Re: Denver South Park & Pacific 191

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the compliment ! I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing Eureka with everyone over the last 30 plus years. It has brought me more joy you can imagine, including some people who I otherwise would have never met. For example, my love of aviation and aerospace is well known. I have even had the honor of being allowed to land my Bonanza a Edwards Air Force Base in front of the Space Shuttle Columbia back in the early days of that program. Years later, I was President of the Clark County Aviation Association here in Las Vegas. one of my closest friends was General Bill McCoy, who was my vice president, the Commander of Nellis Air Force Base and also one of Eureka's firemen.. He called me one day and asked me to meet him for lunch at the Officers Club. I went there and noticed there was a third fellow also present. His name was Col. Tom Henricks. We got to talking all things aviation. Then Gen McCoy asked me to tell Col. Henricks about Eureka. I did.

After telling him about the locomotive, he asked if he could come by my house to see it. I said sure. We made plans the next day for his visit.

The next day arrived, and Col Henricks arrived with his wife, mother and father, and General McCoy and his wife Linda. Henricks was fascinated by Eureka. We spent hours in the cab talking about her history, operation, restoration etc. But, all the while I could not get it out of my head that Col. Henricks had more time as the commander of the Space Shuttle than anyone else! And here he was having flown the fastest airplane / space plane ever, sitting in Eureka's cab with me, in one of the fastest machines of the 19th century.

I told Col Henricks, that NASA needed a lawyer in space (like Me). He looked at me rather puzzled, and said "why?" Well, I said, " you guys a NASA may think you understand the laws of gravity, but as a lawyer, I know all the exceptions!' He got good laugh with that, and then said, "I don't think NASA will buy that." I said, well you can't blame me for trying. He then said, on his last mission in the Shuttle, he took his personal video camera and filmed the flight from launch up to the space station, and back to landing and he would make me a copy A few weeks later, the video showed up. It is one of my very prized possessions. He also gave me pictures of him and his crew aboard the shuttle, crew patch, and a Nevada flag that he carried board the Shuttle.

But for Eureka, this would have never happened. But, that was not the end. After that, Eureka was visited at my home by Don Williams who also commanded the shuttle. On top of that, I was also visited by the head of NASA General Charles Bolden, who upon first seeing Eureka said, "Holy S..t!!!" These likewise were stories in themselves.

I do not believe there are any steam locomotives that have had as many astronauts in their cab as Eureka. She has truly been a bridge between the centuries and technology.

So, I guess I should write down all of our adventures with Eureka. The above is just one of many..

Dan