Re: If Anyone Had Told Me.....

Well Mik, you are probably right and wrong as well. In most places there were your clean engines and your run of the mill dirty ones, and most were dirty. The ones that were clean might have had regular engineers who indeed might have taken pride in their engine and cleaned them from time to time, or put their own decorations on them. In South Africa this was quite true even in the mid-1980's. Most engines were basically dirty-work-a-day engines, and then whenever one was all painted up it actually looked out of place, and in some respects kinda foolish with blue or red colored sections. I always thought it was a nice novelty, to see them cleaned up, cause most of them here in the states in the later years were just everyday machines, and most were basic black without all the weird stuff.
Today for some reason, many restorers have the tendency to (Borrowing expressions from others) (A)Queer them up, (Tart-them up, (C) Porno Steam them, (D)Dollywood Kit them, etc.
For the run of the mill tourist line, I suppose it really doesn't matter about color of the engines, as they only care about the money the tourist is bringing in and will do what they can do-all history aside.
I for one have been a proponent for Rio Grande on the tenders of the C&TS engines for the sake of authentic history on those locomotives. They are unique in that they are the authentic engines that once ran in regular service on those rails. Thats really rare. Its a state operation, paid for largely by the people, thus its not owned by a corporation who might want its own name on the locos.
Now, back to the original part of this post. The Rio Grande Southern #20, and all the other engines at the Colorado RR Museum, or to the best of my knowledge lettered authentically, and will likely be that way when restored. Look at the bright side of all this and realize that several NG engines are coming on the scene lettered correctly, and in fact attempting to be as authentic as possible. Look at Colorado and Southern #9 as a perfect example, and soon to be D&RGW 315 in Durango. Frankly I am pleased to see this, and while not every turn of the driving wheels will produce massive amounts of photogenic smoke, I am sure there will be enough over the course of these engines running to be satisfactory to the majority of fans.
So, in conclusion I see where PRSL is going with his comments, but I don't really agree with it 100% since I think the engines in question are being looked after by folks who care about history in the long run. Therefore kudos to the Colorado Historical Society for bringing back the #9, The folks in Durango working on the 315, and the generous donor who is paying for RGS #20. I never saw a RGS or a C&S engine operate so seeing those road names again some day will be a new experience for me, if I ever get back out west!!!
Steamingly,
Greg Scholl