Re: What if...Doing it economically *LINK*

I think you have a concept.
Like anything, if it is small enough to be handled outside a major industrial site it can be done for less. If on the other hand you expect to place an order and have a loco in a year for your tourist railroad, with little other involvement, costs may multiply exponentially.
There are patterns in several collections, both public and private for a 1876 Baldwin narrow gauge 4-4-0. Some of the patterns would work for other early narrow gauge Baldwins, particularly two 2-6-0’s being restored on either side of a certain California mountain range, but also some early 2-8-0’s.
But such a loco may not be economically appropriate for a Colorado mountain railroad, but may work for several museum lines.
Randy Hees