Southern Pacific #18 – March and April 2024

March and April have been a little slow but not stagnant. A few exciting things have happened and are moving along. First off, #18 is once again a pressure vessel and has been successfully hydro tested, we will have our scheduled inspection with the FRA in the near future and soon thereafter finish putting the old gal back together. If all goes as planned we are hoping to schedule a little something later this year, so stay tuned!

Speaking of tuning in, Carola has been hard at work keeping content on our Youtube channel. You can check it out here. She is regularly adding new stuff so please subscribe and get the notifications.

As for the boxcar project, its slowly moving along with work happening on the doors and end wall header. These are being restored, not replaced, using a combination of new and old materials. Most of this work is going on at our Colorado annex and will be shipped west in the near future.

The new, old, end door using reclaimed materials.

And lastly we are happy to announce that through a generous donation we will be purchasing two outdoor signs for placement near the museum building at end of track and next to the engine house. These signs are the same style you see at the National Parks and designed to last. One sign will touch on the history of railroading in Inyo County while the second sign will tell about the #18 specifically. These signs are the first step in what we hope to be many in the future where we will be working with our partners at the Eastern California Museum to better tell the story of the Carson and Colorado and Southern Pacific Railroads in the region. Your contributions are always welcome and appreciated.

Another beautiful Eastern Sierra evening.

Southern Pacific #18 – January and February 2024

What an outstanding work weekend we had in late January to kick off 2024s work. A full crew of nearly 20 came out and got after it on two fronts, the locomotive cap inspection and the boxcar restoration.

By the end of the weekend, the locomotive crew had #18 ready for hydro while the boxcar crew had both couplers back in service and the B end wall on its way back together with siding going on the A end.

Next up for the boxcar is to finish the B end, re open the 1920s era man door on the A end, and to start the upper roof beam replacements and associated framing. As for #18, we are close to the annual inspection and reassembly.

A huge thank you to everyone involved and we look forward to the next time. Thanks for the support!