Frosty_Nimiko :
I get why SERM hasn't really done much with it, I was just remarking on the shockingly short-lived operation of the #290. Three years where it ran sparingly, and had mechanical issues pretty much every time it went out, and then it finally got fixed and had nowhere to run.
The story I heard was that the #290 had been involved in a pretty terrific smash-up at some point in her life that left her frame badly tweaked. When it was first being overhauled, some contractor was going to tram the running gear up with laser measuring. They dropped the axles and journal boxes out and a whole mess of shoes and wedges fell out of the frame, which had been used to keep everything in alignment. Nobody paid any attention to where they went, they trammed the axles, slapped it back together, and it always ran hot. It wasn't until the NS steam shop looked at it and Bill Purdy realigned everything the old-fashioned way, that she ran trouble free.
The #290 made a silver screen appearance in Fried Green Tomatoes, and there was talk of a sequel that she was to be used in, but Jessica Tandy's death put the end to that. An SERM worker also mentioned that there was another movie being filmed and the Hollywood folks approached SERM and asked them if they could use the #290 in film. SERM said, "Well, we'd need to overhaul it." The movie people asked how much it would cost, SERM tossed out a sizable number, and the filmmakers didn't even blink. But then they said, "We need you to have it running in 6 months." When they explained that there was a 3-4 month lead time just to get the flues manufactured, and that even if they put every volunteer they had on it,and the timeline just wasn't feasible, the movie people walked out.
