Re: Viva La Resolucion: 483 <=> 478 OK'd in principle

Thank You, Sam Seiber -

For taking the time - especially under apparently somewhat trying circumstances -
to transcribe and post a synopsis of last week's Commission meeting for those of
us not privileged to live close enough to attend in person.

For the convenience of those of us most interested in the Commission's decision regarding the trade of C&TS loco #483 for D&S loco #478,
I have copied that part Sam's write-up, and broken it into several separate paragraphs according to the specific aspects of the trade being discussed.   My own comments are interspersed in italics below.

"Trade of C&T locomotive 483 with Durango & Silverton 478 - looking for conditional approval on the trade.  Exact details have yet to be worked out.  Approving the trade now allows John Bush to continue working with the D&S, and not have to wait for the October meeting to move forward.


"Randy Randall asked Tim Tennant of the Friends opinion.  Randy felt it was a good deal as the C&T was gaining a different class of locomotive.  Also, the C&T is trading something that doesn't work for something that does, even though the 478 won't work much longer.  Randy felt that the normal maintenance to get #478 {running} was a better deal than getting #483 running.

"Tim responded that there are members that have a strong attachment to #483.  The 483, unless a bunch of money came, in would not likely run on the C&T.  Tim feels that getting another class of D&RG locomotive, trading for the 483 makes sense.  One Friends member commented to Tim that he would rather see 483 run on the D&S, rather than never run again on the C&T."

As one of the fans, along with Roger Hogan and earlier Jay Wimer, who spearheaded efforts to raise funds for #483's restoration, I was one of those asked by Tim for an opinion.  There were several comments both pro and con here on the NGDF; I'm among those who hate to see #483 depart, but would rather see her running in Durango than rusting in Chama.  (Not that she is rusting any longer - IMHO, The Friends have done a GREAT job on her COSMETIC restoration!)

"A K-28 is expected to pull a 6 car train to Cumbres from Chama.  #478 & #463 could double, pulling a 12 car train.  Randy was concerned that adding a locomotive would add cost to running the RR.  The up side is it would delay the 1472 rebuilds, thus enjoying a savings there.  John Bush mentioned that the cost of the annual inspects is relatively minimal compared to the 1472 work.


"Roger Hogan asked Tim Tennant {whether} the 483 is the only locomotive that had its own bank account.  Tim responded that the funds donated to the 483 were either spent on cosmetic efforts on the 483, or the Friends webcams."

I believe Roger asked this question primarily to have Tim's reply recorded in the minutes.  IIRC, the funds raised by Roger and Jay in their first effort (approximately $10,500) were used as part of the payment for the removal of asbestos from both #483 and #492.  The funds raised in the second effort by Roger's penny machines and our "Help Save #483" screen saver were traded to The Friends to help pay for installation of the webcams on the coaling tower.  In exchange, The Friends agreed to take over the responsibility for restoration of #483.  IMHO, we fans of #483 came out WAY ahead on the deal, as the superb job done the past few years on the cosmetic restoration of #483 by The Friends would have cost far more than the roughly $4,500 in the fund.  The compiler/editor of the screen saver (me), its producer (Roger), and the principal contributors of the photographs therein (Ernie Robart, John West and Tom Gildersleeve) all agreed to this exchange at the time.

"There is no money in the account.   No money moves with the locomotive.


"Approved."

As noted by Sam (following post), this approval does NOT mean the swap is a done deal.  Rather, it gives John Bush the authority to negotiate with the D&SNG for a mutually beneficial exchange of locomotives.

... And now back to our regular conjectural programming (the usual editorial hiccups notwithstanding) ...    

- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2015 11:42AM by Russo Loco.