ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 1

ROCKY MOUNTAIN

RAIL REPORTOCTOBER 1999 NO. 481

ROCKY M OUNTAIN RAILROAD CLUB

Annual Banquet Program – Colorado ConcertoPresented by Erwin & Bobbie Chaim

Saturday, October 16 • 7:30 PM

1999 Events Schedule

November 9 Meeting: Video Potpourri

December 14 Meeting: Tribute toHoward Fogg

2000 Events Schedule

January 11 Meeting: George BeamPhotos

February 8 Meeting: To be Announced

March 14 Meeting: To be Announced

April 11 Meeting: Colorado SpringsTrolley Status

May 9 Meeting: Slide Potpourri

Fourteen hardy club members met at theWest Portal of the Alpine Tunnel onSaturday, September 13th. Under the ableleadership of Ray Rossman, U.S. ForestService, these volunteers learned how itwas to lay track, construct a walkway andpaint woodwork at 11,521 feet elevation.Unlike the workers of the Denver, SouthPark & Pacific, these folks were not paid$3.50 per day to build the 1,771 foot longtunnel, but instead, helped reconstructportions of the support structures at theWest Portal. While Sue Stuska measured(to the quarter inch), Steve Mason, DaveHenker, Pete Haldiman, and Dave Gossswung mallets to spike down the narrow

First you will see buildings around Denver, circa 1980’s and before; someare still there and some are gone. Views of Civic Center, downtown, thebeautiful building once used as our main post office, Larimer Square andsome private gardens. Then some trains: 8444, the freedom train, andothers. After that, views of Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Parkarea (mountains, trails, streams, waterfalls, and lakes) in summer and fall.“Sunsets to Moonrise” will conclude this slide trip through parts ofColorado. All this is set to music chosen by my wife, Bobbie. See youthere.

The 1999 Annual Banquet will be held at the Arvada Center for the Artsand Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada, CO. The eveningwill begin with cocktails at 6:00 PM followed with dinner at 7:00 PM.

Alpine Tunnel Service ProjectBy Dave Goss

gauge rails. When winded (which wasoften) new track workers (Larry Lombard,Ray Fleisleber and Bob Wilson) stepped into assist. Russ Stuska, Jackie Pockrandtand Bruce Eller not only gave directionand took photographs; they shouted wordsof encouragement to help keep the malletsswinging. The ring of hammer upon railwas often (when they missed the spikes)but soon the track was secure.

Pete Haldiman, highly qualified retiredcivil engineer, laid out the framework anddirected the cutting of boards for a newwalkway from the telegrapher’s office tothe replica privies across Tunnel Creek.

Cindi Mason, Dave Henker, ReneeHaldiman and Boy Scout Troop 464 ofGunnison measured, cut, nailed andscrewed together the fifteen-foot structure.In short order (after lunch) the bridge wasset in place with much fanfare andcelebration. Pat Mauro spent Sundaytelling visitors about the railroad’soperation and the tunnel’s history. Theweekend closed with fourteen tiredvolunteers who had a new appreciation forworking in high places and a much betterunderstanding of the challenge of theconstruction of that magnificent tunneland road grade.

Related Story on Page 2, Column 2 - Turntable

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 2

From the President – 1999 Annual BanquetBy Jimmy Blouch

Publishers StatementRocky Mountain Rail Report

The Rocky Mountain Rail Report (ISSN1040-9223) is published by the RockyMountain Railroad Club for $14.00 per yearwhich is deducted from member’s dues.First class postage paid at Denver, Colorado.Postmaster: Send address changes to theRocky Mountain Rail Report, PO Box 2391,Denver, CO 80201-2391

Club Information

Rocky Mountain Railroad ClubPO Box 2391Denver, CO 80201-2391

Club Phone: 303-979-2806

Club Website:http://www.rockymtnrrclub.org

Membership Information

Membership in the Rocky Mountain RailroadClub may be obtained by sending the $20.00annual dues to the attention of themembership chairperson at the club addresslisted above. Members joining after Aprilmay send a payment of $1.75 for each monthremaining in the year. An associatemembership for spouses and children is alsoavailable for $10.00 per year.

Club Officers

President Jim BlouchVice President Don ZieleschSecretary Carolyn BlouchTreasurer David Goss

Newsletter Contributions

Newsletter contributions and items forpublication should be sent to:

Bruce Nall, EditorRocky Mountain Rail ReportPO Box 620579Littleton, CO 80162-0579

Fax: 303-978-0402E-mail: selectimag@aol.com

The deadline for items to be included in theNovember issue is October 18th.

Steve Cross at Colorado Railroad Graphics(303-699-9174) provided the drawing of clubengine number 20 for the Rail Report cover.Other railroad artwork is available.

It’s not too late to prepare a video for the video potpourri night at the Novembermeeting. Videos should be no more than 6 to 10 minutes in length and on a VHS formattape. Tapes should be set at the starting point for your video. They should be limited toa single subject.

You may send your video to Sherm Conners, 298 South 22nd Avenue, Brighton, CO80601-2589, leave with any Club Officer or bring your video to the November meeting.

Rocky Mountain RailroadHistorical Foundation

Fund Raising Update

Foundation Donors: Lakewood HistoricalSociety contributed in appreciation for theslide program put on by our volunteers.Edward C. Arbuckle recently contributedto the general project

Keep in mind that there are severalopportunities for you to participate in the#25 project. If you can’t think of a thingto give a friend for a special occasion, whynot contribute to the foundation in his orher name. As next year’s campaignapproaches, keep in mind that we havemany window shades in need ofrestoration along with the ever presentelectrical project.

Our Annual Banquet plans are finalized.Erwin Chaim promises a very entertainingprogram taking us through early Denverwith a sprinkling of trains and grandfinale. Phil Klinger, our EventsCoordinator, has worked hard to make theevening enjoyable for everyone. We havenumerous door prizes including: twotickets on the Cumbres and Toltec ScenicRailway; also tickets from the VerdeCanyon Railroad; books from Challenger

Press; books from the Colorado RailroadMuseum; videos from Green Frog,Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR,Sunday River Productions; a selection ofvideos from WB Videos; and a prize eachfrom Kalmbach Publishing Company andBills Trains and Books. We hope you willjoin us for an evening of good food, goodentertainment and an opportunity to visitwith club members and friends.

Video Potpourri NightBy Sherm Conners

Georgetown and the Loop Book

The club sold the last copy of Georgetownand the Loop in August. Anyone whowould like this title should checkbookstores, both new and used. The clubis not planning to reprint this book againat this time.

Wanted, A Fifty-Foot Turntable(Cheap)

The Alpine Tunnel Historic Association islooking for a fifty foot turntable that canbe obtained and relocated to the WestPortal of the Alpine Tunnel. If anyone hasany suggestions or leads, please contactRay Rossman of the U.S. Forest Service inGunnison at 970-641-0471.

In RemembranceMichael Philip Hipskind

Michael P. Hipskind died August 20, 1999, at the age of 50. Mr. Hipskind was on atrip to Colorado to do research for a book about the narrow gauge railroads inColorado and New Mexico when he died of a massive coronary. He held RockyMountain Railroad Club membership card number 178.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 3

Rich Berens and Tom Peyton inspect #25 before the open house. – Photo by Dave Gross

September 11th was a beautiful day to seethe #25 rollout of it’s place of restorationand proudly show off a perfectly letteredand painted exterior, the sun flowedthrough the fully restored, etched glasswindows onto visitors sitting in the rattanseat or standing, reminiscing about thedays when the trolley ran through theirneighborhoods. Enthusiasm for thisproject was evident all day amongst thesteady flow of over 150 visitors, some ofwhich signed up for membership in theClub on the spot while others are thinkingabout it. Also, among our guests were twoRTD board members who where veryenthusiastic about the project.

King Soopers and Safeway contributedfood and MacDonalds donated the drinks,napkins and paper cups. Trolley souvenirsand railroad books were available forpurchase. Many thanks to Tom Peyton fororganizing the sales table and donating histalents to make signs and photo boardswhich added to the overall success of theday. Phil Klinger did a great job collecting

the money for the t-shirts whilehaving a good time talking to avariety of people from members ofthe club to Lakewood historybuffs, some, special donors to theFoundation, and the general public.All the trustees were there to lend ahand as were the dedicatedvolunteers who spent many a latenight at the trolley previous to theopen house under the diligentsupervision of Darrell Arndtcompleting the last minute projectsthat made the car look so good thatday. It was very encouraging tosee the trolley stand proudlywaiting for the last few projects that willbring this historical piece of equipment tocompletion and ready for a true rollout foruse by the public.

A special thank you to all of the trusteesand membership along with the manybusinesses that made this open house sogreat. Liberty Towing has madethemselves available at anytime to pull the

trolley out for us. There are severalnewspapers that publicized the event. DickKreck of The Denver Post, MarionMetsotoulos of The Lakewood Historicalpaper, Irma Wyhs of the Sentinel wrote amarvelous article that was in threeSentinels and the Colorado HistoricalSociety Newspaper also included the eventin their issue which brought severalcurious people.

Foundation Open House Hosted MultitudesBy Jean Gross

Darrell Arndt, Les Nelson and Des Sainsbury putthe final touches on #25. – Photo by Dave Gross

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 4

OS ColoradoCurrent Railroad Happenings

By Chip Sherman

“OS” are the initials for On the Sheets, a reference towhat station agents did to notify the train dispatcherthat a train had passed his/her station and been notedon the train register. OS Colorado is a joint effort tonote the rail activities occurring in and around

Colorado.

BNSF hosted General Electric high altitude and emissions testing at its Raton, NM, yardin late August 1999. GE locomotive GECX 4400, a fully painted AC4400CW demo unit(above) and GECX 6000 (above right) with new long hood from front of prime mover torear are filled with GE’s latest technology. Shown here at Raton, NM on 8/23/99.– Photo © Chip Sherman

General Electric Locomotive EmissionTests at Raton, NM

BNSF train E-MCOYCM0-08 (WisconsinElectric Power, Oak Creek, WI, to YorkCanyon Mine, NM) was through Trinidad,CO, on 8/21/99 with interesting motivepower. AT&SF 691 led BNSF 792, BNSF4317, BNSF 4851 in primer only withsmall lettering and number on cab sides,GECX 4400, fully painted AC4400CWdemo unit, GECX 6000 with new longhood from front of prime mover to the rearin primer only, GE test car 100, and boxcar AN-5425 and an CSX fuel tank carfollowed by 115 WEPX coal empties forYork Canyon Mine. The set of BNSF4851 through the tank car were set out inRaton, NM, for high altitude testing. Thetrain left Trinidad just before 1:00 PMmoving smartly up Raton Pass. The 4400and the 6000 were working power whilethe 4317 and 4851 were not running.– Colorado Eagle

The General Electric test set that had beenat Raton moved to Livingston, MT, for 15days of “Emissions Testing” in early 9/99.The BNSF 4581 will be painted atLivingston Rebuild Center (LRC) andturned over to BNSF.

Tests were done statically at BNSF’sRaton, NM, yard to monitor emissions andfuel consumption. The challenge facinglocomotive builders will be compliancewith the EPA emission regulations incoming years. A three-tier program startsin the year 2001 that runs until 2005.Expect technological developments by GEto be aimed more on the emissions side incoming years. Raton, NM, altitudeindicated at about 6,600 feet. – UPRF1

New Lease Power for Union Pacific

Reports of the first five CEFX 100-104

SD90/43MAC’s have been sighted ontheir way to Altoona, PA, for painting inmid-September 1999. Units were built byEMD.

The 20 units are supposed to go intoservice on the Union Pacific. The colorswill be CIT - body will be burgundy, silverroof, trucks and fuel tanks will be UP gray.– Mike

The Northern Parks Limited

Sixteen privately owned passenger carsgathered at Denver in late August 1999 tobegin a rare mileage trip over the BNSFand Montana Rail Link. The cars, referredto as private varnish since they’re allowned by private parties, had DenverUnion Station humming on 8/27/99. Theygathered for The Northern Parks Limitedtrip organized by Buy-Miles, Inc.

Old Colorado visitors like Clark Johnson’sCARITAS and the DAGNY TAGGART(ex-New York Central car used on theCadillac & Lake City in mid-1980’s, thennamed MOUNTAIN VIEW) made thetrip.

The train departed Denver on Saturday at

7:00 AM. It ran via the BNSF’s FrontRange Subdivision at track speed. Thetrain’s crew changed at Cheyenne, WY,about 11:30 AM. The train ran Denver toCasper, WY - 8/28 and Casper toLivingston, MT - 8/29.

Nightly stops were made at Missoula 9/1,Belton 9/2, Belton-East Glacier-Belton9/3, to Spokane & Yakima 9/5, and toSeattle, WA, on 9/6 where the tripterminated. The train operated over theMontana Rail Link and Stampede Pass.Passengers took part in tours offered toYellowstone, Grand Teton and GlacierNational Parks.

One of the classic cars on the trip was thedome, round end observation car SILVERSOLARIUM. Day trips were offered inthe SILVER SOLARIUM with reservedseating in the dome. Breakfast, a hardylunch, open bar and cocktail hour snackswere served enroute.

The Silver Solarium is a former tail endcar from the California Zephyr and hasbeen rebuilt better than new. The carstarted at Chicago on 8/26 and returnedback on 9/9.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 5

.

Continued on Page 6, Column 1

See caption at left. – Photo © Chip Sherman

The car is operated by:THE SILVERAIL COMPANY317 Charles City RoadNashua, Iowa 50658A Nav Fosse Enterprise

Private varnish arrivals at Denver, CO, asnoted:

Amtrak locomotives, P42’s 88 & 93 (93arrived 8-27-99)

CARITAS 8/27 No. 5PINE TREE STATE 8/27 No. 5CIMARRON RIVER 8/27 No. 5New York Central #3 8/27 No. 5NORTHERN SKY (dome) 8/27 No. 5NORTHERN NITES 8/27 No. 5GLACIER PARK 8/26 No. 6SCOTTISH THISTLE 8/26 No. 6FRANCIS L. SUTER 8/26 No. 6SILVER SOLARIUM (dome) 8/26 No.5VISTA CANYONCOCO GROVE 8/26 No. 5DAGNY TAGGART 8/26 No. 5CASPER MOUNTAIN 8/20 No. 6SIERRA HOTEL (dome) 8/26 No. 6PENNSYLVANIA 8/26 No. 5

BNSF and MRL crews were used Denverto Sandpoint, ID– JAA & The Colorado Zephyr

Circus Train Visits Colorado Springs

The Circus train arrived in Colorado

Springs on the morning of 8/17/99. It haddeparted Pueblo, CO, at 7:15 AM with twoBN SD40-2’s for power. As before, theanimal cars and pole cars were set out atKelker Yard south of Colorado Springswith the passenger cars set out in town onthe old Rock Island lead. They leftColorado Springs in the predawn hours of8/23/99.– Colorado Eagle

UP 15-car Marketing Special

UP surprised many in Denver with a15-car marketing special (ShortlinePartners) that arrived Denver UnionTerminal (DUT) 8/31/99. It left DUT9/1/99 about 8:27 AM via North Yard andthe Belt Line due to minor derailment at36th Street Yard. View shows UP 951coming off the Belt Line at UP Junction,getting onto the Denver Pacific line forrun north to Cheyenne, WY, then east toCouncil Bluffs. Chip Shermanphotographed it making this unusualmove. – The Colorado Zephyr

Florida Fun-Train Cars Return toColorado Builder

The bankrupt Florida Fun-Train cars weresold to the Alaska Railroad. Those carsbuilt by Rader Railcar now namedColorado Railcar Manufacturing, LLC,were returned to the builder in September1999. Amtrak’s westbound CaliforniaZephyr ferried the cars from Chicago inpairs. The first pair arrived 8/28/99 atDenver Union Station.

The short lived Florida Fun-Train beganoperations in October 1997 by FirstAmerican Railways, Inc. Their roll-outwas held 10/15/97. It took the press andinvited guests on a four-hour, 200-milejourney via CSX tracks between FortLauderdale and Orlando, FL. It billeditself as an entertainment, tourism andtransportation that included play areas forchildren and adults. They ceasedoperations 9/18/98.

Rader Railcar built glass-domed “guestscars” and double-deck entertainment carsat its Denver plant (closed & auctioned offin November 1997). Rader relocated itsrailcar manufacturing to Fort Lupton, CO,in November 1997.

Eight cars were seen in Denver at UnionStation. Noted on 8/29/99 were:

Bi-level entertainment cars, RRIX 9012and 9013 (four such cars were built).

Glass-domed coaches known as GuestCars 3 & 4, RRCX 9003 and FT 9004.Each car could seat 76 passengers. Thesecars moved to Union Pacific’s 36th StreetYard on 8/30/99. UP’s Rolla Turndelivered them to Colorado RailcarManufacturing, LLC, at Fort Lupton, CO,on 9/2/99.

Two more glass domed coaches, GuestCar 1 & 2, arrived on Amtrak’s westboundtrain #5 near the rear of the train amongstthe express cars on 9/1/99. They joinedtwo bi-level cars; FT 9014 & RRIX 9011(Tiki Rail Car) at Denver Union Station.These four cars were moved by UP toRolla near Commerce City, CO, 9/3/99.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 6

OS ColoradoContinued from Page 5, Column 3

Florida Fun-Train Guest Cars 3, 1 and 4 sit at Colorado Railcar Manufacturing, LLC, FortLupton, CO, on 9-7-99. Cars will be repainted into Alaska Railroad’s blue and yellowscheme. – Photo © Chip Sherman

The bi-level cars featured a two-levelSpace Shuttle play area (Kidz Zone),virtual reality games, a video arcade, andstrolling entertainers. Guests could enjoyfull meal service or visit the 50’s Diner,the Tropical Bar & Grill, or the Wine Barand Pub. Other activities offered were adisc jockey and live music, a dance floorand an espresso bar.

All cars moved from Denver north viaUnion Pacific to Fort Lupton, CO. Thecars will be repainted blue and yellow.Other interior modifications will be atAlaska Railroad’s discretion. Web site:http://www.akrr.com/

The cars are expected to enter AlaskaRailroad passenger service in the year2000. One possibility would be AlaskaRailroad’s Denali Star train whichoperates daily from mid-May until mid-September, and on a reduced scheduleyear round. – The Colorado Zephyr

Southwest Chief Hits Septic Tank Truck

On 9/17/99 about 3 PM, Amtrak’sSouthwest Chief, train #3 (Chicago, IL, toLos Angeles, CA), hit a truck at theunsignaled Galisteo crossing south of

Lamy. The truck was carrying septic wastefrom chemical toilets and the tank wastossed 150 feet down the track. The driverreceived only minor injuries.

The train was traveling track speed of 79mph at the time of the incident. At 6 PM,live Albuquerque TV shows the train atthe Albuquerque, NM, station still beingserviced. The right front of the lead unitwas severely damaged and blue from thetoilet chemicals present over the entirefront of the engine and top of the cab.Engineer was quoted that he thought itwas a propane truck at first, but felt luckyit was only a truck hauling sewage!– Dave Boyer

Montana Daylight Diner & Dome

Two Montana Daylight cars were atBNSF’s sprawling 31st Street Yard,Denver, CO, on 9/22/99. Dome coach9407 and diner MISSOURI RIVERAOEX 1608 were on the track to go southon the Kountry Job. That job deliveredthe cars to the American Orient Expresscar shops along the Joint Line, south ofDenver, on 9/23/99.– The Colorado Zephyr

Union Pacific CompletesTriple-Track ProjectForwarded by Dave Goss

One of the biggest railroad constructionprojects in modern history has beencompleted along the world’s busiestfreight route, Union Pacific Railroadannounced in Omaha on, August 24, 1999.

Completed after four years and costing$327 million, the new triple track routeruns 108 miles across Nebraska and isdesigned to handle today’s volumes,which average 140 trains per day. It linksUP operations along the West Coast withvital rail hubs in Chicago and Kansas Cityas well as Mississippi River gateways toEastern markets and Gulf Coast ports.

“This is truly a crown jewel in ourfranchise,” said Dick Davidson, UnionPacific chairman and CEO. “We transportbillions of dollars worth of our customers’freight through the Central Corridor. Thenew track will allow us to do that fasterand more efficiently.”

The expanded route, which will allow UPtrains to run at 70 miles per hour, stretchesbetween North Platte, NE, and Gibbon,NE, and is among America’s most historic.It was originally built in 1865 as a singleline on the first transcontinental railroad.The line was double-tracked in 1908. Butin the early 90s a surge in new business,particularly coal from Wyoming’s PowderRiver Basin mines, seriously strainedcapacity. Nearly 500 engineering andmaintenance-of-way employees weredeployed in 1995 to undertake the massiveconstruction project.

The expanded route includes concrete ties,head-hardened rail, remote control trackswitching, speed-sensitive gates athighway-rail crossings and turnouts thatallow trains to change tracks at highspeed. All drainage structures were builtto withstand a 100-year flood andcrossings were rebuilt with precastconcrete surfaces.

Workers rebuilt the two existing tracks andspread all three tracks far enough apart to

Continued on Page 7, Column 1

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 7

The drive was beautiful with the fallcolors and bright sunshine. The day wascool, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy,still perfect for a train ride. The club had alarge turnout for this trip on September 18,1999. It was great to see everyone, someenjoying their tailgate picnic beforedeparture or just visiting and sight-seeing.The fall colors were spectacular from ourviewpoint. The Leadville Colorado &Southern is to be commended for a great

Leadville, Colorado & Southern Excursionby Jimmy Blouch

job. The train is clean and the narrativeinformative. I had opportunity many yearsago to see one of the times the Colorado &Southern ran the rotary in order to openthe line to Climax. Additionally, I wasfortunate to be able to ride that train on itsreturn to Leadville. So this trip was apleasant opportunity to enjoy currentoperations and at the same time recall fondmemories of another era.

allow normal train operations even whenone track is out of service formaintenance. The two existing trackswere rebuilt along with the new one.

The true engineering challenge wasplanning, logistics and completing thework on schedule while keeping thenation's busiest freight corridoroperational and fluid,” said DarrelDeterding, UP’s chief engineer-construction. “It was quite a balancingact.”

Where IsThe Wooden ReplicaOf RGS Engine #20?

By Ronald L. Welch

When the movie “Ticket To Tomahawk”was filmed in the Durango area, RGS #20was used as the steam engine star! Somescenes were filmed on top of a Mesawhere the old Durango Airport waslocated (now site of Ft. Lewis College). Awooden replica of exact size to #20 wasused in these scenes. The movie showedthis wood replica being towed by a teamof horses across the country in order toreach a certain town by a date deadline.

Returning to Hollywood, this woodenmovie prop replica of #20 eventually leftthe movie lot. It had several owners andvarious duties, including being displayedon the property of a California Hotel/Resort.

The last information that I have indicatesit is now owned by the Chamber OfCommerce located at Jackson, California.The engine is displayed under cover andlettered as “Amador Central.” Last year Iwrote to them asking if they could sendme a picture and never got a reply.

Are their any Club Members who mighthave pictures of this replica at Jackson,California? Or perhaps even the places itmay have been during the past 45 or soyears?

Union Pacific CompletesTriple-Track Project

Continued From Page 6, Column 3

More than 37 years later, the line is now called the “Leadville, Colorado & Southern” andon September 18, 1999, the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club members enjoyed a photostop. It was a fine fall day and everyone had a wonderful time viewing the scenery andfall colors during a round trip on this unique tourist railroad. – Photo by Jimmy A. Blouch

On the Colorado and Southern Leadville-Climax line, Engine 641 returns to Leadvilleafter opening the line to Climax with a rotary snowplow on January 11, 1962. – Photo byJimmy A. Blouch

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAIL REPORT • OCTOBER 1999 • PAGE 8

FIRST CLASS MAILU. S. Postage

PAIDDenver, ColoradoPermit No. 1873

BOX 2391DENVER, COLORADO 80201

FIRST CLASSFIRST CLASS

From left: Phil Schol, Ralph Vance, Steve Mason, Duane Fields, Roger Sherman.

Out at the Museum – Equipment Committee ReportBy Steve Mason

Saturday, August 28th found a number ofus out working on the #20. Duane Fields,Ralph Vance, Roger Sherman and myselfrounded off the 10x13 inch oak pilot beamon both sides. We used power equipmentwhere we could but there was also handsawing. A power planer and belt sandersfinished the work. Phil Scholl brought theold bolts from when we disassembled thepilot. He spent many hours wire brushingoff the rust. He ran a die on the threadsand a tap on the nuts so the bolts workgood as new. The beam was also primed.

Later, the group decided to fill the entirebeam with epoxy. Bob Tully, Russ andSue Stuska showed up on Wednesday,September 8th to help with that. We alsoincorporated primer to save a step. Thenext day Bob Tully helped smooth up thebeam and paint it with two coats of blackpaint. The pilot beam still needs somemore paint. We are going to put the beamback on the engine next.

Russ and Sue Stuska made copies of somephotos of the Rico when it was on theWilliam Henry Jackson Photo Special onthe RGS. They plan to hang these up inthe Rico for the public to see.

We answer various questions and speakwith the many rail fans from around theworld. We have had visitors from GreatBritain, Australia, New Zealand, Germany,Switzerland and Japan.