SVRR receives donation for No. 19 Form 4

SVRR (Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration, Inc.) aka. SVRy (Sumpter Valley Railway) has received a $50k anonymous donation to be used for No. 19 Form 4 rebuild. The Board decided to use the money for potential matching grants in hopes of meeting the estimate of $250k for the boiler rebuild plus additional repairs and appliance rebuilds. Look for more information in the next issue of our newsletter "The Stump Dodger".

We welcome new members interested in projects listed below, plus we can always use additional train crew members. We are a family oriented non-profit. We have one of the best railroad operations training programs around, and it keeps getting better. Only 25 miles from Baker City and Interstate 5. Please consider joining our energetic, friendly group.

SVRR has three restoration projects underway at this time, and we invite participation from all existing members and potential members interested in helping with restoration. Restoration is an important part of the SVRR charter.

Westside Tank No. 5 restoration with project leader Mike Roberts, is moving along well. Tank 5's progress is shown on our web site [www.svry.com].

Diesel 720 (The "Banana" diesel) is progressing well with Ryan Dela, Vice President as the project leader. Jim Grigsby posted an update on 720 here recently, see 'Porter 1203 History'.

And of course No. 19 rebuild. The plan is to wait until we have all, or nearly all the necessary funding before starting this project. This project will be a combination of profession and member volunteer labor. If you've ever wanted to help restore a steam locomotive and learn about steam, here is your opportunity.

Additionally, wood burning Heisler No. 3, which will be used this coming season for our motive power, will need some repairs before the season begins. She is running, just needs some work on her. We used No. 3 for our Winter Trains in December '09. I had the privilege of being Engineer on one day of the weekend. No. 3 is a real jewel and a blast to operate. Nimble, sure footed with plenty of power for our passenger trains and EFD freights.

SVRy is alive and well, out of debt, and looking optimistically to the future. How about joining us? You can contact me if you like for any questions. I'll see that your questions get answered.

Dan Denham
SVRy Trainmaster

email: svry@chamberscable.com