It is a common requirement for government contracts to be advertised locally. It should also show up on state and national bid boards. No doubt CHS has also invited certain bidders.
Thanks for the Restoration Bid link.
My opinion after just a quick look:
The pre-qualification of bidders is a good idea.
The scope of work is far from complete, leaving too much of it vague. It looks like a running gear rebuild, but does not reference any material, construction or machining standards except "FRA".
The tender work is even worse - I assume there will be a paint job and the tank doesn't leak?
No mention of what must be retained to be historically accurate vs. modern replacement.
And the boiler?
Performance standards and acceptance testing?
The 160 day completion requirement might work for the running gear assuming there were no nasty surprises (there always are). My guess is that no one will touch the boiler on the 160 day completion requirement - Could you even engineer and build a modern replacement boiler in that time?
Not to mention the ton of government regulations to follow (and the associated cost) plus risking 5% on a bid bond. Will anyone be willing to touch this one a firm bid versus a time and material contract?
As such - I jump to the following conclusions: If any of the better well known qualified shops does bid on it - the bids will be astronomical. I'm thinking $1 million would not be out of line. (Changes at CHS due to heart failure at bid opening?) Anything less and it will be another "as little as possible" job. Best bet - Railstar will end up with a modified bid using sub-contractors.
It will be interesting to see who shows up July 10th and what the bids are.