Jerry474 Wrote:
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> Thanks Bernie;
> I started posting again after many years absence
> because there was a lack of coverage of the
> Durango & Silverton.
And it is appreciated, perhaps most of all by those of us who don't have the $$$ to visit ourselves.
> I am very fortunate to live
> where I do and to have been given access to the
> work being done. But there are a few (and it is a
> few) who seem to have a negative attitude against
> the D&S and the Harper family. I stopped posting
> photos and info on the rebuilding of K37 493
> because the treads seem to degenerate into wild
> speculation, negative comments, and posts that had
> very little to do with the original topic.
That's the internet for ya. I've been online since the 1980's and it's a familiar phenom. people with some kind of axe to grind, or who just want to stir things up and tick people off, are the most common posters an many sites. Just check out online sites reviewing tv shows and such. I won't even go to political sites, last time I did, they were, regardless of orientation, full of pointless flames and misinformation. (Note: as a veteran of abUSENET back in the day, most of the current 'net is sorta tame by comparison)
Just ignore the trolls, talking to them only encourages them.
> Latest was that RGS 42 should be given to Ridgway.
> Would cost several tons of money to rebuild 42,
> Ridgway does not have that kind of money, they are
> involved in building the replica engine, D&S has
> kept the 42 cosmetically restored and display
> inside away from the elements for over 10 years.
When I heard they were buying 42, back in the early eighties(1983?), the trainman I was talking to said the plan was to use it on the Winter season trains to Cascade, then only about 4 cars. I heard later that when it was given a close inspection the frame and boiler were both in such bad shape that it would not be economical to restore it to operation. Remember, the 1887 group of class 70 engines(later class C-17) did not receive new boilers ca 1913 like the 1881 engines (later class C-19) did. I assume the original C-17 boilers were steel and thus met the new ICC regs of the era, unlike the older engines. So 42 still has her original July 1887 lap-seam boiler. What I heard was that her cylinder saddle (replaced ca 1927 on the RGS) was OK but other than that, it was a matter of jack up the cab & bell and roll a new engine under them. Not bloody likely.
Given that the engine was of no use for the purpose they purchased it, and that D&S is a commercial operation and is NOT a museum, I give the management, past and present, high marks for the care they have taken of her. They didn't have to do this and that they have says good things about them.
Would I like to see her running? Sure I would. Do I expect someone else to restore her just for my pleasure? Heck no! If Publishers Clearing house stops in on Friday to give me some huge amount of money, I would consider donating to a restoration project but, in all honesty, there are so many other worthy, and more likely, projects of this sort in Colorado, Maine and Oregon to mention just a few, that she'd be pretty far down my list.
> The D&S is not perfect, neither is the C&TS or any
> of the other tourist railroads, but why the
> constant negativity. I post most of my photos on
> my Facebook page, the Rio Grande and Modeling &
> Historical Society and Rocky Mountain RR Club
> pages as I have some control over the negative
> posts. So many knowledgeable individuals with lots
> of photos and information stopped posting here
> because of all the negativity. I just wish that
> those who are inclined to negative comments would
> realize the damage they are doing
I wish that too, but I'm not holding my breath while I wait. Mostly, I just try to ignore them unless I think I have actual real facts to contribute to the discussion.
Hang in there Jerry,
hank
