I think the sale didn’t,t go through cause they want more and don’t,t want to loose it. Or it remix D’s them oh to well on what happened to the 261 going to the friends of 261. It might be to early to the to take that chance again. But I doubt it is about the 261…
It should return to the US. There is other o/s equipment there and fits well.
Having moved to the USA 3 years ago, I have to say that that I have been totally underwhelmed by the average American’s desire to retain anything of historical interest. I would feel far more comfortable with this superb example of the best of British engineering going back to the UK for good. You never know over here what’s going to happen next - a museum could go bust, an owner could just get tired of having his toy, or there will be some legal or insurance restriction that will stop a loco ever steaming again, and it will end up being cut up for scrap.
Just compare the number of active steam locos in the UK to those in the US - Maybe someone will shoot me down 'cos I haven’t got the actual numbers, but I have a feeling that my small island can boast more active steam engines than probably the whole of the US, and I doubt that’s ever going to change.
The offer to purchase was by an independent person and not a National Museum in England. You just don’t know how long this person would maintain the “Dwight D. Eisenhower” or if he would want to rename it eventually. I’m English by birth and I think it should remain in the USA. We love steam but we love our cars also. Proud that the English have preserved and maintained their steam heritage—they started the whole thing!!
An operational loco on the mainline, almost every weekend, or a dead peace of metal in a museum somewhere hidden in a relatively small town without any passenger trains to travel to the place.
What´s better??