Don't meet your heroes
They say never meet your heroes. While the DM&IR #403 isn't quite a hero, its an iconic locomotive to anyone who grew up watching the DM&IR, especially someone like me, to whom the #403 was the the only piece of Missabe machinery you could count on seeing year after year. When I got the chance to ride in and operate the #403 due to a special event at work, the facade came falling to earth. The #403 is an old, tired locomotive. The front door leaks, the seats are uncomfortable, the cushion long since gone, the cab walls are peeling and rusting, the engine leaks oil at a high rate, the trucks need work, the fridge is lukewarm, and the vibrant Safety First logo's are faded white. Although, for a locomotive that has seen hard service since 1972, nearly 40 years, first in the mountains on the Southern Pacific and then the mountain grades of the DM&IR, its bound to have a few battle scars. It still has its marooon paint, a brass bell and an iconic Nathan P5. Crews hate operating it, but you know what? That's alright. Not everything that glitters has to be gold.
Don't meet your heroes
They say never meet your heroes. While the DM&IR #403 isn't quite a hero, its an iconic locomotive to anyone who grew up watching the DM&IR, especially someone like me, to whom the #403 was the the only piece of Missabe machinery you could count on seeing year after year. When I got the chance to ride in and operate the #403 due to a special event at work, the facade came falling to earth. The #403 is an old, tired locomotive. The front door leaks, the seats are uncomfortable, the cushion long since gone, the cab walls are peeling and rusting, the engine leaks oil at a high rate, the trucks need work, the fridge is lukewarm, and the vibrant Safety First logo's are faded white. Although, for a locomotive that has seen hard service since 1972, nearly 40 years, first in the mountains on the Southern Pacific and then the mountain grades of the DM&IR, its bound to have a few battle scars. It still has its marooon paint, a brass bell and an iconic Nathan P5. Crews hate operating it, but you know what? That's alright. Not everything that glitters has to be gold.