Re: NPS & 278

Prior to retirement a couple of years ago, a real go-getter by the name of Connie Rudd was Superintendent of both Curecanti National Recreation Area and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for a few years. When she arrived, both places were basket cases of deferred maintenance. She hustled the money to topcoat all of the park roads, replace all of the signage, upgrade buildings, and generally make both parks look the way they should. She took a personal interest in #278 and the derelict train that was then located on the bridge in the canyon below Cimarron. She found the funding to remove the equipment and have the locomotive restored. She was trying to find funding for the boxcar and caboose when she retired, but told me that project wasn't going well. The caboose and boxcar need to be rolled back onto the bridge before the locomotive can go on, so they are all sitting in the Park Service yard and will continue to do so until the cars are restored. I'm not sure what the status of that project might be, as I haven't been there in more than a year. I did get the feeling that with the change in superintendents, completing the project went on the back burner and may languish until someone else comes along who takes an interest in the train.

A fun and largely unknown fact: #278 made one film appearance. Check out all of the motion pictures and television shows made on the Colorado and New Mexico lines in my book "Hollywood's Railroads, Volume Three: Narrow Gauge Country." Learn more at: [www.CochetopaPress.biz]