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Labor Day Weekend 2001 was by far the coolest Labor Day weekend for quite a while. Rain earlier in the week threatened to make a mess of things, but didn’t leave the track swamped or the ground terribly muddy. It did leave the plant life refreshed as well as cooler temperatures for the human life to enjoy.
People began trickling in to the Dublin & Rio Grande RR mid-week to get a head start on the fun. By Saturday morning the track was busy with trains of all sorts, many pulling BIG loads of passengers. Ed Leatherwood, the track and the meet were written up in the local Dublin newspaper front page, no less! so there were friends from the community to haul. One woman was overheard to exclaim how much fun it was, repeatedly! Saturday evening’s meal was a wonderful Texas Barbecue, cooked by the Leatherwood Women and served at the Methodist church building. If they volunteer to cook at Ed’s scheduled meeting in October, do not pass up such a great dinner! Sunday was warmer, especially in the late afternoon. However, there was plenty to do piddling was the main work of the day. (Ed was quoted in the Dublin newspaper article as saying that an awful lot of pid-dling went on at these train meets.) Mikel Westwood had to load early, as his train had problems serious enough to make it impossible to continue running. And Ed’s FP 45, which Bruce Roosa had just delivered from a class 1 overhaul, had a problem with the front axle while running. That created the problem of getting the engine off the track and out of the way. The problem was dealt with by hoisting the engine on to another set of trucks and rolling it out of the way. Much of the talk of the weekend had to do with Mikel Westwood and Wally Trauten, both of whom have gone on low-fat diets and lost quite a bit of weight for their health. Congratulations, guys! Several people got a chance to ooh and aah over the small wool rug Barbara Westwood was finishing. It was quite beautiful a sort of embroidered effect. Ed’s track was in the best shape it’s been in years, said Gerry Stuteville. Ed attributed the good shape to the recent hard work of volunteers Phillip Bell, Eddie Leatherwood, and Jack Lucks.
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LOCO Double Ought GP 7 Mack Jack Haskins 4-4-2 Atlantic Jack Lucks 2-6-0 Mogul John Korte 2-6-0 Mogul Harry Simpson 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler Fairmount Speeder Phillip Bell SW1200 2-6-0 Mogul Wally Trauten Speeder Pedal Car Bob Sanford 2 Boxcabs Mack Experimetal Engine Center Cab
Ed Leatherwood |
Jack Lucks shows Thomas Stuteville the finer points of running a steam engine.
Wally Trauten’s pedal car was quite popular, even in the heat of the day.
Jack Haskins, Tom Stamey, and John Oglesby make up a train for Jack’s engine to pull.
The three have picked up another passenger and are headed away from the roundhouse.
After crossing the long bridge, the train begins to climb the long grade.
Pat Leatherwood pulling 11 Passengers with the rebuilt FP-45