Number 10 always looks great, Joe! You guys take great care of the equipment up there. I cannot wait until you have Number 9 out on the line. She'll be the most unique Forney around.
To polish or not to polish is always the tough question. The railfans would probably rather have the engines look "well used". I remember just before the charter with John Craft, he posted in this forum: "Please DON'T warsh the engine!" LOL. When I was down in Strasburg in February for Pete Lerro's "Virginia Creeper" charter with N&W 475, they actually spent a full afternoon spraying the locomotive with a mixture of ash, soot and water so she'd look pretty beat, like the 382 did in Winston Link's pictures of the Abingdon Branch.
Unfortunately, it isn't the railfans who pay the bills at museums and tourist operations. The vast majority of the visitors are not hard-core. Moms bringing their kids would probably be more likely to come back if everything looks clean as a whistle. And the WW&F's stuff always looks well-cared-for!
/Kevin
