I never was priviliged to see the 9 operate and yes the engine was in not the best shape when it was restored to service and I'm sure everybody has the answer of the hows and whys and whats of the way it should have been with such an artifact. I think everybody agrees now that you can't use a national tresure on a 4% plus mountain railroad
even what the engine was originally ment and built to do, over one hundred years old on a daily basis.Why thats like flying a restored B-17
every day non stop from Denver to LA! Not very pratical.I'm sure thats
why eveyone knows why the Loop doesn't or did't run ex C&S steam power
over the Loop today.Not that it wouldn't be very neat! The 9 needed so much work and there was not enough money to do what was needed especially when the Loop went FRA the restoration price almost trippled.
Could it have been run on occation? Yes but the money needed to restore
and operate an artifact has never been floating in the wind when it comes to operating the Loop.We can't always be as fortunate as the group
in Durango and the 315. No one wanted to produce the money from government of from say the D&SNG especially since most of all a for profit
organization. Just too much expendature to see real profits.
And again the 9 being it seems to me to be the most well known most photographed of all the South Park and C&S locomotives, mabe the most effort should have been made to make her the "queen" of the fleet so to speak but then again unless you are involved you have to know that money
doesn't grow on trees anymore. It's too bad but all the ex C&S narrow gauge power was worn out so much so that no wonder none of the locomotives were recomended for restoratrion to operate on the Loop.
The 71 was the best one of the bunch to restore but remember that political debacule.The 9 will have a good home and resting place in Breckenridge.At least it wasn't scrapped like it's sisters. And the Loop
and the LVC&S are still the only places you can ride over former C&S rails.
