Re: My last post--489 content.

The point that all of you who say you like the new paint job seem to fail to grasp is, if the engine had been lettered "Cumbres & Toltec" we might not like it, but we would not be objecting to the fact that it is not historic.

Once they lettered the engine with an historic railroad name, I feel they had an obligation to do it correctly. If you letter it "Rio Grande" people who see it will assume that is how the Rio Grande painted their engines.

In talking with people who have seen literally thousands of D&RGW narrow gauge photos, they all state categorically that silver trim on the tank top beading was never done, unless possibly for a movie paint job, but even then, they don't remember ever seeing it. You can bring up all the tales of individual shop variations that you want, but no Rio Grande engine ever looked like the 489 does today. The wrong way slant on the tender lettering is another example of getting it wrong. Two engines did have the wrong slant on the right side of their tenders for a period in the mid-50's, but no one has ever reported seeing the left side done that way.

The over the top use of silver trim gives the appearance of Hollywood fakery. Hollywood never gave a damn about historical accuracy, but the C&TS should. As a friend of mine said, "It's historically restored to the way it never was." Letter it "Cumbres & Toltec if everyone wants to keep the silver trim.

Michael Allen