The Carson and Colorado kicked off our 2026 activities with a show of force in late January. Close to 20 of us gathered to carry on with the annual inspection of #18 along with the continuing boxcar restoration.
On the locomotive, the team finished up some machine work on the injector and main fountain valve. The injector was reinstalled and fountain is nearly ready to go back on. Additionally, the throttle column was removed for access to take UT measurements of the dry pipe and the smokebox was cleaned out. Lasty, work on the valve motion in preparation for resetting the valve timing made further progress.
Work on the boxcar made some big steps forward. All the facia boards were installed, many grab irons were installed, and the entire first layer of roofing was installed; no easy task to be sure! Another exciting milestone was the assembly and installation of the front truck. With the truck back under the car, we were able to move it outside for the first time in over a year. It was great being able to step back and admire the progress. While the car was outside, the rear truck was removed for rebuilding and a temporary shop truck was installed. The boxcar team couldn’t be happier with the progress and has set the goal to complete the car in 2026.
And if three days of work wasn’t enough, we also held an open board meeting Saturday after dinner where many things were discussed. A few of the highlights are that we received over $31,000 in year end donations!! WOW! Our 2026 locomotive operations were decided for July 3-4th and October 17th. Additionally, we will be continuing to work with the museum and the Friends of the ECM in some long range planning and changes to the exterior yard areas. For 2026 specifically we will look to install our wig-wag signal, continue path improvements, and later in the year, put a new roof and paint job on boxcar #15. It’s shaping up to be an exciting 2026! Come out and join us at a future work weekend or event. And as always, THANK YOU!
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