A bit of winter warmth for Hotbox.

Here's a cellphone pic taken by Charlie Spikes yesterday, 1/17, of our shop cat, Hotbox, sunning herself on the running board of the 165.

No doubt this feline will appreciate the coming of Spring. So will we, when steam restoration work commences again in Portola.- JCA

Winter slumber.

As Portola currently slumbers under a blanket of snow, I offer this view taken in 1959 by our friend Tom Moungovan. Number 165 is relegated to the garden tracks at the Stockton roundhouse, her career for the Western Pacific now over. Two years later the engine will be taken to San Leandro, on the San Francisco Bay, for permanent display. The rest as they say, is history...-JCA

A Glimpse into the Past III

In this view provided to us through the generosity of Brent MacGregor, we see the WP 165 in it's previous role as United Verde Copper #87. This was likely taken just months after delivery at Jerome, Arizona. Notice the second air pump on the right side, this was necessary due to the large amount of compressed air needed to make the air dump cars function. This pump was later removed by the Western Pacific and a power reverse put in it's place.

An air dump car such as those pictured is preserved in our collection at Portola.

Here is a bonus pic, also graciously provided by Brent of another WP 0-6-0, this time the number 158, performing it's day to day activities switching industries in what is likely Oakland or San Francisco:

The brakeman, oblivious to the photographer, walks a bit ahead of the movement. Scenes like this were commonplace, and I am sure very little of what is pictured remains. The 158 and sister 156 were sold in May of 1951 to U.S. Gypsum in Gerlach, Nevada. Both returned to the Bay Area for scrap in 1955. -JCA

Fall 2008 Workweek Report

On October 23rd, 2008 we once again met to continue the ongoing effort to restore our 0-6-0. First task undertaken: get our new boiler tubes into the steam boxcar. Charlie, Nathan and I spent the better part of the morning passing tubes up and piling them in neat orderly rows. Of course the rows became less orderly as the morning progressed. Thankfully they are now in, and just in time, as the first snow flew that next weekend. Thanks to the continued generosity of Roger Stabler and James Mason we are now able to settle our debt with the V&T and Tom Gray. Also thanks to Norm and Rod for arranging and finallizing the purchase.

The tender was parted from the engine to allow us to jack it up a bit in an attempt to take some weight off the spring rigging. The engine is now in a semi-permanent location up against the Silver Hostel which will allow the diesel guys to utilize the west end of the pit. The rear of the engine was jacked up to see what would shake out. The #6 driving box seems to be wedged too tightly to drop down, so this situation needs to be remedied prior to a complete lift in the Spring. Roger, Hank and Tom spent most of the day in the pit fighting the wedged box, and removal of some brake rigging.

Nathan "Maverick" Osborn and James Cowdrey continued taking readings on the boiler shell, then downloading those numbers into the database. Around two-thirds of the first two courses are done, they will be back in the Spring for more. Everyone took a turn inside the shell needlescaling, not a particularly pleasant job, but a necessary one.

Nathan "Maverick" Osborn preps a surface for the ultrasonic tester. - pic by Dana.

Dana arrived Friday night and cooked up some roast beast. Portola nights were quite cool, bordering on cold. For me it was nice; real "Fall" weather is something we don't seem to get here in LA. As I type this it is close to 90 degrees here in Lakewood and I'm watching continuous wildfire coverage on the news.

Saturday was truncated due to a family obligation in Palmdale on Sunday I needed to attend, so I was out by 11:00. Dana helped out Nathan and James with shell readings, and went home late. All in all a productive session. Thanks again to everyone who pitched in, especially Charlie, who once again saved us by getting the coffee done first thing in the morning.

Please make sure to purchase one of our Steam Dept. Calendars for 2009. A portion goes toward the restoration. Have a safe and happy Holiday Season!

-JCA

WP Lives!

2009 Steam Dept. Calendar now available.

Click the calendar to order!

The 2009 edition of the WPRM Steam Department calendar, featuring a vintage photo by retired WP employee Carl Walker is now available through CafePress.

This year's calendar is a one-sheet for $6.00 + shipping. A portion of each sale goes to benefit the Steam Department and the restoration of our WP 165.

Thanks again to everyone supporting our efforts! We look forward to a memorable 2009, the Centennial of the completion of the Western Pacific Railroad. - JCA

Tubes arrive, a tender emblem returns.

Over the Labor Day weekend, Dana Greeley and his friend Chris Parsons picked up a set of new 2" diameter SA-178 boiler tubes for the 165. These were surplus to the Virginia & Truckee tourist operation in Virginia City, Nevada, and are being sold to the WPRM at a reduced rate thanks to the generosity of Bob and Tom Gray. Also thanks to Norm Holmes for his work to broker the deal on behalf of the Steam Dept. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to offset the cost of these tubes! The next major expenditure will be the 5 1/2" diameter superheater flues.

Our new friend Chris Parsons loaned us his truck and trailer.

Chris and Dana unload the new tubes onto the forklift.

Member Vic Neves generously offered to trade one of the 165's original enameled tender emblems back to us. Recently, it arrived and was temporarily mounted back in place for photos. In it's current condition it will require some conservatory work, but should clean up quite nicely. This emblem now joins one of the original steam gauges as "lost" items that have been returned to the project. Thanks to Vic for getting it back to us, and Rod McClure for facilitating it's return.

Update: Tonight Norman Holmes informed me that he will donate another tender emblem for the opposite side, this one off of WP #40, a 2-8-0 scrapped in the '50s. Thanks Norm!

Thanks to Wayne for the following pictures:

Steve Habeck, Wayne Monger, and Vic Neves display the repatriated emblem in place on the tender.

WP Emblem back on the tender.

Thanks again to everyone involved in these accomplishments. The project is gaining momentum so let's keep it going! Our next work session in Portola will be Oct. 23rd-25th, 2008. - JCA

WPRM Steam Dept. dates for 2009.

The following are the WPRM Steam Dept. work session dates for 2009:

April 16th-19th
July 28th-August 1st
October 22nd-24th

As always please RSVP to me: wpsteam@wplives.org or the Museum Manager at(530)832-4131 if you would like to take advantage of the accomodations in the Pullman Car. Together we accomplished a great deal in 2008, so let's keep up the momentum and get even more done in 2009! -JCA