The 643 sits on an isolated piece of track that is not connected to the nearby rail network. CSX removed the switch several years ago because the track had no customers and was a no longer used for anything, other than storing this parked and essentially abandoned locomotive.
During the era when Glenn Campbell managed it (no, not THAT Glenn Campbell) he was never able to complete the restoration or secure a place to run it. The estate which owned it took it back and tried to sell it. They had a terribly inflated idea of what it was worth and consequently it never sold. Before he died, Jerry Jacobson, creator of the Age of Steam Roundhouse, made several offers to purchase it, but all were refused.
When those negotiations fell through and it became clear that no one was going to be able to do anything with this huge machine, patience ran out at CSX and they removed the switch to the siding.
The locomotive is huge and heavy. It would be all but impossible to truck it out of McKees Rocks. The streets there are narrow and there are several small bridges to go over to get it out of there.
Without a major “intervention” by a wealthy philanthropist, it is highly likely that this locomotive will never move from this site.
