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I had a pleasant chat with Steve Sandberg today and learned a great deal about what happened between the museum and the Friends, what the future holds for 261, and perhaps more importantly the directions in which the Steve and the Friends are headed in the future. Steve suggested I write this and reviewed the text before I posted it.

First of all, let me dispel the various rumors that have been floated that there is still some hope that 261 will remain in the hands of the Friends of the 261, and the Sandbergs and continue its excursion career. There isn't. The trust that existed between the Friends and the Museum is broken, possibly beyond repair. In this, I agree with Steve, after being stonewalled for literally years in trying to obtain a lease extension, there's no reason to believe that the museum will become a more acceptable business "partner" in the ongoing future of their locomotive. So work has already begun to prepare the 261 for its return to the museum.

Steve says that he is determined to return the locomotive to the museum in better shape than he received it. First of all, 261 is a great locomotive and Steve believes that it should not be penalized for the museum's recalictrance; secondly, Steve's group wants to demonstrate to other locomotive owners that his is a responsible organization and they can trust that if they lease their locomotive to his organization they will treat it with the same respect.

There are a LOT of appliances, devices, etc on the 261 that didn't come with it from the museum. They were purchased by Sandberg and/or Northstar Rail. Items that were placed on the locomotive during its restoration are going to be dealt with in one of three ways:

First, if Steve cannot absolutely document the purchase or acquisition of a component that was obtained for the restoration, then that component will be donated to the locomotive (not the museum).

Second, if a component purchased by Steve, the Friends or Northstar would not be of use in the preparation, restoration or operation of another locomotive, then those components will be donated to the 261. For example, the bearing boxes and bearings upon which 261's tender rides would have little or no value in the restoration of another steam locomotive. So back they go with the locomotive even though they were purchased by Steve & Co.

Third, if a component was purchased or acquired as a gift, or a loan, and the documentation is in place, and the component would have value in the restoration of another locomotive, then that component will stay with the Friends. A couple of examples are in order: first of all, the 261 did not have an intact, operable steam gauge. One was purchased (for $1700) and installed in the 261. That steam gauge will be very useful in the restoration of another locomotive, and will, of course, be retained. Same with the mechanical lubricators. The 261's had been removed at some point, BEFORE it was leased to Steve and company, and replacements were purchased. Those don't go back.

Loaned items, of course, go back to their owner. And donations in kind, things built for the 261 by volunteeers and which might be used or valuable elsewhere may be sent to that elsewhere. As an example, the cab windows of 261 were custom built in the Twin Cities in 1993, and rightly belong to the Friends. They're not of any potential use in restoring another locomotive but might, for example be donated to the IRM, whose 265 has windows that have dry rotted into oblivion.

So 261 goes home to the museum, and it will look good. Rejacketed, polished, pretty and inoperable. Whether the museum can find someone who can return it to operation or not is certainly debatable. My personal opinion is that it is NOT bloody likely.

Any potential future operator of the 261 has to face many of the same problems that Steve & Co. faced at the outset of this adventure in 1992. Where will they obtain the parts they need to replace what wasn't on the 261 in the first place? I suppose the museum could, if it desired, allow a potential new operator to scavenge the needed parts from its fleet of non-operating locomotives. Rolling stock? One of the reasons that 261's excursion were at least break even was simple: Steve's fleet of Amtrak certified passenger rolling stock made the operation of such an excursion vastly less expensive than it would have been had he needed to lease cars for each trip. And where are they going to run? My suspicion is that any potential operator with the skills necessary to restore the locomotive back to operation also has the skills to recognize that it isn't very doable, or even a good business idea. What you need for the 261 to find a new operator is very, very deep pockets, great technical skills and an absolute lack of business acumen.

So...bye bye to 261. What's next?

When Steve says that he's considering ALL their available options he isn't joking. A lot of park and museum locomotives are under consideration as possible restoration candidates. Whether any of these gets selected or not depends upon a relatively simple equation: if the owner, whether municipal or museum views the potential transaction as a cash cow, you can be absolutely certain that it won't happen. If they set a reasonable price, reasonable conditions and just want to see "their" locomotive operate then there's a chance.

Several museums that have talked with Steve have the same problem: one group within the museum says, "Hey, after Green Bay, we can look like heroes! We'll get great publicity, and it will enhance our visibility and reputation" Another faction thinks "Hey, if he wants it, it must be worth a fortune, how much can we milk this transaction for?"

Municipalities are even more interesting. One city, whose locomotive would be a nifty candidate also thinks its a good idea, but a very loud and vocal minority in the city (3 or 4 people) are actively decrying "outsiders" attempts to "steal" their locomotive, even though there's not a mosquitoes chance in a blast furnace that the locomotive will ever turn a wheel under power again in its current situation. One notably entertaining example of this involved a fellow who announced on the internet that a particular locomotive could NOT be a restoration candidate because its boiler was "pitted". I'd be happy to remind this gentleman that a west coast locomotive which is beautifully restored and happily operational had a hole in the boiler that you could put your fist through before the restoration began. That exceeds "pitted" by a tad.

So what is Steve & Co. going to do? At the moment that hasn't been resolved. I jokingly asked Steve if he'd at least eliminate a few contenders. He said that it is very unlikely that he'd be doing 1522, 614, 611 or 1218. Duh. 265? I got the strong impression that Steve would like to do something completely new, and that 265 was less than likely because of that. I know he'd love to do a Burlington locomotive, but there's certainly doubt as to whether one can be obtained. So....now for a completely unsatisfying answer:

Negotiations continue with the owners of a number of locomotives in search of the Friends NEXT restoration project. I'll tell ya what: it's going to be interesting, and just to fuel the rumor mill one of the projects Steve is considering would almost certainly leave people utterly stunned for a good while. Expect an announcement within a couple of months folks. It's gonna be fun.

Whatever Steve decides to do, I've agreed to photograph the progress on a weekly basis and post it to a website somewhere. Sit back, relax and wait a month or two, this is gonna be REAL interesting.

Doug