[redacted]

Not only that, but the initial Rita hurricane path had an unbelievable amount of rain forecast for that area that I hope was completely wrong now. Still, in all those pine forests, any high winds could be just a complete mess if the wind gusts were that far north. Anybody know how they made out there?

hi, IIRC Rita moved pretty fast after making landfall so didn't have time to dump much water in any one place. The winds would have decreased by that time too. Yes, it's a wooded area, but nothing a chainsaw can't handle. No octagenarian oaks that I recall.One of my friends goes to Livingston tomorrow; LV is south of Rusk on the 59 and LV has power and mains water, phones, etc, but gas is a bit thin on the ground, she says.So I think TSRR will be okay. I have seen Alco no 7 in the 'flesh' at the Palestine end, coupled to the Biz car and other coaches, but standing cold. (I have an annoying habit of arriving there out of season)Sorry Christian I haven't got any mech info.According to their site I see they are open on the 10 & 11 December at the Rusk end, I may visit depending on everyone's schedule at the time.John

Last word I had is that only one steamer, #300, is operational. It is running from the Rusk end to Palestine and back. The ex-US Army diesel runs from Palestine to Rusk and back; the remainder of the steamers are down waiting for new boilers.I concur with John about conditions along the line. They probably had strong winds and rain; but nothing that couldn't be handled. The forecast of the storm stalling out over Texarkana and dropping 20 inches of rain did not happen; thank God.-James Hefner Hebrews 10:20a Surviving World Steam Project

This is the staus of the railroad as I know it,and the status of locomotives: No serious damage from Rita,and the railroad will run as scheduled.Locomotives:201: Received a new welded boiler that has been recently test fired. No word on when the locomotive will be comeplete,but hopefully next year.300: In service. Each month the engine swaps terminals.400: Out of service for boiler work. No word on when she will be rebuilt.500: Also received a new welded boiler but not yet on the frame. No word on when she will be ready Just as a side note: Budget constraints from the State government are hurting the Texas State Railroad. Each year they are being told to much more with much less. There was a movement earlier this year to close some state parks,but it's not known if TSRR was on that list. Go out and ride them if and when you can!