Ryan,
I am not sure who you talked to about the condition of the two rotary snow plows on the C&TS that are basking in the northern New Mexico sunshine in Chama. While it is true that one of them (and no I can't remember which one either) will probably never be operated again simply because it requires much more repair than the other and there is just no justification for spending time, money and resources on two such devices.
However, that being said, the rotary that is
under consideration for restoration will take much more than a "little" work to restore to operating condition. The entire wood structure needs replacing, the boiler insulation is still asbestos and must be abated and removed by a licensed/certified contractor. It is unknown what boiler repairs may be needed. The condition of the mechanical workings of the machine are somewhat unkown at this time. Complete, rather than cosmetic or "quick-fix" rebuilds/restorations are the exception rather than the rule these days with Friends projects. What this means is that if, upon closer inspection or during the initial disassembly of the rotary, major repairs are indicated, the project completion will be delayed in order to do the long term fix. The project will require multiple years and lots of labor.
Another issue that is being considered is how to protect the working parts of the machine while the wood shell is removed. Because of this, there will probably be no work started on the rotary until the Chama car restoration facility is built so that it will be protected from the elements, which is itself several years off yet.
The bottom line is that one of the rotaries will be restored to operating condition sometime in the next 4 to 6 years. I have been asked informally if I would be interested in being on the restoration team but have not committed yet. As far as funding committed to this project is concerned, I don't have that information at this time.
Stay tuned for further developments.
