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Author
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Topic: Apollo boilerplate at Pennsylvania Dairy Queen
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Bob Haller
New Member Posts: 6
From: pittsburgh pa
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 10-24-2004 06:31 PM
   
There's an Apollo boilerplate near me in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen just south of Franklin, Pennsylvania. I wonder what its worth? The owner doesn't take very good care of it, but this summer he did finally paint it. It fascinates me that NASA sold it off for scrap at the end of the program. Where is the serial number on them? It would be nice to identify which one it is. The owner said it was used for drop tests. By the way, there is wiring still inside it, I can feel it through a hole in the capsule. |
Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 10-24-2004 06:49 PM
What's it worth - hard to say. Someone recently offered one on eBay, I think the opening price was six figures but I don't think it sold.I think your best bet for ID-ing the boilerplate is to ask for ideas from Jim Gerard at the Field Guide to American Spacecraft. I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you as I don't think your local boilerplate is in his list yet. |
Bob Haller
New Member Posts: 6
From: pittsburgh pa
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 10-24-2004 11:45 PM
Sadly the owner hadn't painted it in many years, it had turned into a rust bucket. I stopped and spoke with the owner pointing out its likely worth in the six figures and should be maintained, besides which in bad shape it might hurt his Dairy Queen business. Within a month it had a fresh coat of paint. I would like to get a borescope camera and take a video of its insides, there's wiring I can feel through holes in the bottom. For many years it sat at the end of this fellow's driveway on RT 8 before moving to a pipe stand at the Dairy Queen. |
mzieg
Member Posts: 72
From: Seneca, PA USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-25-2004 08:13 PM
I work in Franklin, PA and see the Apollo CM boilerplate mentioned fairly regularly. I talked to the owner (who runs the Dairy Queen) several years ago and told him about the Field Guide to American Spacecraft website. Before I talked to him about it I checked to see if it was listed, and since it wasn't, I suggested to him he might want to have it registered. At that point he acted suspicious, indicating he was afraid the Feds might want to seize it back from him since it was former government property. He's the same guy that erected this huge, tall tower next to his business with a big flashing light on top to attract motorists cruising up and down Route 8. The only problem is that his Dairy Queen (and his tower) were directly under the final approach path of the county airport, and he got embroiled in a battle with the FAA over the danger the tower presented to aircraft. He finally lost his battle and had to tear the tower down, so I suspect he's a bit paranoid about the government or any publicity about his relic. At least he had the good sense to give the old rust-bucket a coat of paint to delay the decay. |
Bob Haller
New Member Posts: 6
From: pittsburgh pa
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 10-25-2004 11:38 PM
I stopped in there recently and asked to speak to the owner. The store employee gave me the third degree. I guess working for him made her this way. I just wanted to thank him for the paint job.He is odd but did everyone a wonderful thing buying it as scrap. After all it could of gotten melted down into a new car. At least it survived. Honestly could the government in any way attempt to seize it? Anyone have a mini camera we could photograph the inside during the winter when the bees are inert and the store empty. It would only take a few minutes and I doubt he would give permission... |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-16-2010 07:02 PM
Associated Press: Pa. man hopes to sell his NASA module Kim Rogers, who owns a Dairy Queen near this town, is putting the business up for sale, along with a one-of-a-kind souvenir out in front -- an authentic NASA training command module from the 1960s.Rogers' asking price? A solid $1 million for both with no hedging on the price. "I'm thinking of retiring and thought it was a good time to sell both the business and the module," said Rogers, whose Dairy Queen was started by his dad Richard in 1961 and expanded from a "little flattop with two little windows" into a full-scale 114-seat restaurant by the younger Rogers in 1977. He's listed both on eBay and the listing is loaded with photographs of the Dairy Isle and space module. There are two stipulations -- payment upon purchase and no shipping... |
history in miniature
Member Posts: 600
From: Slatington, PA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 02-11-2011 03:01 PM
I understand that this boilerplate was purchased in a salvage yard at Grove City Pa. in 1982. How did it get to this salvage yard, and, was this usual procedure to have them scrapped after their use? Is it legal for the average citizen to own one? It perplexes me to see a D.Q. owning a boilerplate capsule when the Armstrong museum is only displaying a model. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 02-11-2011 05:35 PM
I remember being on the mailing list in the early 70s for the GSA (General Services Administration... I think!). That was the government agency responsible for disposing of surplus and scrap material from government projects.One particular newsletter I received included photos of an S-IC Saturn V first stage and a Saturn IB first stage up for auction. The auctions were open to the general public so I think it a very reasonable possibility that a private individual could legitimately acquire an Apollo boilerplate CM. |
dtemple
Member Posts: 729
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 02-15-2011 10:07 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
One particular newsletter I received included photos of an S-IC Saturn V first stage and a Saturn IB first stage up for auction.
I wonder what became of the SI-C and SI-B stages. Which SI-C would it have been - from 500F? The SI-B probably would have been from SA-212 since its SIV-B was converted to Skylab. However, I am not sure if SI-B 213 and 214 were completed, but if they were then obviously one of those could have been the one listed in that newsletter. |
mikej
Member Posts: 481
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 02-16-2011 05:22 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dtemple:
The SI-B probably would have been from SA-212 since its SIV-B was converted to Skylab. However, I am not sure if SI-B 213 and 214 were completed, but if they were then obviously one of those could have been the one listed in that newsletter.
Alan Lawrie's Saturn I/IB list S-IB-12, -13, and -14 as completed (although only S-IB-12 was static-fired) and contains several pictures of each stage. S-IB-15 and -16 had their propellant tanks manufactured and delivered to Michoud, but they were never assembled.There's a photo of S-IB-14 in storage at Marshall over at the Space Launch Report. |
AFGAS
Member Posts: 89
From: Merritt Island, FL
Registered: Feb 2008
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posted 02-18-2011 06:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by dtemple:
I wonder what became of the SI-C and SI-B stages.
Just making an educated guess, but the S-IC is probably the one displayed at Michoud and the S-IB is the one at the Alabama welcome center. |
RevDangerfield
Member Posts: 13
From: Fort Recovery, OH
Registered: Jul 2013
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posted 07-29-2013 06:12 PM
Anyone know what ever became of the Dairy Queen boilerplate? |
BMacKinnon
Member Posts: 230
From: Waterford, MI. USA
Registered: Jul 2007
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posted 09-10-2013 01:02 PM
I just checked Google Maps and it is still there. Not sure how old the image is though. |
PeterO
Member Posts: 399
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 09-10-2013 06:20 PM
According to Google Earth, the image was taken Sept. 11, 2012. |
SaturnV
Member Posts: 24
From: Fowler, Ohio, USA
Registered: Sep 2013
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posted 09-15-2013 09:46 AM
I live about an hour west of Franklin Pa. Had some business to do there and drove past the Dairy Queen about a month ago. Glad to report the boilerplate is still there. |
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