Re: SVRY #19

It's much easier for many hands to make light work of splitting wood for the Heisler. I remember some days when more than a dozen people were splitting and stacking wood, when it was in the schedule more often.

With the 19, the hostling takes more of a check-off list, and becomes a 2 or 3 person job, just because of reasons like the pit is too small for very many at a time, and the hard greasing is done by 2 people, generally. It takes the 6 hours to bring the water up to pressure, anyway, so more people aren't needed at one time.

I often think that is part of the reason some of the comraderie is less evident than when I started many years ago. Not as many large group activities are planned with ample time for volunteers from far away to come in.

Several activities are planned for typically second weekends of the month. One is Mike Roberts heading up the No. 5 coffin tank car restoration. And, another is Ryan Dela heading up the 720 rebuild. Maybe we should also start gathering wood for using the Heisler next season. It is much cheaper when we can get volunteers to go get it. There are still places where the wood itself doesn't cost, just the labot to get it to McEwen. With state/US forestry restrictions on when a woodcutter can go into the forest and use chainsaws, the cost of that labor continues to rise.

The final decision has not been made, since we don't know, yet, when the 720 may be in service. I would prefer to use steam as much as possible. I answered e-mails for the depot for a few weeks last winter, and while some just wanted reservations for any train ride, if a preference is mentioned, it is always for steam, and often for the woodburning Heisler. Rah-Rah No. 3!

Cindy