While it's out of the spectrum of truth, somebody should offer to take the locomotive from Ft. Erie and at least preserve what original fabric remains. What happened to 6218 in the relatively short time she has been on display, is truly a crime.

Richard, Trust me, there are groups that truly do want to give the engine a good home, but I'll leave it to those people and groups to comment if they so desire.

I believe in every case, the City/Town/Whatever of Fort Erie has been impossible to deal with. A common theme I've heard is a complete refusal to let volunteer groups work on the locomotive, and lack of money to pay for contractors to do the work.

I would seriously love to see this thread just end. It has been discussed before. Yes, the engine is in poor condition. Yes, there are better homes for it, and yes, there are things going on behind the scenes. No, there is no money to do any of the work on it, and no, they won't let volunteers do any of the work. The Town of Fort Erie has been absolutely devastated by the current government losing almost all of thier major employers in one year. The gov. shut down most of the hospital, Industry left, and one of the main sources of revenue, the OLG slots at the Fort Erie Racetrack were also closed. That was a main source of income for the Town, not to mention a major employer. It is likely that the race track itself will soon be closed as well, wiping out even more of the economy. There is now a firehall infront of the 6218 display, completely blocking the Ridgeway station, and limiting parking, and viewing of the display from the road. Fundraising by the group that has been trying to get her cosmetically restored has been slow. They have done everthing they can do, and should be commended for what they tried, and are still trying.

The condition of 6218 has been discussed at great length on this site many times. It is what it is. Time will tell what will become of her. Do I think she will spend the rest of her life where she is now? No. Will she move before there is nothing left, well, lets hope so.

Let 6218 rest, she has been beaten down enough.

Ken

And there you have it Richard.

Ken may be fatigued of the discussion, but not discussing it serves no purpose. Suffice to say, the thread could be closed, but don't expect the issue of 6218 to go away. Sometimes it's better to agitate.

Do you still have the email Joe? Back trace the IP which should be in the header of the email. It will give you a rough idea where it originated.

Rob,

The guy sent it to me through the mail (remember Canada Post.. yeah, through those guys) He only had a partial address on the letter, with no street number or PO Box, and his last name wasn't legible. It looks like it could be Hewson, Hewan, or maybe Henson, but a search of the phone book for that area (Ridgeway) revealed nothing.

It doesn't matter. The prankster has won by default based on the amount of attention this obviously bogus article has accumulated........let's not encourage any more.

If anybody is working on a legitimate business plan and reaches an agremement with the town to preserve this park hulk, I'm sure we'd all be very pleased to know about it and offer congrats.

dave

Oddly enough, I came across the "Higgenbottom" name while doing a bit of Google research on the Buckskin Joe's and Royal Gorge Scenic operations.

http://www.westword.com/related/to/Joseph+Higgenbottom/