Grumps Badger

Has it been that long?

2009-12-01T13:08:00.001-08:00

Wow! Time flies by fast when you're busy. Let's see...the latest news... well the Shay is FINISHED! The photo on the left shows me with the West Side Shay #12 at the Colorado Railroad Museum where I did some volunteer work on it and the Kahului #12 at the Georgetown Loop back in September.

And now for my shay... yes it is completed and running like a swiss watch. I took it over to Hillcrest Farms in Reedely for their Railfest and got it dialed in to where it runs superb!

Here it is all loaded up and ready to hit the road for Reedley, only 3 hours away.

And I really like this shot that Mike Massee took of the locomotive working up the grade out of Red Rivit Canyon!

You can see more pics of the shay here...Standard Lumber #5

And of course there is a You Tube of the locomotive here:Shay #5 at Railfest

Well here is wishing you all Happy Holidays until next time.
Grumps - Out!

What was I thinking...?

2009-06-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Its been pretty busy around the camp as I am getting it awakened from its 11 month slumber. Lots of issues to deal with and just when all this is going on and all the other projects are taking a back seat, I pick up another Crown. Like everything else, its for sale. I am brokering this one for our church camp up in Yosemite. Anyhow, probably not much else to report until after camp so check back in August for an update. Hopefully things will be further along by then...

The Roundup

2009-05-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. I am still alive and kicking. If work aint beating me up chasing water leaks all over the camp, then the trains are. Shay project still moving along at a snails pace. Son Jeffrey is priming the caboose and its restored interior.

I did just get back for a week of vacation down in Santa Margarita where I volunteered my time as the Mechanical and Training Officer for the Pacific Coast Railroad. The San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum held their 5th annual Roundup and I was there to oversee the operations and make sure the steam locomotives were in good running condition. Here are some of my favorite shots from Mike Massee.

And here are some from Jamie Foster

Here is a video from my friend John Haskey of Bonney Doon, CA

Also got to do some backhead cooking with some of Cookie Thurman's Monster Enchilada's.

Here is a video segment we did on that run...

Well camp season is breathing down my neck so will try to keep the monthly updates coming. Stay tuned and stay safe out there.

Recent Happenings...

2009-04-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well many of you have been wondering what's going on and are figuring that the Shay is ready to go down the tracks. Unfortunately that is not the case. Work and my 30th class reunion have pushed aside the shop projects for a time. But not to worry. I now have the fuel tank ready to install and one of the rear trucks is in.

I want to hit you all with some shock and awe along with some shameless self-promotion.
I was blessed to attend a private boarding school in Healdsburg, California for my senior year of high school. There is really a bond that connects people together when they live, work and play for a year. That is how it was with my classmates. We did everything together. Even the ones that were in cliques and introverts, we still to this day have that connection that cannot be broken. When we get together for a reunion every 5 years it is an event. And this year was probably the best one ever. We saw some of our friends that have not come back to visit since graduation. Our time together began Friday night April 3rd and did not end until Sunday morning the 5th. Here are a few pictures from the time we had together. Enjoy and I will get back to work on the Shay next week, I promise!

Our Class Photo taken on Saturday the 4th. Shortly after this we had a few more show up.

Here we are catching each other up on our lives. Many who could not be there sent emails and photos which were shown on the multimedia screen.

Yeah I know what your thinking... "That Grumps is a real chick magnate"!

This is Bunny. She was my high school sweetheart, and is still a great friend.

One of my proudest accomplishments is being able to sing with these guys. Something we have continued to do since graduation. We did 3 songs for the church service and then 4 songs at our dinner party. When I get the videos up on you-tube, you will understand the shock and awe of it all then.
Till next time...

First fire-up!

2009-03-02T15:41:00.001-08:00

My good pal Phil Reader was in town on Thursday last week, and I decided it was high time to light a fire in the shay as it was close enough to being ready. I set up a small 2 gallon tank of diesel and lit her off.

The burner which came from the 2-spot at Billy Jones came to life and within seconds I had a nice fire going.

In about 30 minutes the needle was off the peg, and steam was building.

Another 30 minutes has passed. During this time about 1 gallon of fuel had been used and I had to top off the tank as I was loosing head pressure. I started using my home-brewed bio diesel.

The first safety is lifting at 125# psi. Everything looks good! I am working on my punch list and so far only 5 minor items to deal with.

Two of the three trucks are reconditioned and ready to re-install under the locomotive.

Here are a couple of videos of the first steam up. Thanks to Phil Reader for his help, encouragement and for having a camera ready!

The latest...

2009-02-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

Well the Shay is progressing along, but at a slower pace due to work etc. All the major plumbing is done now. Air test has been done and the loco has passed with flying colors. Due to the warm weather, I took advantage Sunday to prep and paint the cab sheet metal parts. On Monday night I pre-fit the engineer's side and front. Soon the oil tank will be complete and I plan to fire it up and give the engine set a test at that time.

A new American Model Engineering Supply Mechanical Lubricator now installed.

View of the Back Head Plumbing.

On January 22nd, my wife Debbie and I headed to a little R&R at Disneyland Resort. It was a slow day at the park and we both got a ride in the cab of the #2 E.P. Ripley.

Fireman Curtis and I don't remember the Engineer's name. Sorry!

Over in the California Adventure Park, my wife took a picture of me with the WP F-7

Also at the shop, I have sold a 15" gauge Crown locomotive along with rail, rolling stock and other items. These are getting shipped to upstate New York in a few weeks so took advantage again of good weather to get them prepared.

This Old Shay...more progress

2009-01-11T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well today got out in the shop for a couple hours and finished installing the fire pan and burner assembly. I used some threaded rod to slowly raise up the pan after installing the brick work. It was too heavy to lift by hand.

The pan is just a few inches from being in place.

Next I plumbed up the fuel and atomizer lines.

I also finished up the front end with the exhaust nozzle and blower pipe. In the rear of the smokebox you can see the flexible sealant I used to make sure there are no leaks to provide a good draft. I don't know how this loco steamed before with so much daylight coming inside.

I have also started on the backhead tray for the oil cans to go or perhaps a place to cook on...

Until next time...

Why is this man so happy?

2009-01-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

IRON HORSE CHEF

2008-12-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

The pitch for a pilot show on the Food Network.

Happy New Year... almost

2008-12-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hey all, more work done on the plumbing as seen in these shots.
Also finished up the firepan and burner.
The burner has a history as it came from the Billy Jones & Wildcat #2.
More in '09 when I get back from LA.
Have a good one and stay safe!

Atomizer and Fuel Line with cleanout valve mounted.

Damper for firepan.

BJ&W 2 spot burner mounted with fire brick lined pan.

Shay Update

2008-12-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

Well its been a busy week even with the cold rainy weather. The backhead on the shay has been re-plumbed. On the fireman's side I placed the 3/8 Penberthy injector. On the engineer's side I placed a #16 lifting injector from Macc Engineering. This is currently the largest one they make for 3/8 tube. It should work very well for this engine. Also installed a 1" extended stem ball valve for use as a blow down. Still waiting on the new pressure gauge and a hydrostatic lubricator. I fitted up the cab parts to check for clearances. Next week I will be working on the firepan and burner set up in the firebox.

Merry Christmas to all...

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

And a happy New Year! Things just gotta get better, right?

Well last weekend was spent over at the Hillcrest and Wahtoke in Reedley. Arrival on Saturday PM to get ready for the annual PJ party where yours truly put on the suit and did the Santa gig for 200+ patrons and guests.

Sunday was the last run day of the operating season so I was on the call board. The reliable and favorite Glenwood #13 was fired up only to find some parts to the valve gear linkage missing from the previous nights run. So had to throw a fire in the Glenwood #5. After fighting the air pump and getting it past the threshold of thermal expansion, she came alive and ran well for the last half of 15 runs that day. We hauled over 225 paying customers on the railroad, which is not bad for the last day. Hillcrest is a Christmas Tree Farm and all the pre-cuts were sold out already and the choose & cut were limited. I think two trees were sold that day.

In the afternoon, I had some friends show up and even some that I did not expect. The Crouch's and Estep's from Fresno all came out to ride. Here I am with Dave C. and Ron E. Boy am I short or what!

Earlier an old high school classmate of mine stopped by. Harry Salvini and his wife Kathy from Grass Valley.

And someone else who came out to ride with me on the locomotive... my wife Debbie! It is a rare occasion when she gets out of the house and comes with me to these events etc. She had fun. Thanks to Dave and Belle Kope of the Hillcrest Gang for putting us up in the "Badger Den"! Also to Sean and Melissa Bautista the owners of Hillcrest for having such a wonderful place to come to and allow me to run this fine equipment. And I cannot forget Butch, the KING OF CORNDOGS, who makes them special for me using my vegetarian links. He sent us home with a dozen or more. Thanks Butch you're the best!

Last week, I finished getting the rest of the 15" gauge stuff over the hill from Campbell. Here is the Crown being loaded.

Our motley crew consisting of Edgar Nuno, my youngest Jeremy poking his head through the window, and Bryce Reynolds.

Back at Soquel after a pressure wash.

Shay update on Friday with pictures of the progress! Until then...

Oh NO! What have I gotten myself into now...

2008-12-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

Well I up and did it. Yup. Just like my wife predicted. The madness grew larger this week with the purchase of some 15" gauge steam locomotives, rolling stock, rail and other pieces. I started hauling it on Monday and by Wednesday had most of the collection here. Some of the pieces were located about 7 miles up the road at a private retreat center. The rest came from Campbell. So just what did I get? See for yourselves...

A 3" scale 15" gauge 3 truck Shay.

Trailer loads of stuff...

Here is my assistant Edgar helping me load up over 4000 feet of rail and switches.

Trucks and wheel sets.

Anyhow after getting the shay in the shop (no easy task due to its weight) I began the process of stripping it down for further inspection and to begin its process of restoration back to operation. I will give a history of this locomotive soon and you will be able to follow the progress here on the blog.

This coming week I have one more steam locomotive to move (a Crown 4-4-0) along with some other misc. stuff. I will post pictures on those soon. Hey just remember my motto, "Its all FOR SALE!"

More from Hackfest '08

2008-12-12T17:08:00.000-08:00

Mojave Mike sent this link over with some of his edited footage from our MEG Steamer Hackfest Double-header at the Bitter Creek & Western Narrow Gauge Meet. Also I have included the lost footage that Mike missed out on when his camera battery went dead. Enjoy!

Boyz will be boyz...

2008-11-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Well, that time of year is getting close, so thought I would be the first to wish you all the best for the holiday season! Sit back and have a good laugh...
Grumps

Boyz will be Boyz
starring
Grumps, Phil, Karl, Oilcan & Cookie

To check out another one of these shorts featuring the PCRR gang, go here

Don't mess with Grumps...

2008-10-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

So I am not big on this Halloween thing, but here is a scary story for those of you who are...

A man is walking home alone late one foggy night...

when behind him he hears:

Bump...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him

FASTER...

FASTER...

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him.

However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

on his heels, the terrified man runs.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps..

With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door.

Bumping and clapping toward him.

The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup!

Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket...

and,

(hopefully you're ready for this!!!)

The coffin stops

Marking Up at the Hillcrest & Wahtoke

2008-10-15T16:02:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite scale railroads has to be the Hillcrest & Wahtoke located in Reedley, CA. Before I moved to the coast, I lived on a farm near the Hillcrest and when I heard they were putting in a steam train, well you couldn't keep me away from that. I only had a couple of opportunities to go there before I moved, but have stayed in touch with Sean and the gang over the years.

This year, I qualified and am now an engineer for the line, running some of the most gorgeous 5" scale 15" gauge locomotives anywhere. October is the start of the Pumpkin Patch at Hillcrest Farms and to kick it off, they host the Reedley Railfest. I arrived on Tuesday the 7th and proceeded to help out where ever needed. On Thursday the 9th, we had media day and the local NBC affiliate was there to do a live feed for the morning show and to tape for a promo that played throughout the weekend.
KSEE 24 News Reedley Railfest

Here I am with PCRR Zen Master Phil Reader as we are in a reverse move to make up the long train before dinner. On the front were the NPC #12 from CSRM & Glenwood #5. Cut in the middle was Redwood Valley #11 and I brought up the rear with Glenwood #13.

A section of three foot gauge track is in place and also visiting from the CSRM in Sacramento was the Mattole Lumber #1 formerly owned and operated by Henry Sorenson of McKinleyville, CA. He was an early steam preservationist and restored many locomotives up along the north coast. This locomotive is rarely seen and even more than that it hasn't been steamed in 7 years. I spent many an hour on this old wood burner and it was a blast!

The grand finale for the day was a re-enactment of the "Driving of the Golden Spike" ala Marie E. and Mattole Lumber standing in for UP 119 and CP "Jupiter" We spotted the loco's on the apex of the curve and nosed them in. John Lasseter had a copy of the original photo of the "Great Event" from May 10, 1869, and we all just gathered around and watched while Curtis Ferrington snapped off shots with a dozen or so cameras. Thanks to Al DiPaolo for sending me a copy that he reversed and made black and white. If your looking for "Grumps" he's up on the "Mattole" trying to get the cinders out of his eyes.

John Lasseter owner of the Marie E. shakes the hand of Al DiPaolo of the CSRM and caretaker of the Mattole Lumber #1.

Well that's all for now. A big thanks to Mojave Mike & Phil Reader for the pictures. You can view Mike's photo album here

For more info on the Hillcrest & Wahtoke, you can go here

Grumps - Out

Catching up...

2008-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well I survived another camp this year. While overall full time attendance was down about 200 or so, weekends, especially the last one swelled to nearly 12,000 people.
For those of you who may not be aware, I am the facilities manager for the Seventh-day Adventist Conference Grounds in Santa Cruz County. The nearly 100 acres that I live and work on becomes its own little city for two weeks each year in July. Here is a picture from an advertisement showing an overhead shot taken from an airplane.

We have 500+ RV sites, 400 tents that we pitch each year (14X14), 70 guest cabins that sleep up to 280 persons, and an 18 room guest dormitory. Yep its big alright!

After camp finished and we got most of it packed away and picked up alot of the trash, it was time to head south and play choo choo at Karl Hovanitz' Bitter Creek & Western Railroad in Arroyo Grande. Each year Karl hosts a large meet for live steam locomotives of the narrow gauge persuasion.

This year I had the chance to double head with one of my old locomotives that is now owned by Roger Frimeyer of Bakersfield. We dubbed this event "Hackfest 2008" as both locomotives have Hackworth Valve Gear.

More pictures from the Narrow Gauge Meet can be seen here...

Saturday Night was spent over at the Pacific Coast Railroad running the #1 Caroline and a small freight for the attendees.

Here is yours truly oiling around.

Phil Reader, the CMO has really gone the extra mile to make this engine steam and operate better, and it was evident each time I pulled the throttle. She is quite a performer.

I will post some video of the runs we took as soon as I can get them off the camera. So stay tuned...

The "Stang"

2008-06-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

My nephew is in 7th Heaven with the delivery of his 1966 Mustang just in time for graduation. The car turned out really nice and I am pleased with the outcome. Take care of her Gregg!

More from the Roundup

2008-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing from the previous post... The first day of the roundup, I was up again at dawn:30 getting the locomotives ready for the day, and coming to assist me was Hot Water LaRose. Both engines still had steam from the previous day and good 'ol Frankenporter had enough pressure to fire up without air. After steam was up, breakfast was served in the tractor shop by Belle Kope from Reedley. MMMMM Tasty! She brought over these mushrooms that were really good.

I was scheduled on the #1 and that put me behind the 8 ball immediately.

The 8 ball is something Phil always mentioned about to me and said would look great on the cylinder cock lever inside the #1. Well I found one at the local autoparts store.

You see, here at the Pacific Coast Railroad Company we have a motto we like to live by... Stay Safe & Have Fun. Well the #1 which had so much trouble the day before due to bad fuel and dirty feed water lines, ran flawlessly! She steamed well and sounded great with that bid ol' six chime SP cab forward whistle.

Take the time to go to the Bitter Creek & Western website to see the fine pictures that Jaime Foster took. He does an excellent job of capturing the personal side of our events.

I took turns in running and firing both the #1 and "Frankenporter" which was also running rather well. At the end of the day we swapped out our train and made up a freight double header. We took one run before dinner, then recreated the Emperor of the North with our own "Shack" GM Brad LaRose defying all rules and regulations to ride the top of the cars.

Russ Sperry photo

"Hot Water" was hog'n the helper with Harry boiling water. High Water Hovanitz and I had the road engine. We did all our communication by whistle signals this time, NO RADIO! What a sight! We had some fun and antics also which I won't mention... well Ok I will mention it. I backed off the throttle and let the helper try to pull the train around the "S" curve grade past the North Yard switch and poor ol' Frankenporter fell flat on its face. We all got a kick seeing the faces of Harry and Hot Water looking back at us with this puzzled look! I got the train started on the hill with just a bit of help from the #3.
Here is the train coming around Vineyard Hill in another Russ Sperry photo.

Here is another Russ Sperry photo of the crossing at Airstrip Station.

Well the fun of the double header came to an end all too soon. And it was time to put the locomotives to bed and get ready for day two.
Here is a timeless shot of a real beauty.

We finished up with a crew photo taken by Mojave Mike.

Looking back now, I don't think we could have asked for a better time at this years roundup. Everything went smoothly. We had an AWESOME crew, and the trains ran the best ever.

I want to thank Phil and Karell Reader for the opportunity to do this, they are special friends. And I really want to thank Cookie & Patti for allowing me to have a place to shower, and relax after a long hard day! I really put Cookie through his paces the next morning as he learned to hostle and fire the locomotives! Also a big thanks to Harry & Mary, Karl, Bryce (A-1 dispatcher), Hot Rod and Belle Kope. Everyone sure takes good care of me when I come to the railroad, and I am very greatful.

Well I will do an update soon again with the final pictures from the last day and of course we will do some backhead cooking with the Iron Horse Chef! Till then...

The Pacific Coast Railroad Roundup

2008-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! What a week it was down at the PCRR in Santa Margarita. I took a week of vacation to help out again with the 4th annual roundup which benefits the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum and the largest yearly event that takes place at the Ranch. Phil and I started out cleaning up the property of old scrap metal parts and junk vehicles. What a difference that made. Karl Hovanitz from the Bitter Creek & Western showed up later with the first load of 2' gauge track panels for Peter Nott's visiting equipment, which I unloaded using the John Deere.

Here is Karl and Mike bolting the splice bars to the rails.

Later that evening, Bill Rust showed up with his trusty Fairmont S-2 speeder which prompted a run with the MOW crew to grease the inside of the rails to reduce flange wear on the locomotives. However, one of the crew members failed to hear the "INSIDE" part of the statement, and greased the top of the rails. That became a problem when we began to run on Friday.

The next day, I drove down to Jack Bodenmann's shop to help Karl with the rest of the 2' gauge track panels and see the progress on restorations going on there. Peter Nott has quite a collection of locomotives which are going to be restored. Here are just a few of them.

After assembly of the panels back at the ranch, I began grading and laying out a track plan for the 7.5" gauge railroad through the vineyard.

On Thursday, Phil and I took the red-eye to Reedly to check out and sign off on the newly restored Disney Coach #105 the Painted Desert. All I can say is this coach is awesome! The Hillcrest Shops have outdone themselves this time. Truly a museum quality restoration.

Friday was a day for training and certifying the crews. I took my test the night before so I got up early to put a fire in both locomotives so we could make some test runs and have them all warmed up for the weekend. I began my day at 5:00 am. Here is the Harpur #1 at dawn.

By 8:00 am most everyone had shown up for the training class. We had about 25 attendees in the tractor shop.

Earlier in the week we had learned that Judy McEntire, our Chief Operating Officer Jim McEntire's wife, died of cancer. In the true railroad tradition, we had a wreath placed upon our locomotive #1 in honor of her.

Around 10:00 I was looking out towards Highway 101 and saw a bright yellow passenger car on a flatbed truck headed south. 10 minutes later, the Disney coach arrived.

The training class stopped and everyone went out to watch the unloading.

Also arriving that morning was the rest of Peter Nott's 2' gauge equipment which I helped unload. Here is a picture of his locomotive and two riding cars.

Finally we got to running some equipment in the afternoon. We soon found there were some problems with the #1 & #3. Also we had a slippery situation on the railroad where the aforementioned grease job really messed up our ability to pull anything on the tracks. Phil and others went out to degrease the rails, while I did repairs on the #1 which included cleaning out the rust in the water lines, and draining over 50 gallons of bad fuel from the tank.

Run Day at Portola Valley & Alpine

2008-05-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of each month is open for members of the Portola Valley & Alpine Railroad, a 7.5" gauge line on the property of Jacques Littlefield in the town of Portola near Palo Alto, CA. I have been a member there for 8 years now and try to get up when I can. Well Sunday the 27th was a beautiful day, so I decided to go and try out the Chloe. I invited my good friend Bob Reedy to come also as he has been building a Pennsy E-2 Atlantic that is just gorgeous! So we loaded up and drove the 45 minutes to the track and steamed up. This was the first time that Bob's Atlantic has been on the rails.

Bob Reedy's exquisite Pennsylvania RR E-2 Atlantic representing the as built in 1902.

Here is the Chloe on a steaming bay. This was the engines first trip out on rails after its extensive overhaul which I finished in January.

After a few trips around the track with the Chloe I put her away and assisted Bob in firing up the Atlantic and getting this heavy loco out on the rails. Bob had a small mishap on the way up to the track so some quick repairs were needed before he could run, but this was no problem.

Here we are coming off of the turntable headed for the mainline.

Highball on the mainline!
Bob is one heck of a machinest. There are very few castings on the locomotive and it is true to the prototype. Bob has been building this engine for the last 5+ years. It steams very well, and after a little tweaking and some more break-in runs, will be a powerful performer.

MUSTANG UPDATE
Well my nephew is probably chomping at the bit to get his 1966 Mustang back. I have been restoring this car for over two years off and on. Finally as he graduates from High School, he will get a beautiful piece of American Iron! I really kicked it into gear this week as I finished up the upholstery and interior. Put in a stereo, restored the original black plates, installed new trim and other pieces. All that is left is some touch-up on the paint, and a few cosmetics. Still waiting for the kick panels that have been back ordered. Today I took it for a spin around the camp after putting electronic ignition in it to make it very reliable. Man I love this car!

Did I say just how much I love this car?
Anyhow its off to the Pacific Coast Railroad for a week of prep and then the Roundup. Will post some more pics then.
Later,
Grumps

Bitter Creek & Western Weekend

2008-04-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

So I went down to Arroyo Grande, home of the Bitter Creek & Western, the finest 7.5" gauge railroad in California, in my opinion. On Sunday April 20, there was a fundraiser for the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum, so I decided to take my new locomotive there to run for the event.

All went well even though there were problems with the new propane burner. Sunday afternoon I wound up putting the coal grates in the #1 and throwing black diamonds with a tablespoon. Man! that was tough... but I got through it and the engine ran fine.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

The Big Boy of Diesels

2008-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Union Pacific Directors Special came up the coast route today with DDA40X #6936 in charge. This locomotive has the distinction of being the largest diesel ever built. Called a "Centennial" because the first batch of these locomotive were built in 1969, the 100th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike on the Transcontinental Railroad. #6936 is a little newer being built in 1971. It homebase is Cheyenne, Wyoming and is store with the UP steam locomotives and historic E-9 units.
The train came into Watsonville Junction about 4:45 PM and boy was it windy! Anyhow I took a short video of it and managed a single still picture of it as it passed by.

Here is the video...

Also this week I have finished work on my newest live steam locomotive. It now carries the Big Trees Flume & Lumber Company Logo.

Here is a closeup of the saddle tank with the logo...

I also finished up installing a new propane burner in the firebox. This one should really work better than the old.

I also added a spatula, hurricane lamp, and coffee pot for the engineer.

On Friday, we finally got my nephews car painted. This has been a two year restoration project that will hopefully be finished for his high school graduation this June. Gary, my painter did an excellent job and finished the buffing today. Man this car shines!

Booming...

2008-04-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well April is here and lots of stuff going on. If you haven't read my post over on the Pacific Coast Railroad blog, go here to find out about my recent booming around various railroads. On Easter Sunday I fired on the old Heisler #2 at Roaring Camp. Man alive that loco is a beast. I have wrenched on her before with Tom Shreve, but never run. Four trips on that loco is brutal to say the least. Here is a picture of her shortly after being lettered for the Big Trees Flume & Lumber Company, a name that I use today to keep her memory alive.

My new locomotive is receiving the lettering I designed for the railroad of the same name.

Yes it is the route of the Badger!
Here is a picture of my sister Jannell, dad Marty, and myself taken in 1968 on our first trip behind the Heisler.

Who knew 40 years later I would actually fire the locomotive. Of all the geared steam locomotives ever built, the Heisler was designed by a mechanical engineer named Charles Heisler. The way these locomotives are put together just doesn't make practical sense. And since the oldest regularly operating one gets a workout whenever she runs, you can only imagine the work thats needed to keep it operable. It is just a pain in the you know what! Tom Shreve, Roaring Camp's head engineer and mechanic tells me the story of Charlie Heisler's purgatory and how he can't enter into the pearly gates until the last one dies. Well there are a few left running so Charlie may be there awhile. Here is a picture of Tom on the #2.

Thats all for now... no April Fools Jokes from me. I already got suckered today from Ed Kelley about the beast in question. He got me good. What goes around, comes around...

Back from a long trip...

2008-03-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

Well my good friend Bryce and I went on a road trip to Phoenix to attend the Maricopa Live Steamers Spring Meet. There I picked up my latest acquisition, a beautiful 0-4-0T Porter Live Steam Locomotive. I purchased this engine from an estate sale for a very good price. It runs great and I will keep this one for awhile. The above photo shows Bryce and I on our way out of the yard headed for no-man's land where the agua is tainted and foam is the status quo. Thanks to Mojave Mike Massee for the photo.

Bryce has this awesome Prevost Bus conversion that is a dream to drive and relax in. So we took "Bertha" and towed "Max" the green S-10 behind so we would have transportation around town and something to haul the new locomotive back home in. Here I am driving the beast...

Another reason to take the trip to Phoenix is the world famous Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa. Home of the finest Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ with a sound like no other. Charley Balough is one of the best organists in this field of music. The organ just keeps getting bigger also. You can read about its history here.

Here is Lew Williams playing Chattanooga Choo-Choo

So Bryce and I got to Phoenix on Thursday and first thing we did was beat feet to hear the organ. We went again Friday, Saturday Night, and again on Sunday Night. Yeah I'm nuts, but being a musical person, I just can't seem to get enough of this instrument. Anyway the trip had to end and work called us both home. Due to a storm over the weekend we postponed leaving until early Monday morning. 14 hours later we were back!

Bio What?

2008-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

For the month of March, I thought I would update everyone (the few of you that follow this mess-a -patamia blog site) on just what I am up to.
Having followed the Bio-diesel craze for the last couple years I have decided it is time to make my own. With many of the Santa Cruz people I live around doing this with success, and now having the mileage on their vehicles to warrant a try, I am diving in.
So here is what I am doing. I currently have 4 sources for Waste Vegetable Oil from either restaurants or schools and even the facility I manage. I need a few more so I can get my supply up to 30 gallons per week if possible. Anyhow the oil is collected using a 50 gallon transfer tank and hand pump that I mounted on a pallet and sits in the back of my 1 ton flatbed truck.
When I return to the shop, I pump the WVO out of the tank and into a clean 5 gallon bucket with a paint strainer to catch all the crumbs and dead french fries. I then pour the oil into my batch plant keeping track of how many gallons I put in.
The tank has a heater which I turn on to heat the oil to 130 degrees. I then circulate the oil using this old hot water recirculation pump I salvaged.

The oil is then pumped through two household type water filters. First one is a 25 micron and the second is a 20 micron. The helps remove any other sediment that could clog a fuel filter in a vehicle.

After letting the oil go through this filtration process overnight, I then turn off the pump and heater and let the oil assume room temperature. The next day, I remove any water that has settled on the bottom of the batch. Basically I pump out the water until I see good oil being careful to measure just how much I remove in gallons. Then it is time to do that magic I do. Following a recipe from post-WWll Germany, I mix in Kerosene, Unleaded Gas, Diesel Kleen (Walmart) and Heet (Kragen). Stir for 10-15 minutes and then turn the pump on and recirculate the mix for an hour. Then the fuel is ready to transfer from the batch plant to the pumping station.

The pumping station above is built from a 55 gallon poly drum that I mounted a diesel pump I got from Northern Tool. From the pump the fuel goes to another household water type filter that is a 5 micron and then into a Goldenrod Water-block Fuel Filter. From there it goes into the nozzle and into the vehicle. As you can see in the picture below, the fuel is clear and looks just like diesel.

So I have been running this fuel which is known as B-87 (87%WVO & 13% other petrochemicals) in my John Deere 950 and it works great. The engine is quieter and just as much power as before. Since my family is always taking trips to town for this and that and eating up fuel, I decided to look for a vehicle that runs on diesel that I could get for cheap and not worry if it craps out, kind of an experimental for this homemade brew. So I found this fine looking Mercedes 300D in Watsonville at a dealership. Got it for $800.00 and its great! Runs good, looks OK, interior is nice and has a good sound system in it.

So now when the kids want to go to Taco Bell, they take the "Benz" and as they are driving down the road, all I smell is French Fries cooking! So how much does it cost me to make you ask? Well I have an investment of the processing and pumping equipment. The oil I get for free. After adding the ingredients I figure it costs me .88 cents per gallon to make. Now what I smell is MONEY!

More Family History

2008-02-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my Great-great Grandfather Eitle's workshop in Kansas. Looks like some Tin Lizzies are getting repaired as I see a driveline and rear end on the ground, and another on the work bench. This picture is from circa 1915.

2008-02-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Hello all. Well we are in the midst of a big winter storm this weekend. Expecting up to 5" of rain and 75MPH winds. Oh well lets see what needs to be scanned. I came across this picture of my ancestors harvesting wheat in Kansas with their Case 30 Steam Tractor. John Eitle was my Great-great grandfather. My father's mothers, grandfather. That goes back some time ago. Not sure of the date, but here it is...

Steam's Up

2008-02-18T21:56:00.000-08:00

Well today I test fired the recently overhauled Chloe Locomotive. I picked this live steamer up in a partial trade for my last locomotive. This engine had not been given the proper care and feed that is needed for a steam locomotive. The boiler tubes were damaged from running low water and most of the mud ring was plugged up from improper blowdowns etc. Anyhow you can go to my photo album and check out the photos. Next week I will track test the engine and see how it performs.
Until then...
Grumps

Welcome to the blog of Grumps Badger

2008-02-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

Well you found me! Here I will carry on about stuff in my life but mostly about my life with trains.
I work on steam locomotives and build scale model ones also. Not sure how often I will post, but thanks for coming by anyway...

GRUMPS