Bach Man,
Thank you again for coming out with the new Rio Grande paint schemes later this year or early next. Another suggestion. With the rebuilds in Colorado/New Mexico of the RGS #20 and D&RGW #168, these would be VERY popular repaints in matching paint schemes for the actual rebuilt locos. Should be pretty simple to put wood style cab on the current RGS #25 loco and change number to 20 and change the number to 168 on the current wood cab style D&RGW 4-6-0 loco. Many people like to run what the can see in real life and with these locomotive becoming active in tourist service in 2019 and 2020, this should sell well.
Happy Rails To You,
Ted
Agree with Ted!
As a volunteer at the Colorado RR Museum, working on the restoration of the RGS 20, I can verify the interest is extremely high. I am told there will be an article in the next issue of the "Prospector" with lots of photos and Info. Right now we are working on restoration of the piping and appliances and we have an all new cab for her as well. Much needs to be done before we can get the cab put back on. A great deal of work is going into the tender as well. She will be a beauty when finished. The current estimate for the restoration is a year to a year and a half. Our goal is to get the #20 in service in 2020!!! 8)
That said every care will be taken to make sure the #20 is correctly historically restored. We have two huge notebooks with pictures and notes, which will allow for accuracy. On most nice days we leave the roundhouse doors open, so visitors can get a better view of her.
Loco Bill
Loco Bill,
I had the pleasure/opportunity to see #20 as she was being put back together to send home to Colorado at the end of March while visiting Strasburg Railroad in PA. They also had the new cab setting off to the side (or at least that is what I was told and what it appeared). Would love to see #20 in Bachmann factory paint!
Happy Rails To You,
Ted
Hi Ted,
The cab you saw in Strasburg is not for the 20. We had the cab built locally and it has been here in our roundhouse for two years now. Strasburg only did enough to do the boiler test. We have to do all the remaining work, such as brake piping, the entire control mechanism, compressor and piping, tender body repair, and on and on!!
It will be done right even if it takes longer than we would like.
Bill
An RGS paint would be nice even if the loco is a Tweetsie derived ten wheeler.