I wish them well

I understand they had enough money to rebuild the tender. It cost just a little more than our tender to fix. Then they ran out of money. They were looking for a grant writer last year. We were fortunate that the 315 group's president, George Niederaurer, was excellent at grant writing. We also had some well-connected members who were able to raise matching funds through private donors. Unfortunately, 169 doesn't have those kinds of assets.

Being familiar with both 315 and 169, both were badly stripped of usable parts. We spent $125K on appliances alone. We will total out well over 400K and that is with a great deal of volunteer help. If the engine is sent to the C&TS for repair, add $100-200K more.

This is a good group of people and 169 is worthy of restoration. T-12s are personal favorites and I am confident that 169 will run eventually. Having been involved in a challenging and often frustrating project with 315 for 7 years, I wish that group well.