Watcher,
It was really quite simple. My wife, Ditty, was dragging me out to an arts and crafts show in Boulder City in May 1986. It was a hot day, and I really had no desire going to an arts and crafts show. On the way out to BC there was a place called Old Vegas, which was a really neat re creation of the old town of Las Vegas. There was a restaurant there called Tony Roma's and we stopped in for a cool margarita ..After we cooled down, we went back outside and I noticed the back area to the recreated Las Vegas town was closed off. I knew the locomotive was back in that area, but could not see it. So, Ditty and I walked around the outside perimeter. Much to my surprise, much of the recreated town was burned, and so was the shed under which they stored Eureka, which burned and collapsed on the locomotive. It was all a very big mess.
However, I had a background with things mechanical, particularly airplanes, and looked over the charred mess and saw the possibility of doing a restoration. I asked the security guard how long it had been sitting in the burned up pile, and he said a year. Now I already knew the history of the locomotive, and a little bell went off in my head that if no one else cared for it, maybe I could do something with it.
As far as acquiring the locomotive, it was relatively straight forward. I contacted the owners of Old Vegas, and began talking with them about it. We negotiated back and forth for a couple months, and finally agreed on a price. At the conclusion of our negotiations, they mentioned that they knew the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City was interested in Eureka also, and thought they would offer it to them first......for free. All they had to do was come and get it. This was fine with me as what I cared about was preserving the locomotive. I put a time limit on my offer to which they agreed. They contacted the NSRM Director at that time, but apparently he thought the whole thing was a joke, and threw the Old Vegas letter away. The time passed, I contacted the owners and asked what happened. They said they did not know, but they never even got a reply of any sort. I said to them, I still wanted the engine, and if agreeable I would FED EX the cashier's check, if they would send the Bill of Sale. They agreed. And that is how I got Eureka. And yes, I did purchase it.
Interestingly, the day I went out to Old Vegas to start preparing the locomotive for transport to my home, a bunch of suits showed up. They asked me who I was, and they identified themselves as being from the NSRM CC and the Calif. State Railroad Museum. They asked me if I was willing to sell the engine right then and there for a substantial amount over what I paid for it. I was amazed, and told them that the NSRM CC could have had it for nothing if they just picked it up. They said that whole episode was a very sore spot with them and told me how the director thought the whole thing was a joke. I thought about their offer, but then decided I got it now, and might as well see what I can do with the old gal. So, I thanked them, and spent the next six years rebuilding Eureka. according to its original blueprints and finish schedule. I'm glad I kept Eureka. It has given me and my little family the adventure of a lifetime.
Dan Markoff
