Hi Dylan, welcome to the WW&F.
I appreciate the zeal and enthusiasm that you brought to the East Brookfield Depot situation. I'm glad that hasn't soured you, and instead it served as a great learning experience and motivation for other projects.
May I offer a few suggestions regarding the Sartola and East Brookfield.
It might not be a good idea, on a public message forum for all to see, to post that you have thoughts about acquiring someone else's railroad equipment - especially if that item is not currently for sale. As far as I can tell, the Sartola is being reasonably cared for, and is not for sale.
Instead, you may want to inquire with its owner first, then move forward with a public campaign.
Given that the proposed display site is East Brookfield, you may want to rethink the object itself. The Sartola has no connection to East Brookfield. Moreover there were no 30" railroads (that I know of) anywhere nearby, that the Sartola could represent. While it would be "cool" to have a real steam locomotive on display, in truth it would be no better off (historically) in East Brookfield than in Connecticut.
I suggest you find something of B&A, NYC, or Conrail heritage to restore and display. Maybe a freight car or caboose. Ideally, something that would have operated on the main line through East Brookfield. You may even get lucky and find a picture of that equipment in front of the East Brookfield depot.
Another thought might be to hold off on East Brookfield entirely, and instead try to work on assisting the folks in Chester, MA with their museum and display. Last I checked, the Chester roundhouse and coal tower were still standing. That entire site may have the potential of being a nice museum - even if there are no B&A steam locomotives left to complement it.
Or, if you have your heart set on working on a real steam locomotive, maybe you can work with the folks at the Steaming Tender in Palmer in getting their locomotive looking ready to roll (starting with replacement of that ridiculous looking fake stack.)
PS: I moved this thread from Massachusetts Two-footers to Other Narrow Gauge, since the locomotive in question is not a two-footer, and not in Massachusetts.