Re: #315 return to park?

I suppose you could see it that way but I think you are being a little harsh.

Remember the original plan and the constraints under which this restoration was undertaken:

The 315 is the sole property of the City of Durango, Colorado, and not the DRHS or the D&S. She belongs to them and her home is the park. This is not to say that she won't be lovingly maintained and have many opportunities to stretch her legs again but until there is a more suitable place for her, like her own enginehouse off a spur connected to the D&S, the the park is her home. That hoped-for enginehouse site would also probably have to be located within the Durango City Limits which means that finding a reasonably priced location is not going to be easy.

The D&S has plenty of work to do on their own locomotives and does not have room to store or maintain the 315. That understanding has always been in place. The D&S has been super in helping them get the locomotive up and running but they never were intended to be the new home of the 315.

So yes, what you say is true about returning to the park, but not to rust, just to rest between assignments and opportunities.