Hello,
Thank you for your post. To me it brings up a couple of questions;
I am really at a loss to understand what information posted in this thread qualifys as "misinformation" or is in any way "malicious". Could you please elaborate?
I will grant you that the car was in bad shape and I understand the reason the museum made the decision that it did in choosing not to restore the car and strike it from the collection list. That said, I'm not sure I understand the decision to destroy the car when someone was willing to remove the car from the museum property and restore it at their own cost. If there was no one who wanted the car, I could fully understand the decision that was made. Shurley having the original object continuing to exist (in any fashion) is preferable to having only a replica and further, letting the original car continue to exist in no way precluded a replica from being made at some point in the future. Now there is no more original object at all. I really can not see what was gained from that course of action.
Again, mean no ill will towards the CRRM, I am just sad to see a one of a kind peice of our railroad history dissappear forever. RPO#6 was the only surviving car of its type on the face of the earth both as a car and the Vance Junction section house. It would have been fairly easy and inexpensive to stabilize and make it presentable as the Vance Juction section house. I was willing to undertake that work and expense and made no secret of that fact and was under the impression that I had until April to get the car off museum property. I do hope that the CRRM board is more willing to let D&RGW 04988 continue to exist,because gone is forever.
Jason Midyette
