K A Hughes makes a point in his second posting on the thread below that I would like to echo. RyPN Interchange is a great place that a question can be asked and you will get some really sincere efforts at providing an answer and on occasion someone will finally have just the answer needed (case in point the "whipporwill/mockingbird whistle thread below). I really appreciate the questions on restoration methods and what others have tried in given similar situations.

Hume, thanks for the links section. In April, three of us attended the FRA regional meetings in Mt Shasta, CA and returned with a resolve to improve our safety program at the Heber Valley Railroad. This called for revamping our 'blue flag' program and had me searching around town for some nylon/polyester reinforced rubberized material. Fabric shops were of no help. The local sign company wanted $60 for each 18 x 22 inch piece of banner material. Granted this included the screening but this was still way beyond the budgeted amount for this non-profit org (and they didn't want to just sell the material). So last night I checked the links for Preservation Resorces and found McMaster-Cann. Within 2 hours of my email I had a response from Ms. Entwistle suggesting an Adobe Acrobat download of two pages from their catalog. Those pages contained exactly what I was looking for and for $24 we'll have enough material to make a dozen or more flags.

Finally, a plea to those who are posting under aliases, screen names, etc. -- please don't. To me, the value of your opinion, suggestion, etc is diminished to practically nil if you don't have a name. (suggestion to the rest of you posters, take a moment and complete the profile section at RyPN so that we can know your experience and involvement).

Happy 4th of July to all of you.

doc lewis

PS: KA Hughes -- how about the Utah Railway??

Heber Valley Railroad
utweyesguy@aol.com