Corry R.A.I.L.S.

Day No. 2 of Rescue 313 began this morning with a breakfast meeting with Donnie & Tonya Rosie, Erik Christenson, Tom and myself just to bring Donnie and Tonya up to speed on what the plans for the day were. Overcast but not raining here in Palmer looked to be the order of the day, at least here in Palmer. Weather can change quickly here as we are approaching the changing of the Seasons, and what you have here may be totally different 5 to 10 miles away as we are in a long valley with mountains to the East which can trap a weather system for extended periods.

Soon we were off… splitting up today… Tom went with Donnie and Tonya to capture some shots in towards Anchorage and along the AKRR tracks heading to the Port of Whittier. Once they got in towards Anchorage, and all down the Turnagain Arm to Whittier, they had off and on rain for most of the day. In talking with Tom this evening I know they saw some very unique sites and I am sure got some footage for use in our future video and stories.

As for me, I was off with Erik in his truck headed a little over an hour southwest to a location we had visited in 2018… a little cabin where Keith Christenson, Erik’s dad, had seemingly planned to eventually move the Climax and build a home site. How do we know that? you ask… well Keith had already laid some Railroad track at 36″ apart to start placing the trucks on. It is a pretty remote location and when we had been there two years ago we did find some parts for A-313 in a container. Over the last year Erik has been cleaning up the site as time and weather allow and had come across what he suspected to be a small pallet of wood from the Climax, so we were off to check it out.

When we arrived Erik pointed me toward the pallet… there was some pieces that definitely looked like the could have some from A-313… looked to be oak and mostly broken or already rotted pieces, far worse that what is in the Intermodal, and certainly even worse from having been stored in the elements for at least another six years… but, in looking at each piece, there were some unique angled cuts, grooves and recesses which we may learn something from as we sort out the puzzle once she is home.

I still wasn’t sure if what I was looking at was from the Climax… and then I moved one of the last pieces and there was a piece of tin which I recognized from a photo shared with me by Richard Dunn which Rich had taken many years ago when he had visited Keith to view and research the A-313, about the time that he, Dennis Thompson and Steve Hauff were working on the big “Climax” book published in 2001 I believe. This piece of tin was from the floor cut to wrap around the rear of the Firebox… and when I lifted that up, underneath was the remnants of a removable floor panel from the Engineers side of the engine (left in the case of a Climax “A”) with a slot where the brace for the Reverser Quadrant goes to the base of the engine. As badly as many of these pieces looked, I just knew there were some stories to be told here and we loaded them up… some just crumbling in our hands. Also at the cabin was a wadded up bunch of tin roofing from when Keith stripped it off of the T&G roof slats. A few other misc. parts were located in the container as well.

A neighbor stopped by while we were strapping the load down, after seeing the gate to the property open… just to check things out… and some quite interesting conversation ensued for a few minutes before we were on our way back to towards Palmer and the Intermodal site. We did run into a little bit of drizzle on this trip, but not too bad.

By the time we got everything unloaded into another trailer, a curtain-van which we will be using over the next few days, it was after 4PM…. and we were off to one of the storage lockers to check out some of the parts we knew were there… checked some of them out and then Erik dropped me off back at the Eagle Hotel, since he had a 6 o’clock appointment. Tom had called to touch base and they were near Anchorage and headed to pick up the motor home to drop by the work-site on their way back to Palmer.

When Tom arrived we realized that neither of us had had anything to eat since breakfast, so time for a meal… and even some ice-cream to top off the day. Back in our room we discussed some of tomorrow’s activities and made a few phone calls to make sure everyone was on the same page…. turned on the TV… and guess what was on?… the neck-bomber story from Erie years ago…

Off until tomorrow… more organizing of trailers at the jobsite… a trip to the store to pick up some supplies… another trip to Wasilla to pick up some more material, and a few other details…. maybe even get into the other storage areas to begin moving some of the parts which were stored off-site.

On schedule so far, so stay tuned for Day No. 3.

Carl W

The advance team made their way to Palmer yesterday. Carl shared an update on progress from Rescue Day 1 on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, you can see continuing updates there. But, since not everyone can follow the progress there, those updates will be shared here as well.

Day 1 on the ground in Alaska for the Advanced Team of our Climax A-313 Project is done… with good progress made, and tomorrow promises more.

We left Anchorage this morning in a drizzling rain and headed up the Glenn Highway, past Eagle River and the Knick River and on into Palmer. As we neared Palmer the rain let up and the rest of the day was cool and overcast, the fog hanging in the valleys of the nearby mountains.

Since the Mayor of Anchorage has closed down all bars and restaurants we were ready for some breakfast by the time we got to Palmer. We were pleasantly surprised that the restaurant attached to the Eagle Hotel was under new management and open this year ( it wasn’t when we were here in 2018), and what a breakfast… OMG… we were stuffed!!!

By the time we were done Erik, our seller, showed up and we began discussions about how we were going to proceed over the next few days. From there, Tom, Erik and I headed out to the Container, not far from Palmer, to survey how the container looked and to check out a couple of other trailers we are going to be using for our repacking… We had about 20 older trailers onsite to look at and measure as candidates for our use. Then we needed to decide where at the location we were going to set up the trailers so that everything would work well when we begin the main work on Friday.

Once we had it fairly well laid out, Erik left to round up some additional equipment we were going to need and Tom and I headed out to Wasilla, about 30 minutes away, to catch up with our good friend Pat Durand at the 557 Project. Pat has offered to lend us tools, cords and some lumber that we are going to need to get our job done. Pat had a 5-man crew of volunteers working at the shop, beginning to dry-fit some of the brake actuation gear today… what a beautiful project and a super great bunch of guys… good to see them again. As we were finishing looking over some of the stuff we would need, and loading some of the tools into our van, my phone alert sounded and there was a message from Donnie Rosie, our videographer on the trip, saying that he and his wife/assistant Tonya had landed at Anchorage. We will go back to the 557 shop in the next couple of days to pickup some of the larger items.

Heading back to Palmer we were able to get checked into our hotel room/”Base of Operations” for the eight days. No sooner had we gotten our bags to the room and unpacked than the phone rang and it was former Corryite Rusty Pochatko, who works in management at the Alaska RR main shops in Anchorage. Rusty also lives here in Palmer and had just gotten home from work… so we met up with him for a beer and filled him in on how our plans were coming together. Rusty also will be helping out on some of our repacking and providing assistance on equipment and supplies.

As Rusty was heading home, Tom’s stomach was growling, so dinner was in order… again, the restaurant at the hotel, The Sunrise Grill, did not disappoint.

Tomorrow will be eventful as we split up for most of the day… After we finish Breakfast with Donnie and Tonya they are going to be heading into the Anchorage, along with Tom, to shoot some footage in several locations… shots we will be using in our Documentary, and on their way back to Palmer Tom will pick up the Motorhome which Ray Foster, one of my Seabee friends, is providing for our use on the jobsite for bathroom facilities, lunch breaks and the generator. Erik and I will be heading out to retrieve some material and parts stored about 80 miles away, near Big Lake.

That’s about it from here tonight… check back for the next installment of our adventures.

Carl W – Corry RAILS

The advance team has arrived in Alaska and spent the night in a motor home in Anchorage. The motor home has been provided to them by friends there and will go to Palmer to serve as a base during the rescue. They will be in Palmer today and, I am sure, will be anxious to get their eyes on the prize. Safe travels and good luck, guys!

….we’re goin’ north, the rush is on….

The advance team will be heading off tomorrow (August 23) to go to Alaska to bring back our Climax A-313. They will be joined in Alaska by several volunteers and knowledgeable folks who will assist in the process of packing up our engine for travel.

Later in the week, others will become involved, including our videographer and documentarian who will make sure to capture the work as it progresses. He will also film the words and sentiments of families who have been a part of the life of the A-313 as it worked in the gold fields and waited for 118 years to come home to Corry.

We hope that you will want to be a part of the rescue~ the preparation, the return, the rebuilding~ in whatever way you can.

Keep up with our progress and how you can be involved by following our Facebook and website updates.

It’s happening! We are heading to Alaska to bring the A-313 Climax Locomotive home to her birthplace in Corry.

With all of the uncertainty we are facing, extra diligence in planning and preparation has been needed. Frustrations, headaches, hesitations…but more than those…determination, excitement and focus have been our companions over the last few months.

The main team will be heading to the airport (with negative COVID certification in hand) on August 23rd. Others will follow in the next days. The team includes folks with knowledge of the area and contacts in Alaska, those with expertise in rebuilding Climax locomotives and a documentarian to gather video of the experience. Willing, supportive volunteers are waiting in Alaska to carefully and respectfully unpack, inventory, document and repack the A-313 for travel by ocean and roadway.

Watch the website and Facebook for continuing updates as the trip progresses. We will try to post at least daily so that you can be a part of this long-awaited preservation launch.

A gigantic THANK YOU to our current and future supporters!

If you would like to be a part of getting our A-313 back home, please consider participating in the “Buy a Mile” Campaign being conducted by the Corry Young Professionals. For a tax-deductible donation of $5/ mile you can help the A-313 make the trip from Alaska to Corry.

While we harbor in place, wait and wonder what is coming next….we are still working on the plans to get the A313 home from Alaska. We will let you in on our next move as soon as we know what it is- or better yet, when it will happen. We’re ready…and the A313 is waiting once again.

The RAILS Team met again this morning to continue planning for the summer retrieval of the A313. Obviously, things are a bit uncertain at this point, but we are looking hopefully to mid July to make the trip to Alaska to get all of the parts and pieces ready to come back home.

Additionally, we will be working with a videographer to capture our work and some interviews with folks who have played important roles in the life of our A313. We will be creating a documentary of the rescue and rebuilding as it continues.

We are fortunate to have a team of knowledgeable folks from our RAILS Team, from the Cass, WV Climax rebuild as well as from Alaska who will be assisting in preparation, packing and, once the A313 is home, with getting the engine back together and ready to roll.

Over the next few months, watch for opportunities to hear more about the plans and process. Watch for your chance to buy a mile of the A313’s trip home. And, once the engine is back in Corry, be ready to celebrate the arrival and to kick off the next chapter in the A313’s life story.

The Corry RAILS Team has been meeting and making plans for the next trip to Alaska-this time to get things packed up and ready to ship. Our trip is planned for early June and arrangements for shipping are underway. The A-313, in various containers should arrive in Corry this summer! We can’t wait to get started on rebuilding this 1902 Class A Climax Locomotive. The A-313 has been waiting a long time for this new life and we are anxious to get underway. Stay tuned- we will post updates here as we go.