Re: FOC&TS Brush Crew . . .

Thank You, Paul -

Both for the very informative post and for the extensive and back-breaking effort that you and your team have put in on behalf of us phraud-o-graphers and the C&TS.  I wish that I could join you, but health issues preclude my doing so, and may even preclude my returning to Big Horn, Cresco and Cumbres next year, much less to Roger's Rock overlooking Windy Point.   I used to carry a small brush saw with me in the 'olden days', but it's been a few years since I've tackled so much as a clump of sagebrush at the lower curve of The Whiplash, much less a tree more than four or five inches in diameter.*

Thanks again, and Keep Up the Good Work!!!    

- Roosso

*  Many, many years ago – when, believe it or not, I was just a young whipper-snapper – several of our family's summer vacations were spent just north of Dunsmuir, CA, at the Lookout Point Motel overlooking the Upper Sacramento River and the S.P's Shasta Division mainline along the far side.  In November, 1975, I was able to capture a shot of the southbound American Freedom Train at that location (see the fifth photo at [ngdiscussion.net]).  One and a half years later, when Amtrak's 'Transcontinental Steam Excursion' returned #4449 from Birmingham, Alabama to Portland, Oregon, I returned to the same spot well ahead of train time and spent more than an hour cutting down a sizable pine tree that was partially blocking the view, along with clearing some brush alongside.  My reward was a beautiful shot of nothing but a moving cloud of steam as the engine's exhaust condensed in the cool morning air . . .   Oh, well.  At least the train was slow enough getting around the sharp curve at Cantara that I was able to get to Mott Siding in time to set up for a clear, head-on shot (see fourth & fifth shots at [ngdiscussion.net]).