Here is a copy of the letter of endorsement sent by the R&LHS national organization.
Mr. Don Hartley, Director of State History, State of Utah
Dear Mr. Hartley,
My name is Robert Holzweiss and I serve as the President of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society (R&LHS), America's oldest organization devoted to the collection, interpretation, preservation and dissemination of information relating to railroad history. I write you today after speaking with Steve Jones who serves as the Chairman of the Golden Spike Chapter of the R&LHS. Following our conversation, Steve shared several emails concerning the current status and future display and/or operation of D&RGW locomotive 223 which is currently undergoing restoration at Ogden Union Station. As you know, members of the Golden Spike Chapter have worked on preserving and restoring the 223 for almost 30 years. Although additional work is required, chapter members remain committed to restoring 223 to operation. When I visited Ogden in May, I toured through the restoration shop where chapter members volunteered their time and financial resources to work on the locomotive until an unfortunate dispute with the City of Ogden in early 2019 suspended all work.
Considering the ongoing dispute with the City of Ogden and the need for contractors to complete several remaining tasks, Steve worked with the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&T) on a proposal to relocate the 223 to the C&T's well-equipped steam shop at Chama, New Mexico.
Per the draft agreement, C&T personnel will complete the restoration to operation. Having just returned from a trip on the C&T and having some familiarity with the shop at Chama, I am confident C&T personnel can complete the work as outlined in their proposal. More importantly, once the restoration is complete, the C&T offered to operate the locomotive between Chama and Antonito, Colorado. This would fulfill a core mission of R&LHS and bring the decades-long work of the Golden Spike Chapter to a successful conclusion. Therefore, on behalf the 2400 members of the R&LHS, I strongly endorse the proposal to move D&RGW 223 to Chama to complete the restoration to full operation.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be pleased to speak with you directly if you think that is necessary.
Sincerely
Dr. Robert Holzweiss, President
Railway & Locomotive Historical Society
cc:
Mike Caldwell, Mayor, Ogden City
Mike Plowman, Executive Director, Union Station Foundation Stathi Pappas, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad John Bush, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Steve Jones, President, Golden Spike Chapter, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society
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All of our Golden Spike Chapter correspondence with the State Department of History and Arts has been through email so I would suggest staying with this approach. The message should go to
Don Hartley, Director of State History
dhartley@utah.gov
To make sure that it doesn’t look like we are going behind anyone’s back please CC:
Ogden City Mayor Mike Caldwell
mikecaldwell@ogdencity.com
Union Station Foundation Executive Director Mike Plowman
michael@theunionstation.org
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad 'Stathi Pappas' ; John Bush
Please also copy me
sejones@thes4group.com and we will post your letters on [
www.save223.com].
Thanks in advance for any support you can provide in helping us complete this important mission.
Steve Jones
Chairman, R&LHS Golden Spike Chapter
