How hammered IS that locomotive ?

An exchange below brought up an interesting - and sometimes contentious - point about how preserved steam locomotives came "as is" to preserved steam operations . As far as what I observed , it can go all over the map .One point has to be made . A steam locomotive that made it to preservation had good maintenance sometime in its working life ,or it would not have made it far enough to be preserved . When I first went to work in Chama in 1973 , many claimed the D&RGW left the ramaining steam power in deplorable shape . After several years around that same equipment ,I contend that in general that is not true . The engines were in good enough shape that the C&TS was able to defer maintenance for years ,resting on the D&RGW's good repairs . Consensus was that as abandonment neared ,many steam operations deferred some maintenance , and the D&RGW was no exception .
Westside Lumber Co. in California was the last narrow gauge operation in the Far West . It closed with 9 steam engines still on the property .Those engines didn't get that far with bad maintenance .However , like the D&RGW narrow gauge , the West Side had tough operating conditions . Operations were cut back in 1958 , and maintenance may have declined the last two years of operation . A telling indication of what engines were in good / bad shape is what sold first .#14 and #3 left quickly ,while others hung around Tuolumne for years . Tom Shreve told me that #7 literally took a dive in the mill pond . #8 at some time flipped over and sustained lasting damage . #12 had some problems due to a poorly-engineered piston valve conversion on its engine . How is 9,10,and 15 ? I don't know . RGS locomotives ? #42 is positively the most beat-up locomotive I ever saw .Five or more breaks in the frame , an 1887 boiler with a worn-out firebox and the worst quarter-slip I ever saw (with an incredibly half-assed repair) preservation might start with an all-new locomotive.
With D&RGW engines ,each had their problems . 318 had a badly bent frame from a wreck , and a decrepit boiler. 480 had a crushed/reconstructed left piston ,and was slippery because of it . 489 had frame problems from a a bad wreck , and bearings always ran hot . 497 would destroy track . When 315 was put on display ,"legend has it" that master mechanic Bob Hamm picked "the best engine" . So far ,we see only green lights ,However , Bob Richardson told me this story about a cracked cylinder....