Author: Randy Babcock

Clear your calendars and get your tickets for the #18’s first visit to Laws in five years! The Slim Princess Sisters in History 140th Anniversary.

To get prepared for #18’s road trip to Laws, we had a very productive work weekend at the end of January. #18, had some valve packing issues worked on (although not, as of yet, successfully), had the firing valve improved, the fireman’s injector worked on, and was steamed up to check generally everything out. #18 also made its first every trip down the recently completed Klusmire extension near the museum building. It was a beautiful winter weekend in the shadows of the snowy Sierras!

In addition to work on #18, we really made some headway on boxcar #1C’s restoration. Thanks to all of you, we were able to raise over $12,000 dollars before the end of the year to match our grant. Thank You! If you didn’t get a chance to donate, you still can, and your donations will continue to make a difference. To donate click here.

And if that’s not enough, Gary Johnson worked on, and Bobby Babcock hauled, our 1925ish Model TT truck back to the city where the Long Beach Model T club will get it up and running. This TT truck is special in that it worked out at Natural Soda Products in Keeler for its entire working existence.

Just a quick announcement. It’s official, #18 will be returning to Laws Railroad Museum in March of 2023. More details will be forthcoming but for the moment the following dates are confirmed: March 23rd and 24th will be an exclusive photo event put on by Pete Lerro. Tickets for these dates are only available through his website Lerro Productions. Additionally, #18 will be operating for the general public on March 18th and 19th in addition to March 25th and 26th. Public operations event times and admission costs will be announced in the very near future.

Be sure to come out and join us as these will be the last public operations of #18 in 2023 and potentially well into 2024 as we take a little time off for it’s FRA mandated staybolt cap inspection and to focus our workforce on other projects, like our boxcar 1C featured in previous posts.

And last but not least, we are still happy to accept those last minute, end of the year, tax deductible donations to support the restoration of the boxcar. Donations can be made right here.