After watching all th excitement I headed off to visit the locomotive of the "dead line", man oh man 3 months ago we spent a rainy Sunday with machetes cutting down the weeds, bushes and overgrowth. Now you almost could see them anymore so after having a frustrating week waiting for people in Germany to get back to me about my future job, I decided a couple of hours wacking and cutting brush with my machete was just what the doctor ordered, I even missed lunch as my friends didn't know where I was, but I think it was a success, even cutting down some trees 4 & 6 inches in diameter, felt good. Now you can see the Krauss, Hohenzoller, Link Hoffman, three Baldwins one is newly identified inside frame Mogal. I hope that we can find the right place for these engines which can only be recovered by crane. Hopefully we can get the property owner to allow us to create a Museum at the old railroad shops in Gato Preto where there is still alot of drop pits and buildings that can be used. Will take a longer lobbying effort which will be easier after the railroad runs.
After gaining access to my favorite Krauss engine again, I put on some extra cloths and goggles and took my trusty 3 gallon hand put weed sprayer with diesel fuel and attacked the bees nest in the bottom water tank of the engine. I was able to use the access that I had plugged on the backside of the engine to spray directly into the bees hive, we will see if I have invited them to leave. Normally, I have the upmost respect for bees, but not when the live in the engines I am trying to save. So I used the rest of my diesel lubricating running gear and other parts that may have to be removed for transport. Unfortunely, somebody at the workshop used piece of railroad rail which I had cut to size for my lifting frame for the engines, so I will have to make another one, bummer, but for years this steel was just junk to them and they have now idea how valuable or historic the railroad equipment is. We usually get one or two mine workers a weekend that get up the courage to ask use what we are going to do with this old junk.
Once we get the DIEMA diesel engine running which they are helping and watching us work on we will have to have a open house day for the mine workers to come ride railroad. After that they might understand that it is worth protecting. By the way one of the cool things about working at the mine is not only watching big equipment get stuck in the mud, but also once a day around noon they do blasting in the mine, seriously cool,sirens wailing and then a deep thud and then rock explodes and slides down the mountain. So here a couple of videos I saved at YouTube.
Thor Windbergs
Ludwigsburg, Germany
Facebook: Thor Windbergs
Volunteer G&L RR 86-88
Fireman/Engine Watchman D&S 90-94
Member Frankfurter Feldbahn Musuem, feldbahn-ffm.de
Member IFPPC (Society for Preservation of Perus Pirapora Railroad) Brazil www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/brazil54.htm
Member German Standard gauge Group www.eisenbahnfreunde-zollernbahn.de