First up after being gone for about a month, was getting the Bruce Bus out and cleaning the track of the tree debris that all the storms dropped.  I worked my way East heading towards Kat Jct. As I got closer, it started to rain more heavily and I beat a hasty retreat to the roundhouse. When I got back, I tried to turn the water heater on and it didn’t turn the pilot light on and then I tried to turn the light over the work bench on and it wouldn’t light.  This had me perplexed so I went to the breaker box and opened it up.  I got my meter out and found all the odd breakers in the box were dead.  At first I thought it was something to do with the GFI circuits Mel put in as they were all on the odd side but I finally ruled that out.  I went over to the shop and saw that the outlets with GFI were out over there.  I called Cousin Bill and talked it over.  He came over and he found that one phase was missing of the 220V.  It appears that it was leaving the house breaker box but not arriving in the shop which feeds the roundhouse.  We looked for a new hole from an animal but no dirt looked disturbed.  Bill arranged for a electrician to come out and find the gap.

Adam Wright brought a friend (Matt) over and wanted to show him #7 under steam.  The two of them got #7 ready while I took the bus down to Clear Lake clearing the twigs.  I never got to Clear Lake as a tree fell on the track not to far after the trestle.  We got out the gon and caboose #560 and put the small saw onboard.  Adam guided #7 to the cut after the trestle but stalled trying to go up the small grade there.  I got in and worked the sander with one hand and the throttle with the other and coached #7 thru the cut and stopped at the far end of it to clear the tree.  Then Matt and I walked ahead throwing twigs off the track.  Matt got ahead around the bend and came back and said we won’t go to much farther as a tree is down across the tracks.  We cleaned down to the tree and Adam brought #7 along till we got to the tree  (first two pics - 3rd is Frolin's tape insert).

It took Adam a few tries to get upgrade without sand!  Seems no one thought to check the dome for sand before leaving.  He never made it out of Jacks pit on the 4% so Matt and I hiked to the roundhouse and got a bucket of sand.  It appears he left a lot of it at the East switch for the wye at Jacks Pit  (4th pic).  We made it to the roundhouse and did a water, sand & coal stop and then headed up the hill cleaning twigs off the track as we went.  #7 ran out of sand again near Casper Cut.  We retreated to the roundhouse but before we got there, we/I put #7 on the ground at Shithouse Curve.  Out came #25 and the boxcar with jacks and blocking.  We got her back on the rails and back to the roundhouse.

We banked the fire and took #25 and the cars up the hill in the dark to look for stuff with headlight on #25 and flashlight.  It went good till we got to about M.P. 0.2  up near the fill where Jack dumped the ash from the outside boiler.  We encountered another tree across the track.  This one was up high enough (last pic) that we could go under and continue to High Pt. We re-arranged the train and started to leave when the boxcar uncoupled from #25.  Matt didn’t notice he didn’t have a train behind him till he got to Woodshill Jct..  When he came back, #25 shut off and was dead.  It had no juice from the battery it seemed, as no lights or fuel pump would come on. 

We walked down in the dark and they fired up #7 for a rescue engine and I got the John Deere warmed up and took a meter and jumper cables up to see if I could start it.  I put those things in the bucket in back of the tractor and set out for High Point.   I found my way there with the help of the headlights and I think the trail goes this away.  When I got there, the box was missing from the bucket.  I had to turn around and retrace my route till I found it.  Luckily it wasn’t to far.  By the time I was back, Matt & Adam were there and Matt tried to start #25 and she fired right up!  We put #7 behind #25 and Matt used the headlight on dim so Adam could see the track.  I followed along as best as I could.  I got to Shithouse Curve before #7 and had Adam run real slow while I shined a light on the rail to see if it was going to lift.  It didn’t.  It appears that with me standing on the tender steps coaching Matt, caused the de-rail.  With all the equipment back at Phelps we put it all away and went home as it was around 9pm.  What a day!  Stay tuned for more.   -  -  Tom