My hat is off with sincere gratitude and respect for those involved in making this happen from funding to execution. That's as fine a piece of machinery to ever grace a pair of rails in any gauge in North America and looks better than she probably ever looked in service. Job well done!
When she was retired to Colorado Springs so many years ago I'm sure she never expected to be awakened again and called back to service. I wonder how she feels... Rejuvenated, I imagine. Useful again. Beloved, not forgotten.
It makes me think about the state of the narrow gauge system writ large. We think in terms of preservation, but in many respects we're witnessing evolution. For example, #493 was under steam today for the first time in 51 years, but as an oil burner. It would be easy to argue that the conversion to oil is a violation of historical preservation, but I look at it as the natural evolution all of these machines underwent when in their original service lives. These engines were constantly changed and upgraded to meet the contemporary demands of service, just as today.
When you think about it, you realize--for example--that the trackage between Chama and Antonito has been operated as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic for as long a period as it was under the D&RGW (1921-1970), and longer than it was as just the D&RG. Over in Durango, the Silverton coaches have worn that yellow scheme longer than all the other paint schemes combined. Hauling tourists certainly isn't the same as transporting people and goods between points on a map, but it's no less demanding of the equipment and people who make it happen. And it's certainly real railroading in every sense of the word.
Thank you again to all of you who bring the past to life for generations to enjoy and to learn from while providing a dignified second life to these venerable machines.
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Dave Vollmer
Rio Grande Southern in HOn3
Colorado Midland in N scale
Colorado Springs, CO
