Have you ever considered why parents bring their children along to volunteer functions?
My father brought my brothers and me to Saturday work days at the church building in Fresno. Michael, David and I almost always acquiesced and willingly assisted the men as they raked autumn leaves, mowed the church lawn and cleaned out the rain gutters.
On Saturday, November 7, the crew of the El Dorado Western Railway welcomed the children and grandchildren of several volunteers onto the project.
"It's exciting to see that youthful energy," said railway president
Keith Berry, "and slender bodies that can fit into tight spots."
During the session, four young volunteers prepared sections of the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10 for painting.
Doug Youngberg's grandsons worked on the rear truck while
Ed Chuna's granddaughter and my son prepared the engine and transmission compartments.
After completing the rear truck project, Doug took his grandsons inside the engine house to work on the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 Shay locomotive. Here
Breck (center) uses a die to thread one of eight eye bolts on the brake safety system while
Andy observes. There are eight brake safety chains on the Shay, each with two eye bolts. A pair of chains hold each of four massive brake beams in place in the event of a failure.
Ed helps his granddaughter clean one of the differential yokes from the rear truck to the railbus. Ed completed a major re-build of the Camino, Placervile and Lake Tahoe No. 4 track inspection car (in the background) in 1999.
My son,
Jacob, scrapes and brushes 30 years of encrusted grease off the railbus. He put his slender frame to work inside the transmission compartment. The engine and transmission were removed last spring for a complete re-build.
David Hamilton flags the Davidson Road crossing as the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe No. 4 speeder heads toward Shingle Springs. During long runs, a vapor lock in the fuel pump prevented the engine from working. The mechanics believe the problem was caused by the lack of air flow through the engine compartment when engaged in reverse. Our initial work-around was to pour cold water on the fuel pump. Later in the day Ed and Ben Cunha bypassed the fuel pump. It worked because the gasoline is gravity fed from the tank, which sets above the engine.
The speeder pulls into Shingle Springs with David at the controls while Kurt Taylor rides "shotgun." When he's not helping on the railway, you'll find Kurt in B7704 for the El Dorado County Fire Protection District, where he's a battalion chief.
The El Dorado Western Railway No. 601 Trackmobile emerges from the Tunnel No. 1 cut on the Placerville Branch. Ben watches the right-of-way for obstacles from the passenger seat. You can see the remains of the tunnel from eastbound U.S. Highway 50 at Exit 40. The Southern Pacific blew the top of the tunnel many years ago. The radiator fan on the Ford 292 V8 engine failed during the run down to Shingle Springs. 
On an morning run up to the tunnel cut, conductor Eric Olds guides the Skagit past rock debris. The FEDSHRA crew wasn't able to negotiate the cut without damaging the speeder.
"You check it again because it's easier to check than fix," said Keith Berry. Jacob has spent the morning assisting Keith to measure and cut the pieces for the battery box to the Diamond and Caldor Railbus No. 10. Once cut, Marcus Hodge will fabricate the box at his home shop.
Jacob cleans the edges on the piece of tubing for the coupler pocket. This ensures a clean surface when Wayne Thorley welds the piece in. And it gives Jacob a chance to learn how to control and use the grinder.
Keith Berry uses the heavy forklift to jack the two-ton about 18 inches off the ground.
Next, you block the forks so a hydraulic failure doesn't injure the mechanic. Here Jacob Karoly (kneeling) slides a block under one of the front forks as Bill Rodgers looks on.
Of course, someone has to crawl under the two-ton and empty the oil pan. That job fell to Keith.
