Taken from the "Letter from TUT (not the mummy)" thread, I read several interesting comments about the MRLX 6304:

"Then along came that ex-VIA F-9 that Skow had painted in Black Widow. That thing only made it to McCloud when an air leak sideline it. I was told by the man who repaired it that the unit should not have been run due to rather the rather poor condition of the locomotive."

"For what its worth, that unit does not have dynamic brakes or controls for dynamics on trailing units. When it made the Westbound trip from Reno to Colfax, they toasted the brakes on some of the cars."

"According to man who supervised the repair on 6304 in McCloud told me that control stand was packed with dirt, there were frayed wires, and just a general mess. He was, in fact, surprised it made to McCloud at all."

What year did the unit make this McCloud trip? It's now working on the Washingtion and Idaho Railway, and it is in excellent shape. The control stand has a lever to control dynamic brake equipped units (along with a sign saying that the 6304 doesn't have dynamic brakes):

[www.rrpicturearchives.net]

Has this unit gone through a major rebuild since it's failed McCloud trip? Seeing it working almost daily on freights, (not to mention the fact the the train crews like the unit), I find these stories hard to believe.
Matt