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Yes it is amazing that those Q&TL locomotives on display at the hoist were in operation while being so worn out.  Quincy seemed to have put a lot of faith in arc welding.  If nobody captures the details, the rolling stock becomes lost history once the wood disintegrates.  Sure, the wood is relatively cheap, so it can be replaced.  And even if not totally gone, it will need complete replacement in any rebuild.  However, once it is gone, if nobody captured the design details, there will be no possibility of replicating the wood parts and putting the car back together.  Any attempt is likely to turn out to be a Home Depot Special.   <o:p></o:p> The best candidates for Q&TL rolling stock restoration would be either or both of the two basic types of rock car.  The plans and kit for the Hartford Products Z-braced car captures nearly all of the details of that car design.  The railroad museum in Duluth has one of the other types of Q&TL cars (with side stakes) in fairly complete condition that could be used as a reference.  The few cars that were recently pulled out of the No. 2 hoist boiler house are in relatively good condition, and could serve as design reference as well as provide the ironwork for the basis of a restoration.  <o:p></o:p> Possibly enough original design data is available to rebuild one of the side dump cars.  There are relatively fewer wood parts on those cars, so it would be easier to interpret the original design.  I would say the snowplow that went to Pine Creek is a lost cause unless there happen to be detail drawings from the builder available.  But like the locomotives, much of the ironwork of the cars is worn out, cracked, broken, and eaten by rust.  If one of the Z-braced cars were replicated with new oak lumber accurately milled, and all the iron parts, the result would be spectacular.  But it would be an enormous project.  <o:p></o:p> Regarding the locomotives, I cannot imagine restoring one to operation.  I suppose there are some parts that could simply be cleaned up and reused.  But hundreds would have to be made from scratch.  No. 6 may be in considerably better condition than the other two.  It would be a worthy accomplishment just to get the three locomotives back into the engine house to complete the display.
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