Re: C&S Railway Society Update

Northern 838, I'm not really sure what you are getting at as my post was about one caboose and one caboose only, C&S 1006.

1006 was in no danger whatsoever of becoming a "pile of rubble" ( at least before it was taken apart).

There WAS nothing about 1006's condition that warrented a full dismantling and replication style rebuild. I am quite familiar with 1006 as well as the construction and repair of wooden cars. I am by no means an expert, but several folks who are and have looked at 1006 saw no major issues with the car either.

Taking a fully intact original artifact completely apart, throwing 90% of it in the trash and then rebuilding it how you think it should be done is the complete opposite of any definition of preservation. Performing the minor level of repairs that 1006 actually needed and then getting it somewhere where it could be displayed inside would have been the actual "highest level of preservation" possible for this once priceless and unique artifact. At this point, the only way to preserve the original C&S 1006 is to collect all of the parts that are being replaced (assuming they have not already gone to the landfill) and put them back together.

Jason Midyette