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Everyone always complains about restoring equipment, but the truth is its no all original. I believe the C&S installed a new boiler for number nine and her sisters in the early 1900s. I bet before number nine was restored in 2005 she only had a little original DSP&P hardware.
That may be true but I believe people keep missing the point when they focus on the fact that the equipment is not original to the manufacturer. The point usually is that the equipment may be
very original to the last operator.
The #9 may have had very little original DSP&P hardware but I'll bet it had a whole lot of C&S hardware on it. So the theory
is to try and "preserve" a original C&S engine, not a DSP&P engine.
As someone who has done a few restorations over the years (some not finished yet) I have been faced with the debate over what to save and what to replace many times. During these projects, Jerry Huck and I have disagreed on this many times. However our decisions on what to do usually came down to how the car was going to be used once the "restoration" was completed.
We decided that there were two types of restorations. The first is an "operational" restoration where the car will be placed in service once completed. In this type of project much of the original material (usually wood) is replaced with replica parts that can stand up to the stresses of operation. Many examples of these can be found on the D&S.
The second type is what I call "museum quality" or for display only. This type usually takes a lot more time and in the end, the car on display still has much of its original material still in place. Once again, I say much of the original material of its last
operator which is usually not the manufacturer. Many examples of these can be found at the CSRM. It is also important to note that if you do not plan to store your "museum quality" restoration inside, I don't think there is much point in doing this at all.
So, which restoration is best? All depends on what you plan to do with the restored product when its done. Since most people like the story about "Grandpa's Axe", I'll say this. If you want to keep using Grandpa's axe to cut firewood every winter, they you should get that broken handle and rusted head replaced. However, if you want to keep the axe as a "remembrance" or as a true example of a 1940's axe, then maybe you should put grandpa's axe on the wall in the den and go to wallmart and get a new one to chop the wood.
Of course, this all leads to the question of "should we restore everything to operational standards?" But that is a whole other thread.
Tim Bain
SVRy Restorations Manager
