Summer is finally here, and so is the Winton Engine! Yes, that's right, the day we never thought would come, actually has. For the past three or so years, we have been stymied by the problem of paying off Globe Bearing for the rebuild of M.177's Winton gasoline engine. Globe had to front a great deal of money to complete the work, and we still came up short over $15,000. This was even after a second grant from Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Globe's treasurer was adamant that they not release the engine until it was paid off.
The breaking of the logjam finally came in early June, when two of our Associates, Dale Brown and Sue Kientz, agreed to assume the debt. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that the Association is getting a much more favorable interest rate on the debt, while Sue and Dale are getting moderately higher interest on their money than they did from the bank. This money, together with about $5,000 in cash from the M.177 bank account, was sufficient to close out our account at Globe. My personal thanks go out to Dale and Sue - you made it possible.
Things then moved very quickly. Masterminded with the help of Greg Ramsey and Chris Rippy, a plan came together. At about noon on June 20, Chris and his wife Isabel showed up at Globe Bearing in downtown Los Angeles, a stone's throw from the Convention Center. Chris had secured the services of a five-ton flatbed tow truck from his employer, the Auto Club of Southern California. AAA was good enough to allow Chris to do the job on the clock, so as to be covered by the proper insurance, so special thanks to AAA.
He was very shortly joined by Greg Ramsey (with Gregory in tow) and the author. Greg had very wisely rented a set of heavy equipment rollers, something I might not have thought to do. These made all the difference.
The first order of business was to get the engine out where we could get to it. In the time that it sat in the shop at Globe, it had become part of the furniture. A counter had been built between the engine and the door, which was now piled high with engine blocks and the like. In addition, all manner of engine parts and miscellaneous items were piled up against it. What's more, the guys were using the Winton as one wall of their changing area.
The employees were very helpful, though, and pitched in and moved everything they could in very short order. This only left the counter between the Winton and the door. We would have to go around.
We used track jacks to lift the engine and placed a roller under each of the four corners. We immediately knew this was a mistake, because as soon as we started rolling, one or another of the rollers lost contact due to imperfections in the concrete floor. We quickly learned how to support the engine in a stable manner at just three points. Then it was just a matter of overcoming the inertia of sheer dead weight.
Globe's floor manager estimated that the engine weighed every bit of 8,000 pounds, maybe more. We were lucky to get the 10,000 pound truck. The rollers we were using swiveled and were actually "steerable," using a special handle. The generator end of the engine had to go on the truck first, so we had to come forward about 10 feet, turn 90 degrees to the right, come forward another 10 feet, rotate 90 degrees to the left, and then come back about 15 feet to the truck. With enough bodies and a level floor, it turned out to be not that difficult. Again, the Globe employees were a big help.
Using the track jacks to reposition the front rollers as we went, we traversed the door track to the shop and got the end of the engine up the two-inch lip of the truck bed. The bed slants rearward and extends hydraulically all the way to the ground, so that wrecked vehicles with no wheels can be winched on. Now the winch would do the rest of the work.
The winch pulled the engine up onto the truck bed with surprisingly little effort. Once it was up past the center of gravity, the bed was raised back to the upright position, again, without too much strain. Chris told me he once hauled Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hummer on that truck at 7,900 pounds, and this seemed significantly heavier. Still, it didn't seem we were too dangerously close to maxing out the truck.
We took the rollers out, chained the engine down, and set off for Travel Town, caravan-style. The truck and its load held the road with no problems, and a little after 3 p.m., we rolled in the service gate at the Museum.
Gordon Bachlund had taken steps to clear all the other equipment away from the front of the M.177. It was my intention to have Chris back down the track to the open engine room door on the front of the rail car. Chris, however, was worried that we would damage a tire on the truck because of the excessive weight. An ad-hoc plan was devised where we switched around more equipment to bring the motorcar up just short of the main crossing, and then the truck could maneuver on the pavement. This took about an hour, and finally the big door on the front of the motorcar was swung open, and the truck was backed up to it.
The back of the truck was stabilized with a couple more jacks. We procured a suitable switch tie timber from a nearby pile and passed it in through the two doors immediately behind the engine room, which gave us something to which we could attach a pulley (or "snatch block" for the benefit of Steve DeVorkin).
Then we simply ran the cable from the winch all the way under the engine, around the pulley, and back to the engine. It was a simple matter then to "drive" the engine back into place. Slowly, a little bit at a time, with many small adjustments, the engine moved into place. We were finished about 7 p.m., and put all the equipment back into its place. The following Saturday I came back and let the engine down onto the mounting bolts on the floor, and the job was done.
Those who lent assistance were Andy Evans, Brian Moore, Jeff Barrow, Charles Forsher, Greg Gneier, Brad Slosar, and many others who provided invaluable assistance by keeping out of the way (without even being asked!). Jim Vicars provided photo coverage along with Steve DeVorkin (see The Engine is Back! for pictures and more details).
And with that, the Winton Engine's 10-year odyssey removed from its car-body came to an end. It was removed in pieces all those years ago by volunteers who quite likely never would have undertaken the job had they known the long, protracted, and expensive task ahead of them. Now the fun part can begin! The next order of business is to install the cylinder heads, also rebuilt many long years ago, and start repiping and rewiring. The hard work is done. The sleeping giant will again stir to life very soon.
After I announced last quarter that we had finally got the green light to start on the tail track, I would be hard pressed to announce something as significant this issue. But thanks to the hard work of a few and the significant generosity of a lot more, we have finally brought the M.177's Winton Model 148 Engine back home to Travel Town. I won't spoil Bryan's fun, so read his article for the details, but I do want to take a moment to thank Dale Brown and Sue Kientz who bought the note from Globe Bearing, to Chris Rippy and the Automobile Club of Southern California who provided us with the flatbed tow truck to move the engine, and to all of you donors, big and small who provided the funds to get us this far. If you have access to the Web, be sure to visit our website at http://www.scsra.org/ (but if you are reading this, you are visiting it!). You'll find my article about the move (see The Engine is Back!) and be able to view the photos taken.
The Train Shed, aka the "Locomotive Pavilion," is also coming along. All the agreements with the County for the funding are in place. We still need the original architect to make minor changes to the drawings, and the contract for that will be presented to the Recreation & Parks Board on July 15.
Recently I observed some of the most amazing gandy dancing we've experienced at the Park. Jeff Barrow, as part of his Eagle Scout community service project, organized and led a group of scouts and their families who rebuilt, ballasted, and tamped the last 120 feet of the west end of track 7. This required several weeks of preparation by SCSRA's MW forces, but the actual construction was largely performed over two weekends in June with up to 50 guests at its peak. Read more about it in Joe's article and in Restoration Notes for June 13 here on our website.
In other news, Linda Barth reports that Jackie Tatum, General Manager of Recreation and Parks, announced to the assistant general managers that she is retiring. Her last official day will be Sept. 15, but she will probably actually be gone around August 15-18. Her interim replacement will be Richard Sessinghaus, currently Director of Finance. Traditionally, GMs can come from the ranks of the most senior levels of the department, or from nationwide searches. In the history of the department since 1947 (when parks and playgrounds combined), we have had four GMs.
The annual dinner was celebrated on June 6 this year and according to all reports, it was another smashing success. Over 90 associates and guests attended. They were able to ride in the M.177 and on the handcar, and even had the special treat of a movie in the museum building titled Home in Oklahoma starring Roy Rodgers and a Santa Fe motorcar that looked a lot like the one they had just ridden on. I had the great pleasure of awarding this year's Clarence Ridenour award to Daniel Price as well as 300-hour service awards to Jeff Barrow, Charles Forsher, and Doug Stevens. If you didn't make it this year, be sure to plan on attending next year.
Finally I must announce that I have received a letter from Randy Matus, SCSRA #4 and one of the original directors. Randy has recently accepted a transfer within Amtrak to the San Francisco Bay area. Since he can no longer participate in the direction of the organization, and he feels that the SCSRA needs full-time leadership, he has resigned as a director. I want to thank Randy for the many years he contributed to the SCSRA as an associate, director, operating superintendent, and president. Let's all hope that he eventually gets transferred back so that we can again benefit from his experience and leadership.
I'd like to welcome all of our new friends who have signed up this past quarter:
| SCSRA # | Name | Level | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 274 | Alan Elsroad | Regular | Scottsdale, AZ |
| 275 | Douglas A. Ward | Regular | Valley Village, CA |
| 276 | Frank Mezzatesta, Jr. | Sustaining | Glendale, CA |
| 277 | Mark (Andy) Evans | Regular | Glendale, CA |
| 278 | Adam Sherman | Regular | Beverly Hills, CA |
| 279 | David M. Kelly | Regular | Garden Grove, CA |
| 280 | Robert T. Wells | Regular | Apple Valley, CA |
| 281 | Timothy D. Dulin | Regular | Long Beach, CA |
| 282 | Peter J. McClosky | Regular | Los Angeles, CA |
Be sure to drop by and introduce yourself the next time you are near Travel Town!
As many of you are no doubt aware, during the last year there was a severe lag between the time you mailed in your checks and the time many of you received your new associate packages or renewal receipts. By now all new associates should have their packages and all current associates should have their new passes.
If for some reason you didn't receive them, please contact me ASAP. As always, I can be reached at home (805-984-0332), work (note the new number: 805-982-5251), or via the Internet.
Steam Update - The SMV 1000 was finally moved (see "More Major Switching Moves" below). The only remaining work on her involves resetting the tender drawbar pin which was removed at some time in the distant past and only partially reinserted.
Al DiPaolo joined us on June 6 and enjoyed with us our 1998 Annual Dinner and Awards Program. I'm happy to report that he's doing very well in his new position as Mechanical Superintendent at the California Western Railroad.
Cabeese - Bob Bennett arranged the donation of several working Microphor toilets, along with spare parts and spare digester tank, and other miscellaneous parts. Bob also acquired and installed, with help from Brian Moore and Greg Ramsey, a framed FRA Type 2 glazed window to add to SP 4049, hopefully the first of several. Thanks, Bob.
Jim Vicars spent considerable time troubleshooting the 12-volt cooler in SP 4049, among other things replacing the brushes, but to no avail since the problem seems to reside in the temperature controls. Recall that a few years back we had its "environmentally unfriendly" coolant recharged, and that charge has held nicely. Meanwhile, the writer found an identical unit for sale and quickly purchased it. It now awaits rehabilitation and installation so that the original cooler can be repaired and placed in stock as a working spare. Meanwhile, we apologize to car attendants who have served in the 4049. A working chilled drinking water dispenser will be soon be in place.
Buildings, Equipment, and Grounds - When we came to the Museum on Saturday, April 4, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the previously-identified hazardous materials were gone, having been picked up during the previous week by the City's contractor. We are grateful to Linda for making all the arrangements. However, the cardboard cartons that enclosed some of the used paint materials were not removed, leaving us a large pile of waste. Greg Gneier and friends remanded these to a dumpster which was soon filled. Thanks, Greg.
Addressing the proliferation of vigorously-sprouting weeds, the matter was resolved at the Quarterly Project Management Meeting on April 4, as the City accepted responsibility to identify, train, and equip a City employee to commit herbicide upon the offensive foliage. However, for a variety of reasons, that solution did not come to pass, so the writer cleaned up and remounted our battery-powered spray rig on a track car and, with help from John Daum, accomplished an initial assault on April 25 using City-provided herbicide. On May 17 Nancy Gneier performed some weed removal surgery, but much more is needed. If you can help, please come out any Saturday.
More Major Switching Moves - Saturday, April 18, was Al DiPaolo's last work day before moving to Fort Bragg to assume the job of Mechanical Superintendent at the California Western Railroad. To make the most of his remaining hours, he completed lubing the SMV 1000, and then, with a little help from his friends, inspected and re-lubed the four steam locos on Track 7 East (WP 26, AT&SF 664, UP 4439 and SP 1273). When he was nearing completion, we fired up California Western Railroad No. 56, which had been quietly reposing for many months, switched her over to Track 7, and moved these four locos to spread the lube and limber up their valve gear. It was quite a sight for the visiting public, and another first for us, as it was the Baldwin's first movement over the Tracks 6 to 7 Crossover. With much grunting, a little smoke, and a little wheel slipping, the job got done under the leadership of Brian Moore, with help from Greg Ramsey, Chris and Isabel Rippy, John and Margaret Daum, Bob Bennett, Steve DeVorkin, Mike Flaharty, Greg Gneier, Brad Slosar, Tom Graham and the writer. When Al had to leave to complete his last work day at Disneyland, Greg Ramsey took over for him as steam meister and ensured that everything moved with the graceful precision expected of these grand old ladies of steam. Charles Forsher darted about with camera in hand so that you might enjoy a photo or two of this spectacular sight (some were in the last issue.)
Thus, at this writing, the only steam locomotive that has not been serviced to enable movement is the large and complicated SP Atlantic 3025 with her unique booster (powered trailing truck). This is quite an accomplishment, and Al deserves to be richly congratulated for his efforts!
Now, please note the large number of volunteers who helped with this long and laborious afternoon move, and recall that simultaneously an equally large number of volunteers were busy removing fences and clearing the right-of-way for the first phase of construction of the long-awaited CS&CV RR, the "Tail Track Project." It was quite a day! And, it ended with a "Movie Night" that began with a short subject, "The Ballad of the Iron Horse," that chronicled the construction of the transcontinental railroad! Was this appropriate or what?!
At long last, on Saturday, May 23, the Santa Maria Valley No. 1000 was exercised and relocated. The loco herself moved without a hitch, but not without some anxious moments. The previous week, Dan Price led a contingent of Our Gang in replacing five ties under the "unrebuilt" portion of the crossover, the east switch. CWR No. 56 made it safely through the crossover just as it had five weeks earlier and was coupled (chained, really, since the rear coupler was found to be defective) to the 1000. After a brief struggle with the dark forces of mechanical balkiness, the 1000 moved. How the writer wished Al had been there to see her! Once she had been limbered up, she was set at the west end of the track so the Baldwin could scoot back onto the crossover to clear the west switch and we could move her east using the fork lift. She would not budge, so we double headed the fork lift with the loader, and still the old girl refused to move.
Meanwhile, Charley was deadlined with a bad set of batteries, but Linda had provided a new set which awaited installation. Clearly it was time to install them, and install them we did as Greg reports in The Diesel Shop. Finally, Charley was able to crank and started immediately. Now, you'd think that if the 1,200-ton No. 56 could make it through the switch, that Charley, at 42 tons, could do so also. Charley did not, of course, and went on the ground. Joe Barilari led a further contingent of Our Gang in replacing a replaced tie that had split and adding several gauge bars, so that, after several hours of perspiration and uncouth utterances, and several further tries, Charley finally did make it through the switch. With both diesels now available, SMV 1000 finally acquiesced to being moved. Perhaps she has an aversion to rubber-tired motive power. When she was located where desired, freeing up the unrebuilt west end of Track 7 for Jeff Barrow's Eagle Scout rebuild project slated for June 13-14, we put the diesels away starting with Charley which traversed the "bad spot" with ease. However, the weight of the Baldwin caused her to break a rail which we will fix another day. By the time all the required track work and switching were done, our two-hour project that started before 8 a.m. was completed at 6:30 p.m.! The writer was assisted by Brian Moore, Dan Price, Joe Barilari, Jeff Barrow, Andy Evans, Greg Gneier, Brad Slosar, and Alan Weeks. Alan has joined the ranks of our hoggers who have experienced the thrill of going on the ground. Congratulations! Be assured, however, that as Our Gang completes more and more rebuilding of track, the "on the ground" club will have fewer and fewer members.
On June 16 Linda advised that a contract had been awarded to remove the two enormous eucalyptus trees between Tracks 4 and 5 just outside the west fence of the Restoration Yard. Not only was their removal required by the coming Train Shed construction, but also their droppings were fouling the ballast. So, on June 20, we moved the "Little Nugget," both diesel locomotives and the cabeese, and relocated the balance of the UP train set east, so that any mishap involving the laws of physics and errant limbs and branches would not deleteriously affect any equipment. On June 25 the trees bit the dust, and on June 27 all equipment was returned to its original position. The writer is grateful to the switching crew that included Jim Vicars, Chris Rippy, Nancy Gneier, Brad Slosar, Tom Graham, Greg Gneier, Marc Schirmeister, Charles Forsher, and Ed Sikora; and to Jeff Barrow and the Track Crew for clearing the ballast fouling the west crossover switch from Track 5 to make it operable and for spiking the east crossover switch to Track 6. Our wisdom in relocating the equipment was borne out by the damage done by the tree removers to the Tracks 5 to 6 crossover east switch (head rod badly bent by either an equipment wheel or stabilizing outrigger and target torn from its top bolt and bent) and to the Track 3 (connecting track) to 4 switch (target torn from its top bolt and bent). We all need to remember that if we want to make an omelette we have to break a few eggs!
After many attempts at scheduling progress, delays have plagued the first leg of tail track work for most of the quarter. As noted above, the kickoff weekends of tree and fence removal have been robust, but there are a couple of stumbling blocks. The four-foot-high barrier fence to the south turned out to be a six-foot fence with two feet buried in the sluff and subsequent weed growth. This and having the longer fence posts that much further in the ground made a two-hour job into a weekend. Then one fence post happened to lurch toward the tractor and jump under the rear tire. In truth that weekend is still awaiting completion as the stubs were never successfully removed and thus a backhoe is needed for that and the tree stubs. An oak tree also still needs to be removed by the city.
Another potential boondoggle is the prospect of moving the Oil Derrick Display. This will require staff to document the structure in its entirety and disassemble much of it into pieces, after which is can be moved to the planned area in the northeast corner of the park, adjacent to the 16' gauge railroad's realignment. Reerecting this would be difficult without new wood in many places or unsightly bracing to maintain the original pieces. Any ideas?
All in all, though, we offer a hidey-ho neighbor to Gordon Bachlund for leading the occasional charge, and Dan Price and Jeff Barrow for leading the usual charge. Others such as John and Margaret Daum, Mark Evans, Brian Moore, Greg and Greg II Ramsey (sounds like a rap duo, don't it?), Jim Vicars, Douglass Ward, Joyce and Steve Barrow, Jane Rector, and Darlene Sexton have been invaluable when clearing trees, replacing a few ties, shoring up my sanity, or controlling those ever curious crowds throughout the work day.
Then there is that dump truck. I had to replace the oil pump as it was damaged when we tried to start the engine. Further investigation precipitated removal of the valve covers only to find the valves all moving OK, just in the wrong order. It seems that we were inadvertently provided with the late model cam shaft -- which fits like a glove, but requires a carburetor on the exhaust pipe and muffler straight up through the hood. Instead I think we'll just wait to get the correct one to install. This will require removing the cylinder heads as the pushrods cannot be released from the rocker arms. Three cheers (rah rah rah) to Gordon Bachlund, Tim Dulin, Greg Ramsey, Chris and Isabel Rippy, and Jim Smith.
The brightest star of the quarter has shone light on the track under the former SMV1000 parking space. While this is not a long piece of track, its location makes it one of the woolliest of mammoth track projects. This really started when preparations, including moving the SMV, fixing up the east end of the crossover, and digging the canal, were accomplished ahead of the cavalry. The first boy scout of the bunch was Jeff Pippenger who arrived the afternoon of the annual dinner with our company's 977 Cat trackloader. The neat part about trackloaders is that they make a three-week job into a 30-minute project. Next, the real boy scouts came out to help rebuild the track. They laid the ties, rail, spiked to their hearts' decomposition under the astute leadership of Jeff Barrow. And though I noticed more than one glass of lemonade cooling the hand of Dan Price, as usual his assistance proved far more boon than boondoggle. So they spiked, and tamped, and lined, and ballasted, and blew the house down for two consecutive weekends. Many of the scouts went home tired and sweaty, but richer in knowledge as were we in running room for TT rolling stock.
The thanks should start with Joyce Barrow, Steve Barrow, Chris Brown, David Brown, Kristy Brown, Kevin Butcher, John Capallero, Ben Chen, Nick Chen, Eric Christofferson, Kevin Christofferson, Ryan Christofferson, Yuri Christofferson, Phillip Coultas, Davin Deb, Karen Deb, Rohin Deb, Harmik Derohanes, Adolph Drvol, Matt Glenski, Josh Huber, Larry Huber, Bob Hutt, Jack Izumi, Mike Kociema, Marlon Lopez, Adam Mohammed, George Mohammed, Andrew Mullen, Mike Mullen, Dale Nohre, Jane Rector, Sherri Rector, Steve Schare, Dan Sensenbach, Jim Sensenbach, David Sorkness, Phillip Wooledge, Mark Yandle, and Nick Yandle as the Beaver. The real heroes, call them wooly mammoth tamers, are the team of Jeff Barrow and Dan Price.
Our Annual Dinner and Awards Program on June 6th was a winner in many ways. M.177 Project Manager Bryan Reese announced that loans to augment our available budget had been finalized to pay the outstanding balance of $15,872.66 to Globe Bearing, so that the Winton engine can be delivered. Rides were given in M.177 and on the handcar as advertised, and a 1946 Roy Rogers western, Home in Oklahoma, which features a sequence using M.155, was screened, following an introduction by archivist Jim Vicars who had visited the shooting location in Byars, OK, the week before. We ran this film since it showed M.155 pulling into a station with passenger car 2681 in tow, from which Dale Evans alighted. While we cannot promise another appearance by Dale Evans, we can promise that M.155's sister, M.177, will soon be pulling into our station! (Videotape copies of Home in Oklahoma, complete with Jim's notes on the film and repeats of the motorcar sequence and other AT&SF related shots, will be available shortly - watch for details.) As you can see, M.177 was the centerpiece of this year's event.
To further mark the evening as something special, Yvonne Ramsey and her culinary staff located the barbecue and the food lines next to the Exhibit Hall. We used the Museum food plaza tables for dinner, and then moved into the Hall for coffee and dessert and the formal program.
President Greg Ramsey presented this year's Clarence Ridenour Award to Dan Price, a most deserving young Associate who has kept M/W construction progress on track, while still making time for docent work with both SCSRA (as station master on operating days) and ASRA (as a docent). Congratulations, Dan! Your dedication should be an inspiration to all. You and Jeff Barrow are examples that many of our other Associates would do well to follow.
Continuing with awards, President Ramsey presented 300 Hour Certificates to Charles Forsher, Jeff Barrow, and Doug Stephens (absent).
The evening was emceed by our jovial PR Manager, Steve ("Billy Crystal") DeVorkin, and Joe Barilari set up a professional sound system and served as DJ, providing music and effect "bumps" to punctuate the action on stage. The "stage" itself, in front of the movie screen, was constructed that very afternoon by B&B Superintendent Tom Graham, and included recessed openings for speakers and provisions for lighting. Very professional, guys!
Following the movie, the evening concluded with drawings for door prizes. Pentrex donated two videos, Those Incredible Alcos and Workin' on the Coast Starlight, won by Bob Bennett and Dan Price. Gordon Bachlund contributed a Wheels A'Rolling video and a book entitled Walt Disney's Railroad story, presented to Jim O'Connor and Bob Bennett. Sue Kientz donated two model train cars and a Zephyr patch which were won by an unidentified but cute little girl, Joyce Barrow, and Jim Smith respectively. Gordon also donated two CS&CV T-shirts, won by Jeff Barrow and Sharon Price. The Whistle Stop presented a gift certificate to winner Jim Smith. Bryan Reese donated two Grand Canyon Railway T-shirts, won by Dan Price and John Coghlan. Kevin Tam contributed a UP notepad won by Sharon Price, and Bob Bennett donated a UP emblem won by Steve DeVorkin. The Ramseys' Roundhouse Catering's 1999 Annual Dinner for Two prize was given to Jeff Barrow, and the Doubletree Hotel's Two Free Nights at their Ventura hotel package was won by Steve Barrow. We are grateful to the donors and congratulate the winners.
Many thanks to all who made the evening memorable, including barbecue chefs Greg Gneier, Tom Pyle, John Daum, and to Yvonne, Mary Ramsey, Mary Jo Hurdle, Charles Forsher, Joyce Barrows, Jane Rector, and of course the Museum staff who set up the tables and chairs. We would like to especially thank Mary Ramsey for allowing us to invade her house again this year. The dinner would not be possible without the use of her kitchen.
As you have or will read elsewhere in this issue, the Winton Model 148 returned to us this past month, and the Diesel Shop turned out to support this effort. We will be concentrating as much of our effort as we can on this project, until it is complete.
CS&CV 1 - Charley Atkins has received a fair amount of attention this quarter. Most operators have noticed that Charley has been making some unusual noises, particularly while it accelerated between 650 and 800 rpm. The noise radiated near the top of the stack, but I believe we have traced the problem back to the vibration damper on the number 2 engine. The vibration damper is basically two steel disks bonded together by a layer of rubber. One plate is mounted to the crankshaft and the other is free to "float" on the rubber. When it is working correctly, it is supposed to absorb minor vibrations, but if the rubber starts to fail, the effect may amplify the vibrations. Unfortunately, this will require taking Charley out of service for at least a week while we remove the damper, obtain the correct part, and then reinstall it. Hopefully, by the time this is published, it will be repaired.
Also plaguing us has been a stubborn fuel pump. We will be removing the pump while the damper is off, and expect to have to replace the brushes.
While the #2 radiator cover was off so we could access the vibration damper, I discovered that the sand hoses to the left rear wheel had come off and were therefore not delivering their abrasive cargo to the correct destination. Hopefully this will be repaired when the damper is, but if not, anybody want a project?
Charley's batteries began to give out several months ago, requiring starting assistance from the Travel Town Museum Auxiliary Power Unit (in reality the trailer-mounted welder). Since the original batteries had been replaced over five years ago, we asked Linda if the replacements had any sort of warranty. They had, she advised - two years! Kudo's are owed to Gordon and Jim Vicars, our battery gurus whose system of maintenance has more than doubled their expected lifetime. Accordingly, Linda procured a new set of two-year batteries and we set about installing them on May 23 with the help of the Zoo forklift, which operated erratically at best, and lots of person power. Gordon, Brian Moore, Dan Price, Jeff Barrow, and Andy Evans overcame the odds and got the job done, whereupon Brian cranked Charley and was rewarded by immediate starting.
CWR 56 - Chris Rippy and myself continued the on again/off again Fan Shaft Removal project. So far we have removed the inner dampers and the drive pulley, and broken most of the bolts securing the front mounting assembly. Can you say "easy-outs"? We also removed the fan itself from the shaft. There is plenty of room for others to work here.
Staffing the Diesel Shop this quarter in addition to the above included Tim Dulin and Jim Vicars.
As always, I can be reached at home (805-984-0332), work (805-982-9720), or via the Internet.
In the last issue of The Headlight, Greg Ramsey asked for a volunteer to take over his position of General Superintendent to relieve some of his volunteer workload. This prompted me to review the back page of The Headlight where I noted duplicate names under more than a few of the appointed superintendent and manager positions, along with names of a few who have indicated a desire to be replaced. The obvious reality is that many of us are wearing more than one hat and could use some help.
The Association has grown significantly in recent years, but the number of working volunteers has not kept pace. Today volunteerism is considered politically correct. That being the case, why do so few of us do so much? Clearly there's room for much more participation.
When you joined, you had an opportunity to indicate your special interests and/or skills, and many of you did. You received a "welcome" package that listed various opportunities to become active and a point of contact for each. Most of you never responded. Perhaps you felt it was up to us to contact you, but since all of us are volunteers, and some of us wear multiple hats, that may have not come to pass. If we have not risen to your expectations, please accept our apology.
Now, however, may we ask you to reconsider sharing your time and talents to help your Association to grow and to become as responsive to others as you'd like it to be to you? Available leadership positions include:
General Superintendent/Timekeeper requires personal computer skills, ability to stop by the Museum every week or every other week to pick up time cards and receipts, and preferably have access to e-mail. Phone Greg at 805-984-0332 (home) or 805-982-5251 (work).
Asst. Supt. - Steam Locomotives requires interest and dedication to steam motive power and a willingness to learn, to teach and to lead. Al DiPaolo, our steam guru, is as close as your e-mail for advice. Phone me at 626-358-3576 (home) or 714-476-3580 (work).
Asst. M/W Supt. - Motor Vehicles requires automotive mechanical skills or aptitude and a willingness to responsibly and regularly maintain our fleet of construction and work vehicles. Phone me or Joe Barilari at 626-303-1169.
Fund Raising Manager requires oral and written communication skills, and the time to devote to appeals, follow-up letters, etc.; personal computer skills and desktop publishing skills would be helpful, or plan on recruiting others with those skills to help. Linda, who cannot fulfill this function because of her other responsibilities, is willing to provide advice and assistance at the beginning and on-going, and most if not all of this work can be done at home. The workload is essentially seasonal, i.e., busy while finalizing and following up on appeals, or during traditional grant cycles. Phone Linda Barth at 213-485-5520.
Asst. Treasurer requires personal computer skills, an interest in learning to use the Association's accounting software, and preferably access to e-mail. Phone me or Tom Graham at 626-357-9597.
In addition, Superintendent Jim Hoffmann would like to see many more volunteers in our Operating Department. The train rides are gaining popularity and we need to increase our pool of qualified train persons to keep up with the inevitable increased work load. The Operating Department has an excellent training program in place and all it takes to become involved is to see Brian Moore or me any Saturday. Come on out. You'll be glad you did!
Finally, if you'd like to learn about the Museum's equipment and displays and share that knowledge with our visitors as a Docent, please phone Nancy Gneier at 818-243-5019. Nancy is in charge of our new Rail Heritage Southwest Docent Council. Docents give guided tours of the Museum's historic passenger car fleet and serve as car attendants, station agents, and flag persons on the demonstration railway.
Once again due to my job requirements, I was unable to attend any functions during the quarter. My thanks to Gordon Bachlund, Greg Ramsey, and Jim Vicars for filling me in on the department activities.
AF&SF M.177 made its appearance for the second time during the quarter during the Annual Dinner. This time Charley pulled it rather than pushed it. Thanks to Dale Brown for doing a fine job as hogger.
We have three new associates who have joined the department: Tim Dulin, Andy Evans, and Doug Ward. All three have passed their Rules Test and are now beginning Brakeman training. Welcome aboard! LetŐs see some more names here next time:
Operating Days: 104 And now it's time to thanks all those who made it possible for us to keep surprising people who come to Travel Town not expecting to see anything moving. Those with recorded times were Gordon Bachlund, Jeff Barrow, Bob Bennett, Dale Brown, Robert, John, and Margaret Daum, Tim Dulin, Steve DeVorkin, Andy Evans, Mike Flaharty, Charles Forsher, Tom Graham, Brian Moore, Dan Price, Jerry Price, Yvonne and Greg Ramsey, Chris Rippy, Will Sundquist, Jim Vicars, Doug Ward, and Alan Weeks.
The fund raising appeal mailed in September has resulted in donations totaling $16,837.50 as of the end of June, and we are grateful to the following donors whose spirit of generosity and sharing will ensure the successful completion of PROJECT M.177 in the coming year:
Corporate Donors: Individual Donors: In addition, the appeal gained us 21 new Regular Associates, 4 new Supporting Associates, 4 new Patron Associates, 1 new Life Associate, and 4 Regular Associate renewals, totaling $1,575 in Associate membership fees. Thank you, new and renewed Associates.
Additionally, we are grateful to Bob LaPrelle of the Age Of Steam Museum in Dallas (home of AT&SF M.160) for his offer to help in our fundraising effort.
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
by Gordon Bachlund
OPERATIONS REPORT
By James G. Hoffmann, Operations Superintendent
Passengers Donations Sunday, April 5 631 $ 359.45 Sunday, May 3 728 447.40 Sunday, June 7 657 461.35 Total: 2,016 $ 1,268.20 Total to date: 70,611 $28,408.52 M.177 FUND RAISING UPDATE
by Gordon Bachlund
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