Other than the fact you let the engine go to cheap, I have to agree with the part about the operation not being organized. Very obviously repairs were made piecemeal with little thought put into the long term issues. As far as the comments about the boiler being repaired improperly who knows now as the company who did the work has folded up.
One thing is for sure. The Black Hills Central never put much money into anything when they had this locomotive and I would bet it was tired long before showing up in Nebraska.
Where the Stuhr management is faulted of late is the lack of truth telling they've done during this whole debacle. Which in turn has no doubt led to the battle line situation that now exsists.
Being as BN and UP both donated heavily to get the railroad going, my advice would be for both sides to patch up their differences and go forward from today. Neither railroad is liable to provide any type of help as long as they see a political squabble going on.
Paul, there is some railroad involved in your museum whether former Director Sandy and her cult want to admit it or not. The museum is based on a Nebraska railroad town and a good part of the atmosphere is gone now with the railroad no longer running.