Sad to see 498 in this condition

It really saddens me to see the 498 rusting in the Durango yard. When I was young visiting my grandparents in Alamosa, I would see it running more than any other locomotive. In the fall of 1966, after it had brought a stock train in from Chama (maybe the last one?), the fireman invited me up into the cab and let me shovel some coal into the firebox--quite a memory for an impressionable twelve-year old. It was those memories that made me a confirmed NG fan. I also remember seeing 498 and 493 sitting idle in what was left of the Alamosa roundhouse through the 1970's. They appeared to be in excellent condition. They looked like they could have been steamed up and sent out on a freight over Cumbres. So sad to see them in their present condition.