Thanks for the YahYahs.. Its a fun project.
There are lots of questions about what we have found, and too few answers.
We got about 90% of the metal from the carbody. Mostly we are missing the couplers, but we have all the draft gear, and even one link. We plan to return to the site with a metal detector, to aid in the search. Some of what we are missing is in a junk pile near the trucks. There are parts there that didn’t match what we expected, but we hadn’t seen a 10 ton car before. Additionally there are some bridge bolts mixed in… (the car was sitting on a bridge that burned throwing the car on its back, parts of the bridge are mixed in)
This was a 28’ car, with 10 ton trucks, but it wasn’t a standard Carter 28’ car. We suspect it was a 28’ car rebuilt for logging service with much larger side sills, and an extra set of rods running from the bolster to the end beam to reinforce the car for incline use. The line we found it on didn’t have any inclines (which we have found, maybe we will find one later) but other lines in the area did, and they are likely the source for this car.
We have spent several days so far cleaning and measuring bolts, particularly the "captured" dimension between the head and nut, trying to identify timber dimensions. At this point we have been able to nail down about 80% of the measurements and are working on a drawing of the car.
No one should criticize the owner or his caretaker for hanging on to the trucks. These are the same people who found the car (on their own land) moved the trucks to a place of safety, and allowed (and helped) us dig out the remains. The caretaker’s son gave several of our group a tour of some of the sites he has found. They have allowed us to remove a journal box and a brass from the trucks so they can be drawn and patterned (drawings completed, patterns funded) and we are welcome back to do more work. We have already patterned and cast 24" single plate wheels based on these wheels (Whitney, Philadelphia, single plate wheels, dated 1884), which are already installed in a pair of 15 ton trucks and will soon be installed under our 1907 Hammond Diamond and Caldor flat from where they came. An additional wheel set was made for the Colorado Railroad Museum for the DSP&P loco there.
Now if we can only get permission and money to pull the 32 pair of passenger trucks out of San Francisco Bay….
Randy Hees
