Re: Any news on Loco #168?

Let me try to answer a couple of questions that have been raised in this discussion.

1. The locomotive was originally built with a straight top wrought iron boiler.

2. The locomotive got a new steel wagon top boiler probably between 1913 and 1916.

3. I painted the boiler jacket a metallic blue when I completed the cosmetic restoration in 1984. Planished iron whether hand made or machine made varied in color all the way from almost black to almost silver with intermediate hues varying from browns and reds to blues and greens. According to what I have been told over the years. As it was rubbed and wiped down over the years it got lighter and lighter. It was reflective like a mirror and thus tended to reflect the color of the sky. It was for those reasons I chose the color now on the engine.

4. It is my intent that the engine be restored to as early an appearance as is consistent with the boiler replacement.

5. The last documented use of the locomotive was for the making of "Texas Rangers" in 1935. There are photos of it taken in Espanola wearing the same fake diamond stack it had when I started the cosmetic restoration.

6. It was donated to the City of Colorado Springs in 1938.

7. We have now set up an account so that tax deductible donations can be made to this restoration. Checks should be sent to the:

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
P.O. Box 561
Antonito, CO 81120

Please make sure to note that the check is for the #168 fund.

Thanks
John Bush