Can any Californians tell me if the historic Knight Foundry at Sutter Creek has reopened for tours? I gather it has from various local websites, but they aren't dated, so it's hard to tell when the material was written. Knight Foundry is the industrial equal of the East Broad Top and equally endangered. I hope to visit next month.

ryarger@rypn.org

> Can any Californians tell me if the historic
> Knight Foundry at Sutter Creek has reopened
> for tours? I gather it has from various
> local websites, but they aren't dated, so
> it's hard to tell when the material was
> written. Knight Foundry is the industrial
> equal of the East Broad Top and equally
> endangered. I hope to visit next month.
My wife and I visited the Yosemite/Mother Lode area a few years ago. At that time there was a sign at Knight Foundry advising that it was a working foundry and not open for visitors. I have heard no reports of it closing; they recently made some castings for the Grizzly Flats turntable at Orange Empire. On that same Yosemite trip, I asked one of the workers at the Yosemite Mtn. Sugar Pine RR if I could look inside the shop, and he courteously but firmly said they were very busy and couldn't do tours. My guess is that both places may conduct tours for organized groups that apply well in advance, but they can't accommodate drop-in lookie-loos. This is understandable, because the shop workers have no idea who someone is if they just pop in some afternoon. It could be a retired machinist who is familiar with old industrial facilities, or it could be some foamer who would get under foot and make a nuisance of himself.

brunettedavis@aol.com