I remember being told that the frame on 42 is pretty well shattered from snow bucking back in the day. That said, crazier things have happened...#20 had frame problems too. Obviously #20's restoration was an extremely expensive and decade-long process that involved massive injections of money, both public and private.
So back to 42. I'd love to see it restored and running
somewhere to include the D&SNG or Ridgway. But it's not really going to be that useful to the D&SNG with its much lower pulling power than the K-class engines, so economically, it makes little sense for the D&SNG to do anything with it beyond keeping it in its museum.
Who else then has the cash both to buy it from the D&SNG and restore it? I'd love to imagine such a group exists, but I highly, highly doubt it. I think we get spoiled seeing the likes of the EBT Foundation and the WW&F folks restoring things left and right. Different money, different purposes, etc. are at play.
And even if, say, a generous anonymous donor buys the 42 and has it restored to operation, where would it go? Would the Ridgway people be ready to operate a C-17 with all the maintenance and inspection requirements? Maybe...since at some point they should be taking delivery of RGS 36. But 42's a much bigger engine. So where else? CRRM seems to have plenty of toys...three operating narrow gauge steam locomotives including one that's a close cousin (the C-17s and C-19s had a common ancestry). Not sure RGS 42 even really fits well into their collection as they already have RGS 20 and RGS 74 (and Rico, and 0404, and 2102, and 01789, and 7302, and...you get the point! RGS is already well-represented).
Whenever we start talking about what "they" should do, it's important to consider who "they" are and what resources "they" have.
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Dave Vollmer
Rio Grande Southern in HOn3
Colorado Midland in N scale
Colorado Springs, CO
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2024 10:42AM by Dave Vollmer.
