It arrived in Campo in 1990, at which time it was put on blocks, sandblasted. and primed. In 1991-92, museum volunteers disassembled and rebuilt its trucks. Work then stopped as the Restoration department was directed to restore AT&SF cafe-lounge-observation car 1509.
Work resumed on RPO 74 in 1995, but the Museum did not include it in its 1996 budget. Just when it looked like the project was dead in the water, Herb Kehr offered $3,000 if we could raise an additional $3,000. Restoration volunteers out did themselves and raised about $5,000, for a total of about $8,000. Work has been continuous since then. An additional $2,000 has been raised through weekly donations from Museum visitors who tour the car and admire the restoration progress. And when funds were depleted in early 2002, Herb Kehr and Bill Niedrich each kicked in an additional $1,000.
In short, since 1995, the Restoration Department has raised every penny for the car's restoration. Restoration will be completed in November, 2002.
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