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Alaska 2021 Part 1

ALASKA TRIP AUGUST 2021 – Part I

Still working on catching up #3

As I mentioned in the last posting, the planning for our return to Alaska to continue our efforts originally planned for 2020 and canceled / postponed due to Government imposed travel and access restrictions imposed because of the COVID19 worldwide Pandemic was difficult at best. It changed on a daily basis over the several months of planning. Inflation was rearing its head even beyond the normally higher prices found in Alaska. The fuel prices were surging because of the Government’s move away from energy independence achieved during the last few years. The micro-chip shortage affecting the auto industry’s ability to provide new cars to the rental agencies coupled with the major rental agencies disposal of over a million un-rentable vehicles in 2020 due to America’s restriction on travel has driven the rental prices through the roof… from $35 in 2020 to $265 per day in 2021, if you could find one to rent. We had the everything planned to be in Alaska in the last days of July but at the last minute Erik Christenson’s schedule was changed and we wouldn’t be able to meet with him until the beginning of September. We had to be in Nome and ready to go to Council in August, since that is when the Summer resident’s would be there, most for the first time in 3 years. It was becoming a nightmare to put it all together, and the costs were escalating with each change. The one thing we couldn’t afford to do was to put it off for another year… we needed to find parts, and we needed to interview people… some of whom were having major medical problems.

On this trip, Norm T. would be going with me since Tom V. was finalizing plans for a wedding. Norm had been with us in Alaska on the Rescue Team in 2020 and brings an excellent knowledge of all things mechanical with his strong background in Hit-n-Miss and Gas engines and his appreciation of vintage equipment. So it was off to Anchorage. Our 11 hour flight schedule had been changed to a 15 hour flight with a long layover in Atlanta. Upon arrival in Anchorage another Team Member, former Pennsylvanian Gene Augustine, picked us up at the Airport and took us to the Motorhome we were renting for a few days. The lady renting us the vehicle had invited the three of us to stay for a fresh Halibut dinner… a very nice gesture… she wanted to hear more about our Project. The Motorhome was a perfect way to go with the cost of rental vehicles, combining both our transportation and housing and eliminating the need to constantly change.

After dinner, we were off to Wasilla where we camped the first night in the parking lot of the 557 Restoration Project, a partner of ours in our Rescue efforts. In the morning we spent a few hours discussing both of our projects with Pat Durand, President of the 557 Restoration Company and Friend of A-313 extraordinaire… Pat was also a longtime personal friend of Keith Christenson and continues to lend new insights advice to our project.

That afternoon we were off to Fairbanks. The further north we went the more overcast it became and finally into the rain…. we never did see Mt. McKinley while driving through Denali with the low cloud ceiling. Rain had been the daily forecast for the previous week as well as for most of the time we were in Fairbanks. In the few days we were in Fairbanks, we spent time in Archives at the Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks. It was an eye-opener to realize the extensiveness of their collection and to realize that large sections are yet to be cataloged. We found some of the photos and information we had been searching for, but most importantly we made good contacts for future research.

Some of the impromptu connections we were able to make while in Fairbanks will be invaluable in future research on the history of our engine and the Wild Goose Railroad. We ran into Alan Armbruster at breakfast at Mikie-D’s early on… he spotted the “557” cap I was wearing and is a fan and contributor to Pat’s Project… from that hour long conversation came introductions to four more rail enthusiasts including Joanie Skilbred who just happened to be on the Board of Directors at the Tanana RR Museum. After a short phone conversation with Joanie we met up with her at the Museum that evening for a couple of hours.

What a great little Museum… it is within and area known as Pioneer Park which contains many original Fairbanks log cabins and a huge collection of historical artifacts, including a paddle-wheel steamer which navigated the Tanana River. Joanie was kind enough to take us to see the Climax Flatcar Trucks which had been retrieved from Council, AK by some of their volunteers 20 years ago…. An awesome sight, just amazing seeing them and being able to photograph them… Thanks Joanie and the rest of the Tanana crew.

Over the next couple of days we were able to meet up again with Alan and the Model RR group at their large display located at the Alaska RR Depot in Fairbanks where they open for the passengers on the departing train to Anchorage…. met with “Shorty” Wilbur and his collection… Willy Vinton and Tim Cerny at the Fountainhead Museum… what a gorgeous collection …. and spoke with several more over the phone. Angella and Fawn in the University Archives were extremely helpful even though things weren’t quite back to normal following the Covid lockdown. We wish to thank all of them for their outgoing friendship and hospitality while we were in town. From there it was back to Anchorage

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Background for 2021 Alaska Trip

Prior to our Rescue Team’s 4-day Work Session in Palmer, Alaska a year ago, in 2020, it was impossible to compile an accurate part’s list, although I had put together one based upon photographs, books and lengthy conversations with Grady Smith. It was probably 95%+ complete and accurate. Even more important, we had no way of compiling an accurate list of what parts might be missing or had been misplaced, either while Keith was still alive, or since his passing. Keith was the only one who knew where everything was and unfortunately he didn’t write it all down. Keith had parts stored in various locations… his home, his storage trailer, several storage lockers filled with boxes of goodies and a log-cabin with several storage containers located about 65 miles away from his home. Following Keith’s death, his son Erik was faced with having to move all of the Climax parts from the storage trailer and the house by pickup truck into a storage container located about 25 miles away… and all of this while still working on the North Slope in three-week stretches. Erik’s concern wasn’t to sort parts at that time, but to secure it as best he could.

When we first visited Erik to view the parts and pieces and were able to climb Inside of the Container, we were literally walking and crawling on top of a three-foot deep pile of pipes and parts. There were some boxes so heavy we couldn’t move them, let alone even get to see what was in them… We just had to get a general sense of what was there based upon our familiarization with photos and books, some of which we had with us. We took lots of photos in the 2 1/2 days we had in Alaska and covered a lot of territory. So, when we went to recover the Locomotive parts last year we had to remove virtually everything from the container in order switch the container to another trailer, since the trailer it was on for the previous six years had not been inspected, maintained or licensed in that time. It was not roadworthy to move the container to the Port.

In the process of removing all of the parts we attempted to log them in against our previously produced parts and inventory lists. Additionally, we had to spend many hours in the several storage lockers and the containers at the log cabin retrieving items we had previously seen, and combing through boxes, shelves and piles of random materials, a lot of personal items, household goods, work related items, tools, and many items accumulated by Keith over his lifetime. At this point we didn’t know what all we were even looking for… other than “Parts for our Climax”… and sometimes the parts are obscure enough to not be readily identifiable as such.

Tom V. and I arrived 5 days earlier than the rest of the Team in order to get all of the logistics in place before the rest of the guys showed up (lifts, rooms, vehicle, tools, packing, a motorhome for a lunchroom, generator, lights, wood and crates for packing). The timing worked perfectly and at the end of the 5th day we picked up everyone at the airport and the next day began four concentrated and long days of unpacking and repacking. We were aided by another dozen “Team Members”, some from Pennsylvania, some transplanted from Pennsylvania and some Alaskans, without whom we could not have accomplished what we did. Each Rescue 313 Team Member received specially prepared Tee-shirts and ball caps in recognition and appreciation of their help in our endeavor.

Through the experience of Grady Smith, Steve Niederriter and Pat Durand, at the very end of the third day, and as we were nearly finished with re-packing the container, we had been able to compile a list of about 25 parts which we were pretty sure that we did not have, and knowing that all of them had been with the Climax when Keith purchased it. All of them would fit into a wooden box no larger than 12x12x24 inches and would weigh no more than 75 lbs. The next morning we finished packing and tying down and securing everything in the Container. The Container needed to be at Lynden Transport’s yard on that day, or its shipping would be delayed a week, and we wouldn’t be there to sign for it since we were leaving that night. It was raining as we finished packing and I was in the Motorhome working with Erik, and on the phone, completing our closing paperwork for our attorneys and initiating the transfer of payments. We still needed to return all of the borrowed equipment, check out or our rooms, follow the container to Anchorage, ship some excess baggage by UPS and return vehicles before our 9:30 PM flights home. We had no time to go back and do anymore searching for parts in the storage units before heading home. That would have to happen at a later date to be worked out between Erik and us. Actually we had just enough time for the seven of us to have a wonderful dinner at Gwennie’s Restaurant on our way to Steven’s Airport… and even had an extra hour or so to just kick back at our table in their back dining room and enjoy a much deserved desert. That’s the re-hash of the Rescue.

At that point we were already planning for a return trip to Alaska in search of the parts we were still missing. As with each previous trip it would have to be scheduled around Erik’s availability. Before Covid, our plans had been to add some time after the Rescue for Tom V. and I to do some more research at the University Archives in Fairbanks, to visit the Tanana RR Museum in Fairbanks in order to view and photograph some Climax artifacts which they have. We also had planned to go to Nome and Council to do video interviews with people we had met there the previous year who had connections to our Climax. All of this effort was for adding historical information and footage for our upcoming Documentary about Climax A-313 and the Wild Goose RR.

Included in this part of the journey was some time to get out to Council and Ophir for a couple of days, where A-313 plied its 8 miles of rail over 100 years ago. We wanted to see the terrain and experience the geography and desolation of the area which attracted 20,000 miners to travel 60 miles up-stream from the Bering Sea in search of their fortune in 1898… and at that time, 75 miles to the west, Nome’s population was only about 250, and mostly Alaskan Natives. Because of Covid, this part of our trip had to be postponed in 2020. So, along with finding some important parts which we would need to finish the assembly of our Locomotive, there were other equally important reasons for our future return to Alaska… The Winter of 2020-2021, that Spring and early Summer were spent trying to put this trip together… It proved to be more difficult than all of the planning which has gone into our first three trips all together. More dreams to come.

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A Note from our Documentarian

Well I left these two in Alaska. My job was to document only part of the trip. This was in Nome and Council.

We interviewed, photographed, filmed, explored, picked on each other, and they even shared a bed!

Carl and Norm are doing amazing things in Alaska for the history of Corry, Pa. They have worked hard, skipped meals, hiked, visited, and figured out things no one knew. True discovery.

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Alaska Trip 2021

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.

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July, 2021 Visitors

The Summer is still moving way too fast. Bill Simonton continues working on the frame drawings.

In the past month we have had several more visitors. On July 10th Robert and Carol Murdock stopped by. They were up in Corry from down in Virginia. Carol is a GGGranddaughter of Charles Darwin Scott and they were in town to see our Climax A-313 project as well as to check out the Class B, Sn. 1681 at the local Museum and paying respects at Scott’s gravesite at the cemetery in Spartansburg. It was good meeting them and they left us with a very nice donation.

On the 15th Bob Casler, the son of Walt Casler, the premier authority on the Climax Locomotive (1905-1997), paid us a visit for a couple of hours to take a look at Project A-313. Bob and Elaine are in the process of moving west and out of the ice-belt and brought by a few items to donate to Corry RAILS. It was good seeing Bob again and a big thank you for the nice donations.

Yesterday, on the 20th, we had a surprise guest Elaine Bens came by for a couple of hours. Elaine’s family is originally from the Western New York area and she was here visiting her Brother Phil from up in Gerry, NY. Currently, Elaine is on vacation from Roaring Camp in Felton, California… near Santa Cruz…. where she is Director of Operations for the railroad based theme park located in the coastal redwoods. Check them out at www.roaringcamp.com . Roaring Camp is back open and operating following the Covid shut downs and feature their Heisler “Sonora” and their Shay “Dixiana”, along with some other locomotives. They also have a Climax B which was purchased back in 1972 from Carroll Park & Western Railway in Bloomsburg, PA where it ran in the Carroll Park theme park. originally Sn. 1692 ran in West Virginia at the Elk River Coal & Lumber Co… then the Clinchfield Coal Co. until 1958. The engine was partially disassembled to convert it to 36″ gauge back in the ’70s and is still apart… although a new non-profit has recently been formed to resurrect the restoration efforts. Arrangements were made for her to be able to visit the Corry Historical Society and view Climax 1681 also a Class B engine. It was nice meeting Elaine.

Things are getting finalized for a return trip to Alaska to do some more research on A-313… search for some more parts and to work on our interviews and “B” roll for our future documentary. More on that later.

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June 2021 Work and Visitors

This Summer is moving along way too fast for me. Everyone is busy with postponed activities from the “2020 Covid Year”, so it is difficult scheduling some of our initial baby-steps in moving the A-313 Project forward… but, yet, some of those steps are beginning to take place.

Over this last month, following our successful Open-House “MAY’n” Event, a couple of key steps have taken place. First and foremost, after moving all of the equipment and parts away from one of the walls in our building, the folks from RIDG-U-RAK in North East, PA showed up with a wonderful donation of new racking for our Climax A-313 Project and future endeavors…. a HUGE THANKYOU to “Mr. P” and the RIDG-U-RAK family for their contribution to our project, and their belief in our mission…Thank You!!!.

Another local business has donated a triple-mast Forklift which is now in the mechanic’s shop having some rebuild work and repairs done to it before it moves to its new home at the Corry RAILS Restoration Shop.

Yet another local family has donated a trailer to us which is now getting new decking installed on it. The trailer will come in handy for moving some of the parts around, especially the Boiler, when the time comes.

Last week, one of our Team members, Bill Simonton, made the trek to Corry from his home in Virginia to begin working on CAD drawings of the Main Frame components and to help research and reverse engineer the “How’s and Why’s” of the original build of Climax A-313 back in 1902. Very little exists today as to original engineering for these little engines, so it is important and up to us to figure it out… What was the thought process? What steps were Standard… and which were Optional, or Modifications to Standard? Why did they do it this way and not that way? Things that are pretty rudimentary and look so simple, often times are not. It is yet another learning process.

Once the Frame drawings are done we will have the foundation to build on… and, over time everything else will then begin to fall into place. I met Bill several years ago when we were both members of and volunteering with the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association (MSR&LHA) on their 14 year rebuild project of the Climax No.9 (Shop Number 1551), a 70ton Class C locomotive, at Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, West “By God” Virginia. Not only did Bill assist with all of the manual labor going into the project, but he took it upon himself to work on, create and produce, a beautiful set of Plan, Elevation and 3-D CAD drawings of the C-1551. We are happy to have Bill on the Team. In the near future we will have Prints of those drawings of the Climax C-1551 for sale, and at some point we will also have similar Prints of our A-313 to sell as well.

This week we had a visitor from Alaska join us for a day or two… Gene Augustine was in town… one of our Alaska Rescue Team members, and long-time volunteer at our Sister Restoration Group, the “557 Restoration Company” in Wasilla, AK. Gene helped us for several days when we were in Alaska last Fall with the repacking of the A-313. A native of Pennsylvania, Gene is originally from Natrona Heights, PA, just north of Pittsburgh. A Biologist by trade, he ended up in Alaska. Gene was back in the area for a surprise 50th Anniversary party for his sister and took the opportunity to come to Corry for a couple of days to catch up on RR stuff with Tom V. and myself, checking out the progress on A-313 and our Shop and visiting the Climax B-1681 in the Corry Museum, as well as visiting with a local college classmate of his, Dr. Karl Streilein. That’s it for right now…. toot-toot… backing out of the station. Carl W.

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We’ve Unloaded the Container

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.

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First Alaska Rescue Trip Video

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.

https://www.facebook.com/100057360823646/videos/471065984070309

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10-11-2020 The A313 is Almost Home!

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