Hi, All -
For an approximate history from 1999 through 2009 of the effort to raise funds for the restoration of D&RGW/C&TS locomotive #483, see [ngdiscussion.net]. Soni's resignation in early 2010, and the disastrous fire at Lobato Trestle in June of that year, put all plans for #483 on hold at that time.
In the fall of 2011 Roger Hogan contacted me regarding a request that he had received from The Friends to allow use of the roughly $4,500 in the #483 Restoration Fund toward completion of a "secret" P-R project.
* It seemed to me that
lending the money to the Friends would be O-K, but that it didn't seem we should outright give away the funds that had been collected for the explicit purpose of rebuilding #483. Since about half of the $4,500 had been generated by sales of Volume One of the screen saver, I contacted the major donors of photos for their opinions on the matter. We all agreed that lending the money would be O-K, provided that The Friends repaid the loan in a timely manner so that at least stabilization and cosmetic restoration of #483 could begin fairly soon. Eventually - since the asbestos problem had already been taken care of -
Roger and I came to the conclusion that the cosmetic restoration of #483 and the assembling of a snow-train display would be an ideal project for The Friends and the other three major donors of photos to the screen saver – Ernie Robart, John West and Tom Gildersleeve – all concurred. Thus it was arranged that the 483 Restoration Fund would be traded to The Friends IN EXCHANGE for them assuming responsibility for the engine's COSMETIC restoration. Since their major 2012 projects had already been scheduled, it was agreed last Fall that this project would have a high priority among The Friends plans for 2013. (Even a cosmetic restoration is sure to cost a lot more than $4,500, so I think we got a pretty good deal.)
**
- Russ
p.s. I have mixed feelings about using #483 for the proposed Terrace Avenue display. As has been noted on this thread and elsewhere, once the engine is moved to Terrace Avenue its eventual restoration to full operational status will be more difficult as it will need to be moved back to the engine house in the yard. Also, there is the question of which engine to use if and when a snow-fighting display is eventually set up. OTOH, having #483 displayed on Terrace Avenue will keep her in the forefront of people's minds; if a well-done interpretive display is placed near the engine that explains her very significant role in the history of both the D&RGW and the C&TS – with a prominent and secure donation box attached – then IMHO both political and financial support for the eventual restoration of locomotive #483 should be significantly increased.
* (Added 10/03/12)
: The "Secret" P-R project turned out to be the placement of two cameras in the yard at Chama to provide live video feed to The Friends' web site. See [
ngdiscussion.net]
et seq and [
ngdiscussion.net] for further information.
** We got an even better deal than I originally thought! John Cole has recently informed me that
The Friends project to cosmetically restore #483 and to establish a snow-fighting display will begin THIS YEAR!! The first steps have been scheduled as part of The Friends work sessions C, D, E and F in June and July, 2012!! Per the schedule, Mike Thode (a key member of the #463 restoration team) will be the team leader for sessions C and D; an experienced team leader is still needed for sessions E and F.
(Added 10/03/12)
: Work on #483 actually began during Session D in June, 2012 - see [
ngdiscussion.net] et seq for details and photos.
Edited 15 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2019 06:14PM by Russo Loco.
