Re: 268?

Hi All,

I never post here but I have some relevant things to say. My name is Leighton Moreland and I am 268's caretaker, when you talk about "they", you really are talking about me. She is in reasonable shape but will not leave the museum in the foreseeable future. The museum owns her and does a very good job providing her with a superb museum to live in.

A distinction here must be made, they are a museum with a train not a train museum. I'm the only person there who really knows much about the actual nuts and bolts of trains. I've done some minor work, if you go see her now you'll see she now has a boiler pressure gauge. Pretty much all of what I've done comes out of my own pocket and I do what I can. Right now I'm trying to find her some of the correct brake gauges. If you want to see this engine in better condition then send the museum a check.

I love that little engine and I do what I can with the few resources I have, I'm a student at the Colorado School of Mines. I'm also a volunteer with at the Colorado Railroad Museum and I'm an active member of the Colorado and Southern Railway Society. We all do what we can with the resources we have. While operation is the highest state of preservation some trains can't or shouldn't run again. That's the way it is and do not belittle organizations that do not choose to run their engines or cannot for whatever reason. Not every steam engine needs to run again, some can just be left as they are. Nobody's ever said they should go throw a fire in stephenson's rocket.

The Gunnison Pioneer Museum is a small museum that honestly does really well with the resources they have. Just because they have a train does not mean that that's what they care about the most. They do take care of it, they put the cover over it. The museum is about Gunnison and its history, not about the Rio Grande or railroading. They have a superb car collection with vehicles predominantly owned by Gunnison Residents. They have many buildings on the property that reflect the history and people of Gunnison. It's a local museum that represents local history. So please do not be arm chair railroaders and come rushing in and tell them how to run their museum and what to do with the train, you will not be well received. Frankly I've had backlash with some stuff I've wanted to do because of behavior like that and it helps nobody. When you say "they should restore that engine" that "they" you are talking about is really me and I do not appreciate it.

I helped put the 491 back into service and restoring steam engines is a lot of work. If you have no place to run it or no work space or tools it is even harder. And the best part is even after you as an organization puts in thousands of hours and dollars and blood and sweat and tears, people who have no idea what goes into it will tell you you did everything wrong and have no idea what you're doing because it doesn't look like their fuzzy black and white picture.

If you have any questions for me about myself or the 268 I invite you to send me a message.

Sincerely,
Leighton Moreland

Volunteer Colorado Railroad Museum
Member and Volunteer Colorado and Southern Railway Society
Caretaker of D&RGW Engine No. 268