More from the Roundup

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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!