Re: The Wreck at MP 309.35

I have to agree entirely with the voices of reason to leave artifacts such as pilots and cab sides where they have lain since the incidents occured. These artifacts bring out a side of the railroad that is not often noticed by the public. Running trains over Cumbres was risky buisness and accidents did occur, some with fatal consequences. The Cab side of #489 on display in Chama would not be nearly as important or meaningful as gazing down upon it from the right of way and knowing that an employee died there.
I have hiked to several of the accident locations on the Cumbres and Toltec and would hate to know that all the remaining artifacts were cleaned up so that they could be "preserved". Some wreck sites (such as the lower end of Tanglefoot curve") have only been discovered because there were still artifacts left to tell the tale.
Several years ago a group of "railfans" did recover the coupler and draft gear from a wreck. Several employees (myself included) took this artifact back to where it belonged so that today as passengers travel on the train they can see this remnant of a wreck on Windy Point and know that not all days of railroading were good days.