Thank you for your kind words about Eureka.
You have raised some very interesting issues concerning the locomotive and its operation. In order to understand my position on this, you will have to understand why I restored Eureka and why I restored it to operation.
When I got the locomotive back in 1986, I did so for one reason: to preserve a part of Nevada's railroad history. When I was at the University of Nevada, many many moons ago, my major was American History. As part of those studies, and being a citizen of Nevada, it was part of the curriculum to study, naturally enough, Nevada history as well. I was aware in a vague sort of way, before my college days in the 1960s about the influence of the railroads on Nevada. However, the formal studies in school impressed upon me how really profound it was to our area.
When I saw Eureka in its burned out condition back in 1986, and found out it had been that way for a year since the fire, a thought came to me while I was looking at it....if no one else cares for our history, at least I will take care of this piece of it. So, after a bunch of negotiating and waiting, I finally got it. I had no place else to take it, except home.
After a thorough examination it the various components, I figured the locomotive could become operational again. However, I also decided early on that the operation would be limited in its scope. I decided this because, those who know more about these things than me, said that of all the locomotives remaining in the United States built before 1880, Eureka was the most complete. I don't know if this is true or not, but it did nevertheless influence my decision. Also, of the three locomotives of the class 8-18C (the Sonoma in the California State Railroad Museum, built 1876, and the Jupiter in the Smithsonian also of 76 vintage) the Eureka was the oldest, and was a good candidate for operation.
As you may or may not know, the boiler on the Eureka is the original, built in 1875. It is in wonderful shape. Many other locomotives of that era have had their boilers either replaced, or have rotted out due to neglect. Even though Eureka was in the fire, the boiler was not damaged. The reason it was in the fire was because it had been in a building. Fortunately, the prior owners also kept it inclosed virtually all its working life. Thus, through good fortune, and some very hard restoration work, we now have today a fully functioning locomotive from just after the Civil War, with all of its major components still operational.
To operate Eureka on a commercial basis would consume this historic artifact at an accellerated pace. Furthermore, the design of the equipment, while adequate for the limited operation I do with it, would be wholly inadequate for regular revenue purposes. You can literally start with the link and pin pilot drawbar and go to the rear of the locomotive and find all sorts of things that would have to be changed for daily operation. Add to that the wear and tear on the equipment, and before long you have one very beat up little locomotive with many of the original components used up, broken, lost, or whatever.
I am one who happens to believe that historic equipment, if it can operate, should operate. Limited operation, as opposed to something being stuffed and mounted, has some very great advantages. It requires regular inspection and maintenance, it requires regular lubrication and cleaning, but it does NOT beat the equipment up. What is more, is that by limited operation, people get a chance to see and hear the real thing in operation, to hear the sights and sounds that our forefathers once enjoyed as it chugged its way across the West. It is not a replica, it is the honest to God thing that is a representative icon of American railroading from the 19th century.
My desire is to keep it going in its origial form as long as it can be reasonably done. The fact I am not making anything of any significance from its operation is not the controlling issue to me. There is a greater purpose and that is our heritage.
So, now you have an idea why I run Eureka only on a limited basis. I will leave it to someone else to build the replica. They can run it into the ground. However, remember, a replica, even if an exact copy, is just an imitation. I want people to know the sight, sounds and smell of the genuine thing, and be able to hear today Eureka's heatbeat from two centuries gone. I think our fathers would be pleased.
Dan Markoff
