April 1, Haack And White worked in the roundhouse. Our mentor from the refractory company dropped off firebrick and two types of grout. Haack spent most of the day cutting the brick for the 928. White worked on the trailing truck for 928 with guidance and occasional muscle power from Haack. The truck was reinstalled on the frame. Haack had to evict a couple of Brown Recluse spiders which had taken up residence in the pit and firebox of 928. There is still quite a bit of work to be done on 928 and we are proceeding carefully. There is a good possibility that the loco may not be operating on opening day however we will make every effort to have it available as soon as possible. TCW

April 3, Welch was out on the excavator starting to clear a ditch on the right side of the extension ROW. Lorance hiked to Yeatman to inspect work. Bitsch was trenching near LF Jct. Only a little more than 100’ to go to the switch. Grumpy, Jr., Brennan, Wapelhorst, Christen were on site. George, Mayhew and better half worked on 400. Tender is ready to be hooked up. Blow down valves were replaced, and air sanders worked on. Cylinder cocks linkage now working properly. Cullen cleaned flues and smoke box on 535. Tender was moved from trailer to RH and will be connected soon. Eckrich replaced throttle valve and some plumbing on 928 with Haack supervising. White did a lot of gophering and consulting  to keep rest of team happy and productive but generally tried to stay out of everyone’s way. We now have a fiber optic scope to look at interior of boilers and an ultrasound thickness meter. These were not particularly expensive instruments but will provide us with very useful information. Ultrasonic thickness testing of boiler shell and plates is currently the preferred nondestructive testing method (see latest issue of Trains magazine, May 2010, p16). Weather was exceptionally conducive to enjoyable afternoon! TCW-SMP

Preparing for new retaining wall at Summit. The old railroad tie wall has been removed and soon the new stone wall will be in place.

Replacing some ties at the crossover switch.

Dale digging for signal system.

Work at the Roundhouse.