in West Burlington, Iowa. Dashner's widow and then two teenage children had no interest in continuing to own the train. Thus, ownership reverted to the CB&Q, who put it up for sale again. In June 1962, the Mark Twain Zephyr was purchased by Ernie A. Hayes of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Hayes owned an insurance company and was a community activist promoting tourism to Mount Pleasant and Southeast Iowa. Hayes was also the creator and developer of the Avenue of the Saints, a highway linking the Twin Cities and St. Louis. The train was moved to Mount Pleasant in September 1962, where it was kept at the Old Thresher's Reunion site in McMillan Park. Hayes encouraged the Midwest Central Railroad, which was part of Old Thersher's Reunion, to construct a standard gauge loop track so that the Mark Twain Zephyr could be put into service as a regional tourist attraction. In December 1968, Hayes donated the Mark Twain Zephyr outright to the Old Thresher's Reunion and Midwest Central Railroad in hopes of spurring interest. The train continued to be parked at their McMillan Park property in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, for the next 11 years. The Board of Directors of Old Thresher's Reunion and the Midwest Central Railroad were often at odds as to whether it was worth the money to build the track needed for the Mark Twain Zephyr to operate and to pay for its restoration. Some officials felt it would be worth it; others felt their organization's limited funds should be spent on old steam tractors instead. In the end, the Mark Twain Zephyr suffered significant damage from vandalism during the 1970s while in Mount Pleasant and was never restored or operated. During the winter of 1978–1979, Lennis Moore, the then-new CEO of Old Thresher's Reunion and the Midwest Central Railroad convinced the Board to begin looking for buyers for the Mark Twain Zephyr. In Spring 1979, the train was purchased by Alexander Barket Sr., a prominent Kansas City bank president and real estate promoter specializing in the rehabilitation of commercial buildings. Earlier, Barket had purchased and refurbished more than two dozen passenger cars from the original CB&Q Denver Zephyr and Texas Zephyr, however sold them off to a railroad in Saudi Arabia in 1976 to pay off mounting legal bills. Barket Sr. planned to restore the Mark Twain Zephyr and possibly turn it into a tourist railroad that