The posts about Grand Canyon got me thinking that there must be some pretty good things happening too. Just wondering what projects we might expect to see come to completion during 2009?

Tom,

Two big events in 2009 have to be the Steam Festival in Oswego, Michigan and the Garratt 100th anniversary in Manchester, England

7 locos in steam at Oswego

The original Garratt K1 on display for photogrphs in the former Beyer-Peacock works exactly 100 years to the day from when it was first steamed after construction....

TH

That's "Owosso"

We should see at least 2 new steamers raised for the dead line, SR 401 and CNJ 113!
Steamtown should have #26 back up and running, BR&W #60 is ready for her return to action and DL&W 565 cosmetic restoration is under way! Almost forgot SR 154 is well on her way to operational again.

What are the 7 for Owosso? #1225, #765, the Flagg Coal Vulcan and ???

Rob

Let's also add Santa Fe 3415 bringing back the spirit of the Santa Fe to Kansas, or at least we can presume that cosmetic restoration and operation will swiftly follow the steaming break-in runs!

And, all going well, we may still have yet another year of operation out of the East Broad Top--another operation we had better stop taking for granted.

2009 *should* see initial excursion operations on the Eastern Shore RR out of Cape Charles, Va., whatever one may think of the current choice of rolling stock.

In traction, 2009 should bring a new piece of rolling stock or two into operation at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum--an ex-Philly PCC and an ex-Philly snow sweeper. Both are basically running now, but aren't quite finished--cosmetics on the PCC, a few faults on the snow sweeper (I think).

toward the end of the year the Western Railway Museum should have their Sacramento northern 1005 in running condition (although not complete in all details) after a ten year top to bottom restoration of this wood body Interurban.

Just recently the window guards were re-cast and restored down both sides of the car. It has been 70 years since this very important detail was seen on this historic car.

And in this their 70th anniversary year; the Seashore Trolley Museum is getting close to having their Wheeling 39 a Cincinnatti curve side street car completely restored.

This badly stripped body came to the museum over twenty five years ago and has been rebuilt with so much steel that she is a replica of herself. The car should be running at the museum for many years after this!

And at the Illinois Railway Museum the restoration of Chicago and West Towns 141 is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Has anyone heard anything from the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum lately? They were going to re-gauge one of those Rio de Janairo open breezers that came back to the US museums back in the 1960s, to run on their broad gauge tracks. Anything happing with that project?

Ted Miles

Cumbres & Toltec has begun overhaul of 2-8-2 #463. Reportedly her boiler held 200 pounds of pressure earlier this week.

More info here:
http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,123202

I am not speaking in any official capacity for the Illinois Rwy Museum, but the
rumor mill seems to be holding out hope that this is the year that steam may return to IRM. Several projects are working their way through the shops and quite a bit of progress was reported on their steam dept blog over last summer.

The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum continues to work toward getting Grasselli Tower moved from East Chicago, Indiana to its site in North Judson, Indiana. We are currently aiming for a move by late this spring or early this summer.

Les

TSRR 2-8-0 #300 is being retubed and a new form 4 prepared right now. Unless something completely unexpected happens, will be back up in '09.

With the 'flat out' work going on down in Palestine by Jerry Burford and his crew, you're going to see a good percentage of the TSRR car fleet repainted this year as well. And ties are going in every week. Compared to the outlook in 2006, this is everthing that those of us involved in this project could have hoped for with AHR as the new operator. Things are happening.

We are going to see UP Steam on Donner Pass and in the Feather River Canyon of California again. This to commemerate the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Western Pacific Railroad.

Also, a small victory, but a victory nonetheless, TS 735, the first locomotive from the diminutive Tidewater Southern Railway, a WP subsidiary in Califonia's Central Valley, will be moved to WPRM Portola for preservation:

http://www.tidewatersouthern.com/TS735Donation/ts735donation.htm

And of course restoration work on the WP 165 continues...

Chris Allan

Looks like Mt Rainer might have a shot at having Rayonier #2 (Willamette) running:

http://www.mrsr.info/news/

Assuming it is running this year, is there any where else where all the different types of steam locomotives used in US logging operations are running at one location?

The National Capital Trolley Museum plans to reopen this summer. We are hosting a free preview of the visitor center on April 26 from Noon to 5 p.m.

Wesley

PRR 0-6-0 #643 will be operating again this year in Williams Grove PA, near the PA State Capitol in Harrisburg. She will be operating in passenger service on select Sundays and for several other events, and we will again be offering our very popular Steam Locomotive Engineer Experience. New this year we will have a newly donated PRR N5 cabin car on the rear of some trains. You can check on the schedule for 643, and other Williams Grove Historical Steam Engine Association activities at http://www.wghsea.org.