ON THE ROAD AGAIN….
Friends and Followers of Corry RAILS…. a short update to let everyone know what’s going on… Well, last year, along with getting the Climax A re-packed and shipped home to Corry, our plans had been to stay in Alaska a bit longer and to do research on the Climax… So… that couldn’t, and didn’t, happen because of Covid… we got the main objective done… the little Engine made it home!!! AND NOW….. we are back in Alaska to work on the research end of the project.
Norm Thomas and I (Carl W) arrived in Alaska early in the week and have been on the road… One of our first stops was at our sister project, the 557 Restoration Project in Wasilla, for a short visit with Pat Durand and the boys…. WOW!!! is that project looking great! They have it all jacked up to soon be rolling the Wheel Sets under her… the stainless steel snake-pit under the cab is nearly done…. and preparation is taking place for the front work deck for when the new tubes get installed… what a magnificent piece of work…. my hat is off to Pat, the 557 Board and the entire volunteer crew as well as all the vendors to the 557. If you get the chance go to their website and check it out… You will find them at http://557.alaskarails.org/ .
Then it was off to Fairbanks for a few days of research in the University archives and to sneak in a short visit to the Tanana Valley RR. As usual in Alaska, we have met some incredibly friendly and helpful people. Along the way we have made contact with some diverse and unique collections, and spent some time getting to know some of the people and characters involved… invaluable future research sources. We will most certainly continue to build on many of these relationships.