Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town & Calico Railroad recently completed a minor exterior rehabilitation of D&RGW closed-vestibule coach #310. This minor work included re-painting the exterior in Pullman green to match the rest of trainset, all the members of which were a part of the San Juan. To see images of the trainset, go to http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,186887

To celebrate the return of the entire remaining San Juan trainset to Pullman green, the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad commissioned a Knott's Berry Farm graphic arts employee to help them re-create one of the two San Juan drumheads that adorned the rear of the train.

The first step was to research the appearance of the original drumhead. We were provided access to an image of the original Molas Lake drumhead as it appears today (at the CRRM IIRC.) We compared this image with that of a B&W photo of Molas Lake from the Denver Public Library archives that the original artist drew from to paint the original. Since that artist painted the scene directly onto the glass which was installed in the drumhead, the scene appears reversed. So that our image would match, we reversed the DPL image from which our graphic arts employee chose to hand paint the scene. She painted it on canvas then digitized it to make one large decal to apply to lexan.

Determining the the coloring of the scene was an exercise in guess work. The original drumhead is in poor condition and has yellowed over time. The B&W photo gives little indication of the time of year. So we compared multiple current views of Molas Lake with paintings of the Rocky Mountains done by various artists.

Based on what she could see and her knowledge of how original materials age and drift in color, she chose springtime as her season for the the scene. Later we learned from a credible source that the original was painted to look like a sunset, and possibly in dryer time or year like summer or fall, hence the original's golden/brown appearance. The end result is something that should be quite familiar to the narrow-gauge preservation community, but also something completely new as well. Given that our trainset represents a resurrection of the original San Juan Express, it is appropriate that our drumhead represents a sunrise. To view a close-up image of the drumhead, go to http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,187202

Besides the sunrise respresentation, careful observers will note that we also deviated from the original. For reasons of graphic design and economy, the artist chose to delete one prominent feature from the original, used existing computer fonts for the lettering, and added two Knott's logos in the small chevrons bordering the center one. This latter change is in deference to both where the equipment operates now and the company that has had the vision to preserve this equipment.


Posted by Tom Unfried
Shift Leader, Ride Maintenance Railroad Operations
Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town & Calico Railroad
Buena Park, California

Tom,

Congratulations. The train looks wonderful from tip to tail.

I visited Knott's about 10 years ago and was blown away by the care given to the "park trains." Your photos are evidence that nothing has changed... except things get even better. Excellent work!

Rob

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Beautiful

Don Wirth

Thank you for the kind words!

One thing about this trainset that is interesting to note is that with the exception of two, possibly three of the cars, all of this was done as a part of regular/planned maintenance.

The Edna and Durango are the only two cars to undergo complete restoration. The railroad crew, with the help of the combined shops of Knott's Berry Farm, restored the interior of theEdna and the exterior of the the Durango. Gautreaux Construction did just the opposite, with their crews restoring the interior of the Durango and the exterior of the Edna.

The former parlor-buffet coach Chama was rebuilt around 2007/08 by our crew, led by our head mechanic at the time, John W. Buchanan. The "A" end vestibule (which actually faces the rear of the train) was opened up and steps repaired on one side, while being added to the other. Windows that had been paneled over by the D&RGW were restored, and the baggage area created by our crew back in the 1950's was reconfigured to accept wheelchairs. It also received new siding, sills, and window treatments. As you can see, this was not so much an effort at restoration as it was to rebuild & preserve what the car has become. Despite some controversy, the name Chama was restored to the car at that time.

Tom Unfried
Shift Leader, Ride Maintenance Railroad Operations
Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town & Calico Railroad
Buena Park, California

Tom, very nice and congratulations!

Rio Grande Southern business/president's car Edna (Formerly San Juan,) the first car to return to Pullman green on the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad, has been rolled into the shop for some tender-loving care.

The exterior and roof will be re-painted (Pullman green & black respectively.) This time the car will be clear-coated, which we hope will help it weather California's strong UV rays.

Tom Unfried
Shift Leader, Ride Maintenance Railroad Operations
Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town & Calico Railroad
Buena Park, California