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Around The Museum 2019
Kerry Cochran, Ethan Doty, David Elems, Greg Elems, Paul Finnegan, Charlie Spikes, Roger Stabler, Janet Steeper


(latest at the top)

Page last updated:  Thu Oct 1 07:01:32 AM PDT 2026

Slide 1 Lights, camera and action. Santa Train is ready and waiting. 12/6/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 2 Engines inspected, watered and started. Santa Train is ready to go. 12/6/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 3 The decorations are on and the Santa Train sits patently waiting for Saturday’s festivities. 12/5/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 4 Getting ready for Santa Trains. 11/22/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 5 Decorations were already going up on the MP caboose on November 2nd. David Elems and Steve Habeck were sorting out the details on the caboose train and future switching on the 7th. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 6 With the Pumpkin Patch Express over, there needed to be some switching done for setting up the Santa Train. David Elems was the engineer and Charlie Spikes was the fireman. On this November 7th day we see the Sweetwood out of the shop and the 1100 working hard. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 7 Steve Habeck putting lights on the Rock Island caboose. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 8 The Santa Train is assembled and getting its 10,000 lights carefully placed. Duane Vander Veen is sanding rust off the metal on the SN 1642 before the lights are put on. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 9 The Silver Plate and baggage car are in the shop with the power hooked up and waiting on the decorations for the interior. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 10 Charlie Spikes putting the strings of Christmas lights on the fence at the parking lot. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 11 Return of the Pumpkin Patch Express. 10/20/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 12 The SPMW 208 is going over the pit for inspection with the hopes we will run it again this winter! 10/15/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 13 WP 1503 on the west end of 1 Rail 10/3/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 14 Steam Work Session September 2019, Mike Waters grinding valve for engineer′s injector - Photo by Roger Stabler

Slide 15 Steam Work Session September 2019, Completed engineer′s injector - Photo by Roger Stabler

Slide 16 Firing valve quadrant installed by Channing Walker, Channing also made up a new fireman′s manifold body. - Photo by Roger Stabler

Slide 17 The crew of the last day of caboose train operations. Don Nelson, Janet Steeper, Lew Bernard and Loren Ross. A great summer of operations thanks to the many people who worked on the crew over the season. A big thanks goes out to Loren Ross who kept everything going smoothly and safe. 9/2/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 18 Lew’s view from the SP 2873 of the caboose train out on the balloon track. 9/2/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 19 Loren riding the MP 13878 protecting the shove back onto the loading platform. 9/2/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 20 Don Nelson stopping the caboose train at the loading platform. 9/2/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 21 WP 165 and WP 512 from inside the shop. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 22 Mechanical assessment has started on getting the 512 back into service. WP 512 was placed outside the shop on Saturday 8/31/19. More news on that as it develops! - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 23 Speeder is decked out for the Plumas County Fair parade on Saturday August 17th. Steve Habeck towed it in the parade and brought back a 3rd place ribbon to the museum! - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 24 US Representative Doug LaMalfa held a town hall meeting at the museum on Friday August 9 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 25 US Representative Doug LaMalfa held a town hall meeting at the museum on Friday August 9 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 26 FRRS Residents 8/6/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 27 WP Celebration 8/3-4/19 - Photos in the WP Celebration 2019 Gallery

Slide 28 More work at the museum in preparation for Western Pacific Celebration days. Greg Elems grinding the screws on the platform door of the Sweetwood on August 1st. The plate was successfully removed and for the first time in 60 yrs or so you can look into or out of the Sweetwood. - Photo by David Elems

Slide 29 Black paint has been applied. Now it is time to put the jewelry back on. 7/31/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 30 Progress to date on WP 1503 as of early on 7/31/19, painting is complete except running boards and hand rails. Roger Stable will paint the black and fix a paint issue on the engineer′s side in September. David Elems will be able to resume mechanical work in about a week. - Photo by Roger Stabler

Slide 31 July 31st Charlie Spikes spent some time in the evening washing 608 for the WP Celebration. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 32 Wp 1503 front pilot has stripping mask applied and Roger Stabler will paint it. 7/30/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 33 Steve Habeck helping with the masking of the stripes on the cab end of the 1503 on a warm July 30th evening. - Photo by David Elems

Slide 34 Roger Stabler waiting on the pilot masking and getting rested for a long night ahead of him with the rest of the green paint. Steve Habeck, Matt Elems and Greg Elems are masking the stripes. - Photo by David Elems

Slide 35 Matt and Greg Elems getting ready to start the second of 3 stripes on the right side of the pilot. It was dark so shop light was needed to see the lines as they measured. - Photo by David Elems

Slide 36 WP 1503 starting to turn green again - 7/29/19 1:39 PM PDT - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 37 WP 165 basked in the sun for a few days while the 1503 got it new green paint. The 165 looks like a proper steam engine now with its boiler face back on. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 38 Bob Sims and Kirk Baer needle scaling on the face of 165. Yes the 165 has her face back on and looking great. 7/27/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 39 Roger Stabler power sanding on loose paint on the cab of WP 1503. 7/25/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 40 David Elems helping with the paint removal on the WP 1503. 7/25/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 41 Yes Steve Lee did help with the work on the WP 1503, as can be seen here with his grinding on a UP weld job. 7/25/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 42 Greg Elems is applying the vinyl lettering to the fireman’s side of 1503 in preparation for painting. - Photo by David Elems

Slide 43 Last time the 1503 was in the sunshine in yellow. Saturday July 27, 2019 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 44 Sweetwood Polish Project - First Panel Treated and Buffed - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 45 Round Up the Usual Suspects - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 46 South Side Before any Treatment - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 47 North Side Getting Worked - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 48 Roger′s Noise has Aroused the Spirits - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 49 Buffing Continues on the North Side - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 50 The Spirits Approve - Photo by Bob Sims

Slide 51 Volunteer Mike Waters at the museum, Sunday 7/21/19 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 52 David Elems and Charlie Spikes putting new drive belt on 1945 seaboard coastline speeder #35., Sunday 7/21/19 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 53 Sunday 7/21/19 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 54 Work continues at the museum, Mike Waters, Bob Sims & Roger Stabler. Sunday 7/21/19 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 55 David Elems working on the WP 1503 radiator, Sunday 7/21/19 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 56 Greg Elems working on prep for painting WP 1503 - Photo by Janet Steeper

Slide 57 Kenneth Finnegan sanding the WP 1503 for painting 7/16/19 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 58 WP history on display during a yard switch move on 7/17/19 to put the Sweetwood in the shop and the WP 165 over the pit. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 59 LCCA at the CCT 24 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 60 Bil (One-L) Jackson and David Elems standing-by 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 61 Loren talking with a LCCA Member 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 62 LCCA Group looking at the WP 165 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 63 Kenneth Finnegan painting the Oil House 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 64 Loren Ross greets guests 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 65 Eugene Vicknair leads the tour 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 66 Lionel Collectors Club of America arrives at the museum 7/16/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 67 New Museum WiFi installed 7/13/19 by Kenneth Finnegan & Kerry Cochran. Access points are now in the Silver Debris (crew lounge), southwest corner of diesel shop and near the Museum Store - Photos by Kerry Cochran

Slide 68 Kenneth Finnegan the Brakeman on SP2873 7/14/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 69 Eric McKay and Eugene Vicknair next to WP501 7/14/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 70 David Epling returns to Engine Service 7/14/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 71 Janet Steeper and Kenneth Finnegan painted the Oil House 7/14/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 72 David Elems and Ethan Doty working on WP1503 7/12/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 73 Greg Elems working on the roof of WP1503 7/12/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 74 Portola Murals July 9, 2019 - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 75 SP Beet Gon SP 359247 Leaving FRRS for Arizona - Photo by Charlie Spikes

Slide 76 WP 2001 with 917-D on west 2 on a warm June 12th after a busy day at the WPRM.

Slide 77 David Elems and Ethan Doty are seen here replacing the batteries in QRR 1100 on Wednesday June 13, 2019.
After a night of charging the batteries they will prep and start the 1100 for another season of caboose trains and RALs. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 78 Battery #3 getting lifted into the battery box of 1100 by David Elems. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 79 Ethan Doty is seen here controlling the lift of battery #3 with the hoist. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 80 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 81 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 82 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 83 Members′ Day Dinner is served. - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 84 Bart Hansen and Charlie cooking up a storm. - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 85 Charlie Spikes fired up the BBQ for the Members′ Meeting BBQ dinner - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 86 Members Listen to FRRS President at Members′ Meeting - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 87 President Habeck starts Members′ Meeting 6/1/19 - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 88 Visitors Watching FRRS Video - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 89 BSA Troop 341 from Carson City, NV came to the museum for our BSA RR Merit Badge program. Loren Ross is our BSA coordinator. - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 90 June 1, 2019 FRRS Board Meeting - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 91 Job done. - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 92 Aligning the unloading track - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 93 Unloading Whitcomb Display Engine - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 94 Truck that moved the Whitcomb Display Engine to the museum - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 95 RV club from Grass Valley visited the museum 5/31/19 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 96 Filming in the Museum Store - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 97 Special guest to the museum, Andrew Cross from the UK and his film crew on 5/31/19 - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 98 WP 1503 with new orange paint on ends - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 99 WP 1503 with new orange paint on side - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 100 WP 165 getting watered May 4, 2019 - Photo by Charlie Spikes

Slide 101 After lunch Loren did some on-the-job training with attending crewmembers. - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 102 Operating Dept. Supervisor, Paul Finnegan, takes a break in the shade with lunch. - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 103 Lunch gave crewmembers a chance to catch up after a long winter. - Photo by Kerry Cochran

Slide 104 First of two scheduled Crew Training classes happened on April 27th. Loren Ross is giving the lecture. - Photo by Paul Finnegan

Slide 105 April 5th WP 165 is sitting at the east end of the shop with 1503. 1503 is going to get some radiator work done and will run this year, barring any unforeseen issues. - Photo By Greg Elems

Slide 106 David Elems and Ethan Doty were working on the 2873 on April 5th getting it ready for the 2019 operating season. - Photo By Greg Elems

Slide 107 Rotary Run 2019 March 22nd - more photos in 2019 Rotary Run Gallery. - Photo by Greg Elems

Slide 108 Looking east from the dumpster before the last plowing pass - (2/28/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 109 Alongside the shop road getting narrow - (2/28/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 110 South gate fence mesh getting ruined by snow - (2/21/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 111 Crazy snow flurry out at front gate - (2/21/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 112 North Wall drainage ditch dug out by Bil Jackson and Ethan Doty - (2/12/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 113 Wind Blown Snow Into Shop - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 114 View West From West 1 Rail Door - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 115 There are SD9 Trucks Somewhere Under Mount SD9 - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 116 Road North Side Shop - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 117 Mount Simplot - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 118 Mount Foam Platform Quote - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 119 Handicapped Parking Cleared For Parking - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 120 Front Gate Mountain Backhoe For Size Reference - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 121 East Door - Dumpster Access - (2/11/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 122 Weather Forecast 10 Day 2 7 2019

Slide 123 Finally opened the gate and punched through, the moment of triumph. Spent about an hour and half doing that, cleaning up the road a little on the hill up to the first new section of our fence and then cleaning up a bit inside the facility and the Handicapped parking. - (2/7/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 124 It took another hour of plowing to get to the next photo of Ethan′s car from inside the gate. - (2/7/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 125 looking down between RIP 1 and the Dock Track. Took 40 minutes to get that far. - (2/7/19) Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 126 Looking north across the RIP tracks to UP on 2/7/19. A day of snow removal. That pile is a good 8 ft tall and 10 ft wide now, that was just the first pass or two in the photo. - Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 127 Snowy day at the museum 2/6/19! - Photo by Ethan Doty

Slide 128 Snow bound 2/6/19! - Photo by Ethan Doty


Page last updated:  Thu Oct 1 07:01:32 AM PDT 2026