Renovation of CPLT Caboose No. 2

Over the past several months, the crew of the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation began the renovation process on the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad Caboose No. 2. Due to the poor condition of the wood structure on the caboose, it will be necessary to completely rebuild the caboose from the trucks up to the cupola. The hardware will be saved and reused where possible.

All the major pieces of the wood structure are being saved for the time being. They will be used as patterns to help the crew measure and cut timbers for the rebuilt caboose. Where possible, timbers in good condition will be used to build interior benches.

This picture shows the steel cupola frame on top of the caboose. Last Tuesday, November 6, 2012, the crew lowered the frame into the interior of the caboose. Volunteers first removed the walls and ceiling from the frame. Then they dislodged the frame from the roof of the caboose. The next step was to slide two 2x6 timbers under the frame to support it. The interior ceiling joists were next removed (one was completely rotted away on the right side).

Homer Rail steps onto the ladder after the crew positioned the cupola frame for the drop into the caboose interior.

It took five minutes to lower the cupola frame into the interior of the caboose. Two 4x4 pieces of timer were used as slides. Ron Sexton used come-a-long to pull the frame down the slice. Homer (out of the picture) and Bill Rodgers guided the frame from the roof.

Ron gives an enthusiastic thumbs up as the cupola frame comes to a rest on the inside of the caboose while Homer (standing next to Ron) and foundation president Keith Berry look on..

Bill coils a rope at the end of the work session last Tuesday. On Wednesday, the crew completely removed the caboose structure.

El Dorado Western Railroad Santa Run

Interior work on the Southern Pacific No. 1094 caboose

Crews from the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation are busy restoring the interior of the Southern Pacific No. 1094 caboose to its original condition. The current focus is to restore the interior color to the original paint scheme, a sea green green color. 

The railroad plans to use the caboose for its Santa Run on December 15, 2012.While the caboose won't be ready to run on the rails, Santa will "set up shop" in the caboose as he greets children. We will post information on the blog and on Facebook soon.


The main compartment of the caboose. The conductor's desk is located on the right side. The toilet is located in the tiny room to the left of the front door. The coal bin is located in the foreground.

The picture of the cupola shows the exposed grain of the redwood interior. The crew is currently applying primer to the interior walls and ceiling. We are evaluating how to treat the exposed wood grain.

The cupola corridor and rear door of the caboose. Several storage compartments under the cupola held the ice box, radio, generator and railroad tools.

Volunteer Steven Karoly removes the stretcher brackets from the ceiling in the caboose. The coal burning stove will be replaced with an authentic SP caboose stove in the future. Retired SP/UP conductor Davey "Doc" Wiser located the replacement stove last year. We don't know what happened to the original stove.

Anne's Caboose is located in the El Dorado County Historical Railroad Park at the town of El Dorado, California. It was build in 1940 to the railroad's C-40-3 specification for cabooses. Southern Pacific sold it to a Placerville family in 1973, where it was used an artist's studio. The family donated the caboose to the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation on Christmas Day 2010.

Ride the rails in El Dorado & Shingle Springs

Please come out to support California's newest county-run railroad. As residents and guests of El Dorado County, you have the opportunity to ride the train in 2012 and 2013. With your support, the El Dorado Western Railroad will continue to operate many years into the future.

The public is encouraged to support the county living history rail program. The railroad is giving train rides on the historic Southern Pacific Placerville Branch rail line, weather permitting, on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

We currently alternate between the El Dorado and Shingle Springs. The train operates from the El Dorado Station on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. The Shingle Springs Freight Shed will see the train on the second and fourth Sundays.

The suggested donation is $5 for adults and children nine and up. The donation for ages three to eight is $3.

Directions to El Dorado Station

To locate the train station in historic El Dorado, take Pleasant Valley Road (from the east or west) to Oriental Street. Turn north. Keep left at the Wye. Continue to the end of the road and left to the station.

Directions to Shingle Springs Freight Shed

The address is 4241 Mother Lode Dr, Shingle Springs, California, 95682. Take Highway 50 to the Ponderosa exit (Exit 37). Proceed east on Mother Lode Drive about one-half mile to the Shingle Springs train station. Watch for the caboose and diesel locomotive. The railroad tracks and station are on the south side of the freeway.

We’ll see you on the train!

Setting track guage at Red Hawk

The maintenance of way crew met in Shingle Springs yesterday for its monthly work day. We loaded tools and gauge bars on to two Fairmont A-cars. When the crew left the station at 8 a.m., the El Dorado Western Railroad No. 602 pushed the EDWR No. 603 up the hill to the job site.

With volunteer mechanic and motorman Jereme MacCormack at the controls, the crew soaked in the the last of the cool morning air on the 15-minute transit to the work site. The forecast called for 95- to 100-degree temperatures in the El Dorado County foothills. The track gang took advantage of the cooler morning hours to get the job done.

Once there, we dismounted and prepared to re-set the gauge of the 90-pound rail to standard gauge. Roadmaster Peter Shultze had previously marked three locations on the curve in the day lighted Tunnel No. 1 where the gauge had crept to 58 inches. Peter wanted to pull the outer rail back in to around 57 inches.

The seven-man track gang labored for the next four hours. We scraped the build-up of clay and dirt on to of the ties and dug trenches for the gauge bars. At two locations, pictured and 50 feet further inside the cut, two bars were used to hold the gauge. One bar was used at the third location. The crew will replace the ties at a later date.
 
The railroad is now calling this location Red Hawk since it is adjacent to Exit 40 (Red Hawk Parkway) on eastbound U.S. Highway 50. From our vantage point at the east terminus of the old tunnel, we watched a constant steam of traffic headed up the hill for the weekend. Red Hawk is the turn around point for Sunday train operations from Shingle Springs.

'This is a railroad; it's not a toy'

"This is a railroad; it's not a toy," emphasised retired train conductor Bill Schultz as he opened the segment on chapter one of the General Code of Operating Rules (or GCOR). "It's about safety and situational awareness."


Museum administrator Mary Cory, roadmaster Peter Shultze, road foreman of engines Dale Fowlar and Shultz presented the inaugural lesson to 23 volunteers of the El Dorado Western Railroad on Saturday, May 19. The recreated train station in the town of El Dorado served as the backdrop.

The two-hour training session laid the groundwork for more intense formal training to begin soon. Each volunteer employee received a binder with three important railroad documents.

Cory briefed volunteers on the museum volunteer handbook. "You are part of about 95 museum volunteers," said Cory. Volunteers donate their free time to the railroad, including some that give "almost full time hours."

The handbook gives the volunteer an overview of each function within the operation of the El Dorado County Historical Museum. The El Dorado Western Railroad falls under the museum. It's the museums major living history program.

Shutlze's presentation of the railroad track worker safety plan followed. "Whether you're a volunteer or paid staff, it all comes out the same," said Shultze. Volunteers bring "lots of energy and drive" to the railroad.

As a professional track inspector, he emphasised the need for all railway workers to learn how to safety work in an environment with heavy moving equipment.

The GCOR lays the foundation for railroad operations in the United States, said Schultz. As a retired Southern Pacific/Union Pacific train conductor, he used the GCOR daily. EDWR's GCOR is patterned after the one used by the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads.

All raiload volunteer will become familiar with the GCOR, including shop and office workers. "Most of the same safety rules apply to everyone on the property," explained Schultz.

Fowlar closed the session with an overview of the locomotive engineer training program. As a retired Southern Pacific/Union Pacific locomotive engineer, Fowlar will direct the program for selected volunteers.

Trains of the El Dorado Western Railroad run every Sunday through December. The timetable calls for 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays from El Dorado Station. We run from Shingle Springs Freight Shed on the 2nd & 4th Sundays each month. Updates to the timetable are posted on our Facebook page each Thursday and Friday.

Suggested donation is $5 for adults (age 8 and up); $3 for ages 3 to 7; and 2 and under ride free. Donations help keep the living history program of the El Dorado County Historical Railroad Park and EDWR alive.

Train rides on the El Dorado Western Railroad

Please come out to support California's newest county-run railroad. As residents and guests of El Dorado County, you have the opportunity to ride the train in 2012. With your support, the El Dorado Western Railroad will continue to operate many years into the future.



The El Dorado Western Railroad No. 602 Fairmont A4D gang car glides through California poppies near Mile Post 138. The county is enjoying a banner crop of poppies and lupins along the right-of-way this year. To enjoy the wildflowers, catch the train at the Shingle Springs Freight Shed on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.

Train rides for 2012

All El Dorado County residents and visitors are encouraged to support the county living history rail program. The railroad is giving train rides on the historic Southern Pacific Placerville Branch rail line, weather permitting, on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

We currently alternate between the El Dorado and Shingle Springs. The train operates from the El Dorado Station on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. The Shingle Springs Freight Shed will see the train on the second and fourth Sundays.

The suggested donation is $5 for adults and children nine and up. The donation for ages three to eight is $3.

Directions to El Dorado Station
To locate the train station in historic El Dorado, take Pleasant Valley Road (from the east or west) to Oriental Street. Turn north. Keep left at the Wye. Continue to the end of the road and left to the station.

Directions to Shingle Springs Freight Shed

The address is 4241 Mother Lode Dr, Shingle Springs, California, 95682. Take Highway 50 to the Ponderosa exit

(Exit 37). Proceed east on Mother Lode Drive about one-half mile to the Shingle Springs train station. Watch for the caboose and diesel locomotive. The railroad tracks and station are on the south side of the freeway.