After working as the chef at Deer Crossing Camp at Loon Lake for the summer, I'm back in town and ready to report on the happenings of the Ed Dorado Western Railway. Although I was out-of-action for most of the summer, volunteers have been busy with various projects.
My last two reports on the rail recovery project at the site of the old Diamond Springs Southern Pacific depot and yard named the volunteers who were involved. This included new father and son team, along with the son's friend and a young volunteer, as reported in my
July 16 update.
My original story of
June 9 listed the names of some eight volunteers who contributed significant physical effort toward removing un-need rail at the Missouri Flat Road site for eventual use at the proposed El Dorado County Historical Railroad Park in the Town of El Dorado.
One volunteer stands out among the dozen who have contributed to the project.
Bill Rodgers worked on the project from the beginning in early June. He probably gave more time than any other volunteer.
Even after the contractor palatalized the rail joiners and tie plates, Bill made sure that these key components for the construction of sidings and a third rail at El Dorado were secured at the county museum on Placerville Drive. As recently as last Saturday, Bill was moving rail hardware to the museum.
You quickly learn of Bill's impeccable work ethic when working side-by-side with him. With his trademark bib overalls and orange t-shirt, Bill is a master handyman who and will can do almost anything.
Mark Bruto drills one of the holes for the handrail on the rear entrance to the rail bus. Keith Berry guided Mark to make sure the hole was drilled square to the rear wall. Welder Wayne Thorley (not pictured) finished welding both handrails on Saturday.
Steve Karoly (pictured) and Keith sanded the roof to the railbus before Mark arrived. The painting and preservation team took advantage of the cool weather. With Steve taking the lead, the two completely sanded the old paint off in about two hours. The plan is to paint the roof silver while the body will be school bus yellow.
