We are a few steps (and lifts) closer to the work of restoring the Climax A313 Locomotive.
Since its return to Corry last fall, the A313 has been patiently resting in the container that brought it back from Alaska. Travel by ship and truck proved to have maintained the integrity of the many pieces and parts that were lovingly packed by our team. (You can see the story of the trip to Alaska to prepare shipment in earlier posts and on the RAILS Facebook page, and a video can be seen here)
On March 27, 2021, members of the Corry RAILS Board and some friends and consulting experts gathered at the Restoration Building to bring the A313 out of storage. We were glad to see that all had made the trip well. In about 6 hours, the fully packed shipping container was empty and the building was brimming with pieces, parts and anticipation.
RAILS thanks those who were able to help. We will certainly be needing more assistance in the future…. knowledge…planning…mechanical and technical skills…physical work and financial support.
Carl (kneeling) Connie, Grady, Steve, Rob, Norm, Ron, Tom (behind the boiler)
Currently, we are planning for a welcome home event to be held in mid May. There will be various vendors and groups participating and a chance to check out pieces of history from 1902 Corry and Climax Manufacturing. We hope you will plan to join us. More information will be available here and on the Facebook page when things are finalized.
In the meantime, here is a short video of the March 27th unloading.
WELCOME to “Rescue Team 313” and Hello to all Friends and Fans of Corry RAILS, Climax, and Geared & Articulated Steam Locomotives.
It has been 4 months since Climax A-313 arrived back home in Corry, Pa. and our Videographer, Donnie Rosie and his team, have been busy working on a short video of the rescue trip and Climax A-313’s return to Corry after 118 years in Alaska.
Three years to the month from the Corry RAILS group making the decision to pursue bringing the last complete Climax “A” home, and to complete its restoration, the Rescue Team left for the “Land of the Midnight Sun” (the third trip to Alaska by Corry RAILS) to finalize the purchase, reload and ship A-313 on her 4000 mile journey back to her birthplace and new home in Corry.
The Team left Corry on August 23rd, 2020, and arrived back home on September 2nd – Mission Accomplished!! On October 16th, 2020 the Container bearing all the parts arrived at our new Corry RAILS Restoration Shop in Corry.
On our 2020 trip, we had originally planned to spend time doing more research, taping interviews, and shooting footage for our planned two-part Documentary on Climax A-313, however COVID restrictions prevented most of that from happening. Our plans are still moving forward for this Documentary and we are hopeful that a fourth trip to Alaska will occur later in 2021 as the A-313 Project moves fully into Phase II.
Here is a short 15-minute video of our trip and the arrival home in Corry, Pa. Please enjoy the film… Your comments and questions are always appreciated. Stay tuned for more updates as they happen… liking the Facebook page will assure you of getting notices of future postings.
Hi all…. the next to the last magic hour of Phase I has happened….
About 5:15 this afternoon A-313 entered Pennsylvania under the guidance of Howard Blystone, driver for Barnhart Transportation…
There were some issues at the beginning… I was told that the Container was a “Standard” Container…. it is a “Hi-Cube” Container… so the trailer should have been a drop-deck trailer… so they ended up having to get “over-height” Permits for each state… some of them he had to take some back roads to avoid bridges. The truck was loaded Tuesday afternoon and that is when the height problem was discovered… some older tractors may have been able to lower the airbags and lower the height by the 4″ necessary… not the newer rig… Barnhart got all of the paperwork done for the permits on Wednesday, but Howard looked at his logbook and if he had left right then he would have been limited to 7 or 8 hours a day… by waiting till Thursday morning he started into a new cycle, not being so limited.
So he left Thursday morning… that evening he was in Bozeman, MT. By Saturday night he was in Gary, Indiana. He was on the road at 6 this morning but couldn’t go on either the Indiana or Ohio Turnpikes and finally got on I-271 down by Lodi, Ohio about 3:30 this afternoon.
Bottom line is that the Container is now in Barnhart’s yard… and yes, there are Permit fees we will be picking up… and maybe some driver time as well. So… now we begin coordinating Barnhart and Rog’s and a NON-RAIN day… probably this week… maybe next… for getting it put into the Restoration Shop. I think I sent a note out that Rog’s Crane Service is donating the lift-off and placement… another Seabee contact comes through. Carl
A-313 is now off-loaded in Seattle… She was last in Seattle… ummmmm… Nov. 1979, almost 41 years ago. Here’s how she looked back then…
The A313 has spent a lot of its life waiting…and there will be a bit more waiting in Seattle. A truck from Barnhart Transportation (North East PA) will be picking up the locomotive’s shipping container to make the overland trip. We aren’t exactly sure when that will happen, but we will be sure to let everyone know.
Just a quick note to the Team, the Board & misc Friends of Corry RAILS. As of 7pm eastern Thursday, Sept. 10th. the Barge Whittier Provider is off Port Townsend, Washington and Admiralty Bay heading for the entrance to Puget Sound… About 60 miles from docking, with Corry RAILS Climax A-313 aboard. She should dock late tonight.
From Whittier, AK to Seattle, WA on the Whittier Provider
A look at what a load on the Whittier Provider looks like at the port in Seattle
Once the Container is offloaded, she will wait patiently for our trucker to arrive for the final leg of her journey home, to Corry, PA. It has been over 118 years since she left Corry, destined for the Wild Goose RR in Nome & Council and Home’s Gold Rush… as part of North America’s northernmost Railroad…
The A-313 laying track for itself in Alaska in 1902.
If you haven’t heard the story of the A-313, you can find it here.
Then the real work begins. Carl Wassink, Corry RAILS
We’re HOOooooome!!!! A few days of rest and I am finally beginning to get back on a normal sleep cycle. For a couple of days I was waking up at 6:00am…. only problem was that it was Anchorage time…. half the day gone!!!! seesh!!
What a trip, and what a great bunch of guys and gals we were working with. After spending the first few days finding equipment and tools, buying supplies, spending some time searching for parts in storage units and then getting everyone collected from the Ted Stevens Airport, it was time to get the real work underway. The 5 days of repacking the container was a series of dance steps that we couldn’t rehearse, and the choreography kept changing depending upon what equipment was available at any given moment and what operators were onsite. The following photos give you a brief overview of how those days went.
Pic 1 Removing the heavy, large items
The first objective was to get the 3 or 4 large and heavy items out of the back of the Container, on the ground and out of the way so that we could access everything else. Here the Water Tank and4 heavy boxes of parts are lifted out.
Pic 2 Out comes the boiler
… followed by the boiler
Pic 3 Carl with the boiler-check out the grin….
Me (Carl) and the Boiler next to the storage trailer
Pic 4 The setup for getting the work done
Our configuration for removing all of the smaller parts; Motorhome for breaks, our Container, the Curtain Van Work deck, and the Storage trailer… with one of our Extendalifts (donated by Airport Equipment Rentals, Anchorage) and a set of 4 ft wide stairs to get up on the deck.
Pic 5 Sorting out the puzzle pieces for packing
As parts came out we inventoried and grouped them in 8 parts groups in the storage trailer.
Pic 6 Lining up for the lift
Pic 7 Getting it just right
Once the majority of the weight was out of the container, we needed to transfer the Container onto a road-worthy trailer for delivering it to the Port… that took a considerable amount of time.
Pic 8 Donnie Rosie interviews Kevin Christenson
While this was going on Donnie was interviewing several of the volunteers… here he is with Kevin Christenson, one of Keith Christenson’s sons… (Keith passed away in 2014).
Pic 9 Reloading begins~the boiler gets set in its place for the trip
Once the Container was on the good trailer, it was time to reload the trucks and then the Boiler.
Pic 10 Axle crates
Pic 11 Filling the container continues
Followed by four 8 ft axle crates, donated by the Alaska Railroad, Packed with old wooden cross-members and misc. parts, and then the water tank was stacked on top of the crates.
Pic 12 Trailer and container in place for loading the smaller items
At this point we repositioned the trailer to our working deck so that we could begin loading all of the smaller parts.
Pic 13 The view from the working desk
The configuration shown from the working deck behind our container and showing the storage trailer beyond the Extendalift.
Pic 14 Making the most of the space~filling in the walkway
Showing the inside of the Container with the walkway down the left side which we are now going to fill with more parts.
Pic 15 Another Restoration Crew in Alaska~they were helpful to us, as well as inspiring
Some of our Sister Restoration Crew in Wasilla, the 557 Project greeting and waving at a passing Alaska Railroad passenger car.
Pic 16 A gathering of the team~getting close to the end of packing
A pause near the end for the crew to take a group picture. Left to Right: Gene Augustine, Anchorage & ex-Pittsburgh, PA area; Grady Smith, Marietta, Ohio; Norm Thomas, Corry, PA; Steve Niederriter, Morgantown, WV; Tom VanTassel, Corry, PA; Chris and Tara Lyons, Columbus, PA; (above) Rusty Potchatko, Palmer, AK ex-Corry, PA; Donnie Rosie, Spring Creek, PA; Carl Wassink, Corry, PA.
Pic 17 The Whittier Provider~Climax A313’s ride to Seattle~to wait for the truck that will “Bring ‘er Home”
The following morning the crew was back at it tying down the load with ratchet straps and blocking after which the Container was delivered to Lynden Transport & Alaska Marine Lines facility in Anchorage for a train ride to the docks in Whittier. This is a photo of Lynden’s barge “Whittier Provider” which our container shipped out on Saturday morning and will be delivered to the docks in Seattle this coming weekend and ready for the next part of its journey home to Corry, PA.
It has been quiet FROM the Alaska A-313 mining field for a couple days- but it hasn’t been quiet ON that field- The Team has been prospecting and gathering all of the pieces of gold that will become the A-313 Climax Engine refurbished in her home town.
So, here are a few final thoughts from Carl as the team and the A-313 begin to work their way home.
Day 9, I think….. OPERATION SUCCESSFUL!!! the container was delivered to Lynden Transport early this afternoon… and is on the move, heading home…. and following a great dinner we are now at the boarding gate awaiting our flight in an hour… It’s been an interesting, fun, tiring and eventful adventure for all of our crew… be arriving home Wednesday, early afternoon. Carl W
The Team (From left: Steve Niederriter, Morgantown, WV; Grady Smith, Marietta, OH; Norm Thomas, Corry, PA; Tom VanTassel, Corry, PA; and taking the pic, Carl Wassink, Corry, PA.)
Carl and team members carefully load the boiler for the land and sea voyage back to its birthplace. Other carefully sorted and packed parts and pieces will follow.
The weather may not be on their side as they accomplish the re-packing, but this team will let nothing stand in their way to get the A-313 back to Corry. Good luck Team!
It’s drizzled & wet out here at the Pit this morning… arrived early (6:30) to set up with an equipment operator to swap the container to the delivery trailer… but he is held up in traffic at a multi vehicle accident.
Once the transfer is complete we will reload the boiler and back the trailer into place to reload the rest of the parts… depending on timing we should be near completion this afternoon. Will update later. Carl W
