12-10-2012, 02:52 PM
In the past, I was skeptical of these reports -- I think a dozen or so years ago, there were rumors of a Big Boy in Texas being restored, and I pooh-poohed them at the time on the basis that the group proposing it wasn't fully credible, on top of which the railroads at the time were basically full. Existing restored locos weren't getting much running, and still aren't. NS had discontinued its steam program. The UP got a bad taste the last time it ran steam in Southern California due to foamer misconduct, as well. But NS has revived its steam program, and maybe the railroads are more capable of handling a steam extra now and then. We'll have to see!