From what I've read, the frame is badly cracked in a number of places (allegedly due to the RGS' style of snow-bucking). But the main reason the D&S hasn't restored it is because it just doesn't have the pulling power to make sense for their operations. Now, SPNG 18 doesn't either, but she has the advantage of already being restored and operational as an oil trainer. It's less about what it would take than it is about the why.
I do agree that if the D&SNG doesn't want to make a go of the 42--and clearly she's not so important to their museum that they're not willing to park her outside under a tarp--it would be awesome if it could be available for another group, even if on static display at her home in Ridgway.
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Dave Vollmer
Rio Grande Southern in HOn3
Colorado Midland in N scale
Colorado Springs, CO