Not the "Whole" Story on 71?

John,
You have restated the popular misconception of the ownership of the 71. According to the deed as stated this display (71 and the two accompanying cars) was a joint ownership between the Colorado & Southern Railway, the Central City Opera House Association (aka University of Denver), and the City of Central.
When the CCOHA sold to the CHS, the CHS thought that they owned it lock, stock and barrel, which wasn't so. The C&S was the BN by that time and could have cared less (a different story than in 1969). The other third owner was who stopped the move, that being Central City.
Floyd Cothran and Court Hammond put a lot of time into the 71 and it was operated on a regular basis for a season or two until Hammond soaked the company dry and ran off. He had bilked Floyd out of about 100K and owed everybody in town.
I have been over all of this before, however.
Yes, the 71 belongs to Central City, just like the 60 belongs to Idaho Springs. These were the ONLY cities who took the C&S up on their offer of a free donated locomotive. The locomotives were offered, upon abandonment, to every city on the South Park and Clear Creek lines.
Only Central and Idaho Springs took them up on their offer (Georgetown didn't, Como didn't, Jefferson didn't, Gunnison didn't, Buena Vista didn't). So instead of damning the fact that these cities still have them intheir posession, we ought to be thanking them that we still have at least two examples of C&S 2-8-0's around.
If the CHS wanted a C&S 2-8-0 so badly, then why didn't they try to purchase the 60 from Idaho Springs when it was for sale? It wouldn't even have had to leave the County.... Shoot, if you look at the reason that the 60 was left in Idaho Springs, it was in lieu of back County taxes anyway. All the county would have had to do was to move tiheir own property to Silver Plume.
But that would have been too easy. The CHS had to create a big stink that still has people left with a bad taste in their mouths on both sides.
Rick Steele