Hi Everyone:

The next work session in the restoration is planned for Saturday June 16, 2007 from 9 am to 5 pm.

During our last work session we accomplished quite a bit on finishing car 355. We were able to get all the motor lead connections insulated. The gear case covers were installed. Many little odds and ends were finished. To culminate the day, we were able to make our first run all the way to the end of the line. Everyone involved should be real proud of our accomplishment.

Car 355



Dave continued working on buttoning up car 16. he is about to finish the last painting on the exterior of the car.

Car 16, Springfield Terminal Combine



Galen was able to pull up the rails of the first track in the northern bar.

Now that cars 355 and 16 are about to enter the fleet of operating cars, we should get together to discuss what are next moves in the shop are going to be. I would like to plan to discuss over our lunch break this next session, what we have accomplished and what we should work on next.

During our next session, we will work on several issues on 355 that we discovered during our first test run down the line. We will try and finish up the remaining open items on the list including possibly installing some running boards. Depending on how things go we may be able to release 355 to the operating department during this or the next work session.

We look forward to seeing you during the next work session.

As always all volunteers are welcome!

Chris Chestnut and Galen Semperbon

Thanks for posting this update! It's great to see 355 running again. I saw it a few years ago in the Kelly Barn and the restoration of the carbody was just gorgeous; I'm glad to see that the trucks are back under it and that it's going to be out on the line carrying passengers soon.

It 's really nice to see the 355 project moving forward again. It's a nice tribute to the late Fred Bennett, who had started the restoration and had done much of the cosmetic work many years ago.