>From: james duprie
 >We're still a couple of year away, and there is always the chance that I'll
just pay someone to >move it for me (one of the advantages of being old enough
to be able to budget a bit....)

I would consider renting a forklift for the day. Here in Kalamazoo I can a 5,000
lift truck for $200.00 for two hrs or $225.00 for the day.
I don’t know about price and availability where you are. 
I unloaded and loaded flatbed trucks, vans, and lowboys with various trucks and
a 1500 lb load would be on the low end of the scale.
Pick up a pallet from a local source or make one if need be. Lifting the object
is always the easy part. Moving punch presses and vertical mills were always the
biggest pain because of all the weight up high. If they are tied to a pallet
loading takes 30 seconds.