I was just up too the 470 railroad club,,web site,,,,I did not see any information ,,,when work will begin on this locomotive,,,,can anybody provite any update's,,,,thank's Pat

The group that has been appointed by the city engineer has been collecting nickels and dimes at various train shows, model meets, etc. The have an event scheduled called "470 Days", for sometime in June. This will include a barbecue, face painting, etc. Since I have been excluded from the committee, and no longer privy to what is going on beyond what I read online, I would assume they have found some cache of money someplace. The grants I researched and gathered (along with friend, Stephen Hussar) were not pursued. I would invite everyone who has an interest in the 470 to contact the Mayor's office and find out how City Engineer Greg Brown has developed his plans. I, for one, would be very interested when they are posted here!

There is an item on the 470 linked in the "Flimsies" section here on rypn.org, dated 5/19.

It must be a bit frustrating being put out of the loop of a movement you started. While airing sour grapes in public is probably counter productive, I wouldn't hesitate to go public with criticism if they plan something stupid, like moving the engine without proper journal preparation. The city engineer and everyone involved need to know that the locomotive can easily be damaged by well-meaning but poorly informed volunteers.

Agreed, Bob. I will refrain from making further comment on this effort.

Unfortunatly this type of thing happens all the time in the preservation world. It usually runs something like this:Well meaning citizen (the great un-washed) point out to local officials (the monarchy) that things should be taken care of. Officials, rather than accept it for what it is, decide that the proposal or suggestion is a inidication that they have failed in one form or the other and they just cannot politically tolorate that so the project gets hijacked by the officials in an effort to save face.I ran into this on one particular project: The State bureau (Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands) involved did not want to go forward with a proposed preservation project because the mere fact that the work had to be performed might imply that they had not been doing there job so therfore it was better to let it collapse or rot away and pretend that all was well. Fortunatly we made them an offer that was too good to refuse and made it clear that we would indeed embarass them to no end publicly.My take on this Richard, is that the city will hold a few fund raisers they might even slap a coat of paint on it, but After they have achieved thier goal of making it look like they were doing something and public interest wains all will go back to normal which means nothing or very little will have been accomplished.Sorry for the downer. Keep at them!!!

For Richard and everyone - Here are some things that I have learned in my experience-- Remember, because it is a public project - as a citizen there are avenues of acquiring information that are available to you - and you have the ability to provide independent oversight. Sour grapes isn't helpful ever, however clear constructive criticism is. This works even better when you can indentify a modus operandi that is both better and saves money too. One caveat - DO NOT let the media or government label you as a "foamer" or "train lover" as these terms are most people equate these terms with "village idiot." Focus on the growning importance of heritage tourism (and the dollars it can bring to the local economy) and the broad importance of industrial heritage and towns local connection to the broad development of America.In short - Richard - keep up the pressure - I don't think anything would have happened without your efforts.Tom Cornillie