MagnumForce wrote:I think you are completely misunderstanding me, I never said save nothing, I said you can't save everything.
I didn't say "save everything". You said that, to argue against saving THIS thing.
When you do that... for every single thing that come along... that has the same effect as saying "save nothing".
And when you say railroad museums as they realistically exist today are not good enough, then you have nowhere worthy to save anything, which again has the same effect.
There are a number of RS2's preserved around the country, heck 466 is still in White Pigeon and if you are going to preserve one that is the one, first off it is the first RS2, secondly it is operable. So when the time comes to worry about 466, what do you do then? You just got 469, now what?... . Betting IRM is already looking at options with 466.
I tried at the 11th hour (more like 11:59) to save 466. It was unworkable at every level. Hostile location, high metal prices, worse mechanical condition than 469, a private collector who didn't want it and filled the seller's head with unrealistic expectations about price and logistics, and it was already owned by the scrapper who was cutting it the next day. Plus the alternative of 469 with a potentially more friendly seller.
And yes, I had conferred with Nick over at IRM, and their people had evaluated the unit earlier and rejected it, same reasons. IRM did not want 466.
On top of this, no location in Michigan has proved to me that it is capable of taking care of diesel locomotives in a museum setting aside from the Henry Ford Museum. SMRS surely does not fit the bill. If something has to go out of state to be preserved by an entity that knows what they are doing then so be it.
At first blush I'd agree, seems like it oughta be that way, doesn't it?
Let me put on my other hat. I also volunteer at WRM in the mechanical department, which is every bit the equal of IRM. We "top museums" are not as good as you think we are. We have way too much equipment and can barely maintain a fraction of it. (mind you, WRM has a mere 100 cars in its collection, that doesn't help the Utah fans get their stuff to the front of the line.) 469 would be unlikely to ever run in IRM's hands, not when they have Illinois units that are more important (and not 244's.) Similarly, Seashore trolley museum is totally capable of giving the Detroit streetcar a world-class restoration, but that is not gonna happen. Heck, your unit may not rate the car-barn. Or they might bump it the minute they get a more desirable (to them) unit. Or they might get in a housecleaning mode and scrap it like it was nothing. They have no emotional attachment to it.
So no, the super-museums are not a silver-bullet, and your comparison is unfair. "Knowing what you are doing" is not nearly enough.
Besides, "not knowing" is fixable by asking someone or picking up a book. Which brings us to SMRS's abilities. Say what you will, a random SMRS engine is more likely to run than a random IRM or WRM engine. That reflects SOME level of stewardship which cannot be denied. All musuems have a back forty full of junk. Frankly, SMRS less than most. For someone who judges as harshly as you do, you need to look a lot closer. You can't just go by surface appearances.