Jeff,
Thanks for that information. It clarifies the situation greatly. I guess the newspaper article got the story wrong about the locomotive being offered for sale. Is the Queen’s Crossing project to be a private business or a public sector development? It certainly seems intent on taking the basic role of a historical museum to a highly interpretive level.
The fact that the City says nothing about who will own the locomotive while it is cared for by the selected group leads me to believe that the City will retain ownership. I assume the City is seeking an independent contractor to provide the services they ask for in their RFP. I can understand the basic requirement for the tools, resources, and knowhow to provide most of those services. But when they suggest the RFP requires the financing for moving the locomotive, and perhaps for its housing as well, it raises a question of just how far they expect the responders to the RFP to go in terms of financing a seemingly very ambitious project.
It is not clear to me how RAPS is able to reach a conclusion that they would be prevented from taking on the role described in the RFP.