Here is an idea for the MOT, find someone to make castings of the SLSF 3695 number board from the smoke box and take orders to sell them. That may provide some funding for paint.
Take the dimensions down for the coonskin plate, then create a 3D 1:1 CAD model. While in CAD, you can put on the appropriate numbers and markings. Then 3D print it and use it as a pattern to make copies. Simple enough. The hard part is finding the correct font to use on the replica. Put a group together to approach the MOT and gain approval for fundraising. All SLSF 3695 needs is a cleanup and a paint job to make her presentable and protect the steel. No need for a full cosmetic restoration, at least not yet. This is what is left of her coonskin number plate, Scullin Steel did this when she became Scullin Steel number 95. Photograph by Rich Lawler.
If I restored it, I would restore it to Frisco. I remember seeing it switching around Scullin Steel when I went to school at Maplewood-Richmond Heights Junior High School. When I had a class in a east facing room, I could hear it switching and blowing the whistle.
