In Waterville, there is an old steam locomotive called Old 470 on display on College Avenue. I'm not a railroader, but I believe the story is that it was the last steam engine to run in Maine. Anyway, it's looks neat. A local group of preservationists has undertaken in the past to raise funds to maintain and display it. But what saddens me is that it does not run. What would really be great, is to get it running again. A couple of my dreamy ideas:
1) Get some Hollywood filmmaker interested in using it in a movie filmed here in Maine. Then the movie studio moneybags and geniuses could be allowed to use the locomotive with the only charge being that they've got to restore it to running condition.
2) For knowledge in how to machine the parts, etc., necessary to make it go - contact the people who run the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad in Durango, Colorado. They've got several steam engines and their own machine shop for manufacturing replacement parts.
Then Old 470 could really become a tourist (and local) draw if you ran some excursions around the area.
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