"Interesting Observation" posted:
It would seem that Ulrich was just doing what he was told...however, shouldn't he take some responsibility when CHS came to him with the project and he should have know, or apprised himself with, what the operational demands at the loop are and what the end use of the locomotive was going to be or desired? Should he not have told the CHS that in no way would 250K put thier locomotive in any kind of shape to hold up to any maintained operation at the loop?
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You left out a question: Shouldn't Ulrich have known that #12, a locomotive he never worked on, would snap an axle and that Locomotive #9 would have to be pressed into daily service? Seriously, how was Uhrich supposed to have predicted what the "operational demands" at the Loop would be like? You are complaining that the guy was not a mind reader!
Go back and read the NGDF archives from 2004 and 2005. There are some great posts in there about the restoration of #9.
For example, back on Tuesday, 10 August 2004, at 8:23 a.m., Phil Reader posted:
One should see the crown sheet patch on the #9. Even if the the boiler and the fire box is usable it will cost alot to repair.
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Steve Torrico posted this back on Friday, 22 July 2005, at 8:43 a.m.:
Greetings all. I can not speak for CHS, but I can tell you that No.9 will NOT be slapped back together in order to be rushed onto the property or into service for the sake of meeting a timetable previously stated. I am sure we all had hoped No.9 would be here by now, but its not. Work on No.9 is progressing and being done so with the utmost professionalism and concern for historic preservation. The schedule is working well with No.12, we all wish we had more power and rolling stock. However, we are doing the best with what we have....which is better than "no operation". Original Post:
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More than a year later, Steve posted on Saturday, 24 June 2006, at 6:02 p.m.:
Today the No.9 double-headed with the No.12 on the last three trips of today. On the last trip I went up on the over-look, off I70 which you can see almost the entire line, and watched the two engines pull a fully loaded 6 car train up the hill...WOW...and I mean WOW!!!! The sight and especially the sound of the two engines was out of this world! More fine tuning to come. Now that I have run this engine a bit, I can tell you all that she is a great steamer and a fantastic puller, on one of the test runs we let the No.9 pull the No.12 and the train....WOW.
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Again, Steve's description was that "she is a great steamer and a fantastic puller".
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I'll wrap this up with two old posts from Jason Midyette. Back on Friday, 14 May 2004, at 10:00 p.m., Jason explained how #9 ended up in Strasburg:
#9 ended up in Strasburg because the CHS had no clue what to do with the locomotive when the C&TS refused it. The truck driver was able to call Marlin Uhrich and arrainge for temporary storage. The exact fate of #9 in Strasburg is still being discussed, apparently asbestos abatement will begin as soon as the CHS obtains a state permit and then Uhrich Locomotive Works will most likley do an evaluation of the locomotive.
On the plus side of the fiasco that the move of #9 has become, it is now in a good place. Marlin Uhrich and his staff are very competant and will do a good job on #9. They truly care about historic artifacts such as #9 and, if the CHS is willing to listen, will be able to guide the CHS in doing a proper restoration of this unique locomotive. A meeting has been set for next week for the CHS to decide how to proceed with #9. According to the CHS, the tender will be reunited with the locomotive if it is decided to proceed with restoration in Strasburg.
Uhrich Locomotive Works has extensive experience restoring historic railroad equipment, along with building 15" gauge steam locomotives from scratch. They have a complete foundry, machine shop and woodshop. Recent projects include the restoration of D&RGW coach 280, restoring Colorado & Northwestern #30/C&S 74/RGS 74's tender, and the cosmetic restoration of IRCA 2-8-0 #111 (from the Sundown & Southern) for the town of Breckenridge.
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So, per these old posts, Uhrich first graciously agreed to provide storage space for #9 after the C&TS refused her. He and his shop then restored her, producing a locomotive that was described by a Railstar crewmember (*not* Uhrich) as a "great steamer and a fantastic puller".
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Also, regarding the #74/#30 situation, way back on Thursday, 26 August 2004, at 4:33 p.m., Jason Midyette explained exactly what was being done to her:
Here is what is going on with the locomotive:
The $49,000 grant from the CHS is for the cosmetic restoration of the locomotive, along with the grant a cash match from the City of Boulder and the Boulder County Railway Historical Society is included, to bring the project total to around $70,000. This grant was applied for in April, long before any thought of the CHS using #74 on the Loop came about. Uhrich Locomotive works was scheduled to do this work any way, so #74 was going to Strasburg one way or the other this summer.
The CHS approached the City of Boulder about using #74 in early June. The City has reached an agreement with the CHS, this did speed up the movement of the locomotive from the park. The agreement is basicaly as follows, the CHS will pay to have #74 moved to Strasburg and pay Uhrich to do a detailed evaluation of it and come up with a firm estimate for restoration to operational condition. Should an operational restoration not be feasible, the cosmetic grant will be used to restore #74 for display and the CHS will pay to move it back to Boulder. Should the CHS decide operational restoration is within their budget, it will be made to run and used on the Loop for 10 seasons and then return to Boulder (CHS will pay for the operational restoration)
At any rate, #74 is no longer a target for rock throwing kids, sticky fingered railfans, homeless folk and others intent upon its destruction.
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As we all know now, the operational restoration was found to *not* be feasible, so the cosmetic grant is being used to restore #74 for display.
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Chris Webster
[www.speakeasy.org]
