On Saturday March 21, volunteers Dwight, Kendall, Jerod, Ben, Dannis, Bryan, Nick, Nick (yes two separate Nick’s!), Bruce, Colin, and Paul got busy early, on what promised to be a hot and very busy day. The main goal of the day was to get Engine 102 ready for use over the next six months. We started out by getting Engine 104 started and ready to move. Then we added coolant and changed fuel filters on Engine 102. We had got the track connections done earlier, so it was time to pull 102 out and give her the annual wash job. A rotating group worked on washing the locomotive, while another group cleaned the shop floor where 102 had sat during the winter. This work got us up to lunch time and we took a quick break.

After lunch, it was time to get Engine 102 started and checked out. While she was warming up, the windows were cleaned and the wash equipment was put away. We also added lube oil to the engine after it warmed up. It only took 40 gallons to top her off! Then we backed Engine 104 and the three cabooses out around our sharp curve, to check out the track work we did there last week. Everything looked good, so it was time to park 104 out of the way and get 102 hooked up to the cabooses to be ready for the upcoming events. Things were going very well, so we decided to do some more work, which included adding an accessory to Engine 102, and working to repair a problem that was spotted on our Massey Ferguson Forklift. We finally wrapped up around 6:00pm, a rather long day for the Museum volunteers.

I have included some photos that Bruce and I were able to catch of the work being done.

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Bruce