The Gainesville, GA city council voted yesterday (10/7/04) to spend $75,000 for refurbishing GM 209 (ex SAL #533 - one of the Russian Decapods). Some of this money will also go to the ex SAL caboose displayed with it (sorry number long since painted over), and the heavyweight baggage car - lineage unknown to me, that are displayed with it.

They are contracting with an individual by the name of Dave Lathrop -a master mechanic with experience restoring steam locomotives - from Charlotte NC to do the repairs and consult on the project.

I will leave the personal and political comments out of this discussion, and just be glad something is being done.

-- Bill Parks (bparks_43@yahoo.com), October 08, 2004