We (the Boulder County Railway Historical Society in Boulder Colorado) have been given the chance to acquire two diesel locomotives from the Great western Railway in Loveland Colorado. The locomotives are former Western Pacific GP7 #705 and former Union Pacific GP9 #296. Both of these locomotives are COMPLETE and were RUNNING within the past few years. They can be ours for the bargain basement price of $5,000 each. The catch is, we have to act quick (next few days)

Would anyone out there like to help us save one or both of these locomotives? We are an IRS 501(c)3 non profit organization and any and all donations for the locomotives will be used 100% towards their purchase and restoration. Locomotives will be displayed at our site east of Boulder Colorado. (we have a live rail connection with the BNSF and a friendly local crew so moving the locos will not be too hard)

Alternatley, is there another museum or group (non profit ONLY) who may have an interest in one of these locomotives? Our main focus is on ex UP 296 but ex WP 705 is a neat engine that I do not want to see scrapped.

Jason Midyette



Boulder County Railway Historical Society
amjm@indra.com

I don't have the money to help you, but some suggestions:

With such short notice, your best bet might be to throw yourself at the mercy of whatever benefactors you can find (angels, institutions, banks, etc.) and appeal for a short-term, low- or no-interest loan. Convince them of the bargain. If necessary, point out that even cannibalizing them for parts could bring far more than $5K in the right cases (I have seen someone cough up $1,500 for specific parts out of a damaged EMD 567 that was just about scrapped, and said parts could be hauled off in a box by one person!). Hell, scrapping them could bring $5K.

Be certain to factor in such costs as transport, paint, display track, etc.

lner4472@bcpl.net