Re: Sumpter Valley Number 20

eric Wrote:
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> I agree the plan has always been to have both
> mikes in operating condition. The eye opener has
> been the money and man power it takes to do a
> proper Form 4. With 1 steam loco it has to be
> done by the organization every 15 years, with 2 it
> is every 7 1/2 years, with 3 it is every 5 years.
> At a cost of years of volunteer labor and budgets
> near 6 figures per Form 4, we need to get as much
> for our time and money as possible.
>
> I think the tendancy will now be to run one and
> have the other "in the wings", alternating for
> each other. That would save us one Form 4 per
> each 15 year cycle. I am all for proceeding with
> the initial work on the 20 but hard dollars and
> cents will have a say in if and when she is
> steamed up. As we have discussed here before, we
> need to consider the high ongoing cost of
> maintenance and operations of each locomotive as
> much as the initial cost of restoration.
>
> I know we are not unique in this position, many
> other organizations are having to be very smart
> how they allocate their funds and volunteer time
> to keep afloat.

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Jerry said he had figured out how to operate "inside a bubble" at near zero cost. What's the issue ? Is he holding out information like this ?