Hi Margaret,
The article points out lots of sad things happening to these once stately organs. Thinking about all the labor hours that went into the construction of these pipe organs and how quickly they are demolished is absolutely horrifying. When a building is about to be razed, and there is an organ worth saving, they are advertised for sale, but as in most cases, the buyer must remove it at their own expense, and usually by a well defined non-movable date. Sometimes the costs of just removal alone far exceed the value to be realized, even after a complete restoration.
The more a pipe organ is played, the better for all its internal working parts - some of those organs pictured may have been sitting silent for several years ... and as such become a nightmare for restoration, not to mention the cost of doing so.
There is also routine maintenance for any pipe organ ... tuning ... usually done at least twice a year - on the average. When the tuner visits, they also take care of a few little problems (preventative maintenance) before they become big expensive problems. If the pipe organ is neglected for several years because of budget constraints or no funds available for tuning/repair, the organ falls into dis-repair ... arthritis sets in, and eventually the instrument becomes totally unplayable, and is eventually either sold or scrapped. I guess economics enters into the picture establishing value in terms of restoration costs vs what the scrap dealer will pay.
The pipe organ is far from dead ... I think the "living ones" far exceed the "dead ones" probably thousands to one. We have lots of dedicated people here in MIMF Land who are doing their part in preserving our King of Instruments.