EDWR general manager Keith Berry gets ready to step into the red zone to couple the flatcar to the El Dorado Western Railroad No. 1 for the first time.
The Plymouth and flatcar on the tracks beside Oriental Street in the historic town of El Dorado.
Volunteers unload rocks from the push car into the gully. The crew laid a 10-foot line of rocks in the gully. The rocks will prevent rushing water from cutting into the rail bed during heavy rain storms. Bill Wilde, Alex Wilde, Hank Stiles, Keith Berry and Jacob Karoly unloaded the push car in about 15 minutes. 
Alex Wilde throws a large rock into the trench. Around four or five carloads of rock were hauled from the Tunnel No. 1 cut to the washout site. The project site is located about one-half mile west of the cut.
Ed Cunha catches a cantaloupe-sized rock. While it appears that Ben Cunha propelled the rock at his father with the flat-head shovel, Keith Berry actually tossed the rock at Ed from the left of the camera.
Alex Wilde and Hank Stiles rolled a very large rock from the side of the push car down into the trench.
Crew make up changed each time a new load of rocks or fill dirt was brought down the rails to the washout point. The last crew of the day consisted of, left to right, Hank Stiles, Keith Berry, Ben Cunha, Ed Cuhna, Alex Wilde, Bill Wilde and Bill Bellas. Photographer Steven Karoly documented the project.
Volunteers from two railways joined forces today to clear rocks and improve water drainage in the Tunnel No. 1 cut on the Southern Pacific Placerville Branch rail line. The El Dorado Western Railway and Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association met just after 10 a.m. at the cut, which is visible from eastbound U.S. 50 at the Red Hawk Parkway exit.
Keith leads the crew in a safety brief at Hagen's crossing on the north end of Oriental Road.
Most of the morning the crew removed down brush in the area between the Oriental Road and Blanchard Road grade crossings. Keith transported the crew one-quarter mile to the east to the spot where brush was at its heaviest.
Volunteers tie off a load of brush on the Southern Pacific push car. The crew ferried about 10 loads of brush throughout the day to a staging point near the old depot site.
Billy Bellas of Cameron Park operates the speeder on the return trip. The railway uses these work days to train all volunteers how to operated its equipment.
Keith guides the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe No. 4 speeder down the track on the last run of the day.
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.
Conductor Eric Olds of Folsom, punches a passenger's ticket on an afternoon trolley run on Saturday. Eric is a member of the Folsom, El Dorado & Sacramento Historical Railroad Association. He frequently operates their Skagit No. 30 speeder as the motorman.
The FEDS Skagit Speeder No. 30 is ready to offer rides to the public Saturday and Sunday. Built around 1939, Weyerhauser Timber Co. used the speeder to haul track materials and work crews on its 26-mile logging line in Vail, Wash. Two Fairmont speeders (Models A-4 and A-6) are spotted behind the Skagit.
The motorman's station stands empty as the sun sets over Folsom. The trolley was built in 1913 by the American Car Co. PG&E ran it on the Sacramento City Lines until 1934, when it was retired. The car is currently owned and operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit Authority.
The Railroad Education and Preservation Society, with support from the Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association, present the Folsom Historic Railroad and Transportation Festival on September 18 and 19, 2010 in Folsom.
The crew encountered its first obstacle about one-quarter mile short of the Blanchard Drive grade crossing.
In order to cut the larger branches, Marcus Ferrill climbed inside the forest of branches. As a Naval Reserve hospital corpsman who served with the United States Marine Corps on active duty, Marcus volunteers with the FEDSHRA when he's not on reserve duty.
It took the crew about forty minutes to clear the tree from the right-of-way. From the left, Ray Retalick, Dennis Taylor, Keith Berry, Eric Olds and Marcus Ferrill raise their chainsaws in victory.
Keith Berry drives a hi-railer pick-up truck across Mother Lode Drive as two members of the Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association flag the grade crossing. The crew from the FEDSHRA cut brush on the eastern end of the Southern Pacific Placerville Branch the last two Saturdays.
Thanks to Ethan Doty, Spencer Doty, Keith Berry, Philip Rose, and new [FEDS] member Steven Karoly for joining me out on the line this past Saturday to continue clearing the brush in El Dorado County.
Keith cuts high branches on the right-of-way with an electric pole saw. He is standing on a hi-rail truck owned by the FEDSHRA. This photo was taken about one-quarter mile east of the Davidson Rd. grade crossing.
FEDSHRA member Eric Olds clears brush at ground level with an electric pole saw. Each truck had a small generator to power the saws.
The brush cutting crew breaks for lunch on the Slate Creek trestle. The crew consists of, from left to right, Keith Berry, Steven Karoly, Philip Rose (sitting), Spencer Doty and Ethan Doty. Crew leader Eric Olds took the photograph.
The crew takes a break late-afternoon break at the cascades of Slate Creek, between the Greenstone Rd. and Davidson Dr. grade crossings. The rock retaining wall in the background (on either side of Keith's head) possibly dates back to the placer mining days of the California Gold Rush.
