We did move 493 in the May of 2016. I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to disclose much, but there isn't really much to say. The impression that was passed to me (as a lowly shop monkey) was that 493 would be either donated by the D&S or purchased for a very low price, and would come to the museum to supplement 491 in times of need on heavy 'event' trains. The prep work for moving 493 was done by CRRM staff in Silverton over the course of about a week, and that was the end of my involvement with the project. From there, the official reason is that the cost of trucking the engine was too steep, and the final verdict came down in October of 2016 that the deal was off and we wouldn't be getting another K-37.
I'm still not sure where all this 10 year lease business came from. Unless I was directly and repeatedly mislead, there was never a plan for 493 to return to the D&S from the museum. As I recall, we (as a crew in Silverton) were sitting around one morning reading an article in the paper about the move when we came across a supposed quote from one of us that a lease was in the plans. Nobody outside of the D&S ever talked to us in Silverton, asked permission to take photos, or even said "hello". Where they came up with this story, only they know.
Whatever the case, it's fantastic to see her looking so different from those cold days in 2016 up in Silverton- major congrats to everyone on the D&S involved, and I can't wait to go see her in person!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2020 03:02PM by Brett Wiebold.