Jerry:
I first saw that coach at Hal Wilmunder's "Camino, Cable & Northern" in Camino CA [a couple of miles up Highway 50 from Placerville] around 1964 or 1965. He was not a historian nor was he "into" restoration or even preservation. He altered things to whatever he thought he need at the time. I never got into the coach back then -- it was behind a fence and locked gate. He also had Shay no. 14 there and in use except he painted over the "1" to make it #4. His tourist line, which was built right on the grade of the ng Michigan-Calif. Logging RR, stopped at the edge of Camino. He asked the citizens of Camino to let him bring the line into town and they pretty well gave him the freeway salute. They'd had enough of his temperament, etc. -- he was no good at PR. That denial caused him to shut the line down and sell off a lot of the equipment, which is why the 14 and the coach ended up on the Loop. He kept some of the equipment that was at Camino -- a really neat little Heisler for example, and his descendants still have them. Hal passed away some years ago.
Ironically, friend and author-historian Steve Polkinghorn, who wrote the often reprinted book "Pino Grande" about the Michigan-Calif. Logging Co., lives in a nice house on the street that took the place of Wilmunder's tourist line, not far from the site of Wilmunder's station.
Back in 2003, someone who worked in the Georgetown Loop Shops took me on a tour of the shops including Shay #14 (which I had known from the West Side Lumber Co. back in 1959 and 1960) AND the Lake Tahoe coach. The coach was still in the shops after a restoration that was almost done. It's a beautiful thing!
I last saw it at the CRRM in 2006.
I've alway heard good things about Lindsey Ashby, for whom you worked. I only met him once, and that was at Central City in 1969 on the day the 71 was first moved -- tender, then engine -- from the site where it had been on display since before WWII. All the bearings already had been oiled so a truck mounted winch was just barely sufficient to do the job. I had a fairly long talk with Ashby that day and he let me ride in the cab of #44. Seemed like a really nice guy to me. The 44's engineer was a D&RGW engineer who supposedly was at the top of the seniority list and his day job was engineer on the Rio Grande Zephyr. I don't recall the fireman's name but he was younger than me (I was 31). You, maybe? -- it was only 4 years before that photo of yourself on the coach. I never learned the engineer's name.
Wouldn't living in that reefer give you and your wife claustrophobia? No windows? It probably would drive me nuts! At least it would have been well insulated as you indicated.
No comment on showers for Rick -- I think that comment of yours was for him, not me. I know him from exchanging posts on a couple of Yahoo! Lists but I've never met him.
Regards, Hart
_______________________________________________________
jalbers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Hart,
>
> When the coach arrived in Silver Plume, it was a
> sight to see. The seats were from a 'modern"
> passenger car (upholstered) and of course, she was
> on freight car trucks. That very, very young man
> ...is me. It must have been a run toward the end
> of a week day. I don't see any passengers on
> board.
>
>
> The car was later rebuilt and is a very nice! It.
> like much of the other Loop equipment, it too is
> at the CRRM.
>
> The yellow refer in the background is owned by the
> CSHS. My wife and I lived in that car for the
> summer.
>
>
> Lindsey was going to move the outfit car over from
> Central City, but it didn't happen that summer.
> The refer was a NICE home for those 4
> months....plus it was warm. We did however, take
> showers at Mike Ramseys place in Georgetown. Rick
> Steele, on the other hand, did not shower at
> all!!
>
> Jerry
