Southern Pacific #18 – October 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The #18 was under steam five days between the 28th of September and the 5th of October. Things performed very well overall on the locomotive with only a fussy injector to keep us thoroughly annoyed. Striking weather made for some great photos as a Sierra storm moved through the area.

A big thank you to everyone who took time to come out and support the #18, approximately $7000 was raised on the 4th and 5th!

And yes its true, the #18 will be going to the Durango and Silverton Railroad this winter and spring for limited operations on the D&SNG and to provide a platform for the D&SNG crews to work on an oil burning locomotive. We look forward to working with the D&SNG on this endeavor. There will be multiple opportunities to see the #18 in action while in Durango, some of which will be announced in the near future.

The next generation of caretakers for the #18.
Marty Westland at the throttle.

Jeff Taylor, AKA “Ketchup”
Marty and Patrick fill the tender.

Southern Pacific #18 update – September 2018

Labor Day weekend brought us together to complete the smoke box repairs and get the #18 ready for operation in October. Thanks to everyone’s hard work we we’re able to get all of the repairs competed and a successful hydro performed on the #18.

In addition to having the #18 ready to steam up, boxcar #15 also received some significant work. Some of what was done included: repacking the journals with new waste, greasing the air piston, re lapping the triple valve, repairing the angle cock valves and thoroughly cleaning the interior of the car. Our goal is to be able to use the #15 during our October steam up.

As a reminder, come join us Friday October 5th for a day of operations followed by a world famous trash can tri-tip dinner.

Dinner is $15

Cab rides are a $20 donation