Dear Pioneer,
When we started exchanging letters, they told me it would be something for me to look forward to during downtime and while I was in the shop. But with all the laughing, I’m beginning to think they get more out of it than we do!
I kid, of course. If I didn’t have your letters, I wouldn’t get the chance to hear about things like your Norwegian visitors and their boat. Our visitors are all mostly local, so we don’t get international visitors – or ambassador naval vessels – out here. It’s exciting to hear about how far the celebrations for the bicentennial have carried. All the way across the ocean, it seems!
My letter writer had to explain to me and my train (a blind spot in their worldliness for once!) what a tri-masted sailing ship was and why one would be visiting Chicago. She said that the same way people love and want to learn to drive old engines, there are people who love and want to learn how to sail old ships. Chrisitian Radich is just the maritime version of those of us at the IRM, in a way. Only he gets to take his crew across the Atlantic to visit your museum and your boat!
It might still look like July around here, but it is in fact September, which means we celebrated Members Day this month. It’s my second in a row and third time overall so I’m getting to be, as they say around here, an “old hand” at this. Since I am such an expert now, I figure I can tell you everything I’ve noticed so far about our big year-end event.
We call it Members Day, but it’s more like a Members Weekend since it usually runs two days – one for electric operations, and one for steam. Each department is in charge of its own itinerary for the day. You might notice there isn’t a day for diesel or gas electrics. Well, the steam department and their most generous engines let us operate alongside them on their day, which we’re very grateful for!
On steam (and diesel) day, we had a similar lineup to last year with Tuskegee and Frisco taking the lead in the morning and me and my train doing trips throughout the afternoon. We did have one new addition to the roster, though it was somewhat accidental.
Pullman 1792 (they call her D.D.’s Delight) is a gas-electric switcher who works around the property sorting track materials and moving cars around for better viewing. She’s as historic as the rest of us, but small and not particularly accustomed to being fawned over by visitors. She’s happier doing work than sitting around being admired, in other words.
Well, the weekend before Members Day, D.D. had derailed and resisted traditional manpowered efforts at being set right. The guys knew our big crane, C&WI 1900, would be out for Members Day and figured he’d be able to sort her out and that it would make a fun viewing experience for our visitors. Not only were they right – a big crowd gathered at the end of the line to see Tuskegee pull 1900 to the rescue site – but then stayed to watch as D.D. hurried back down the line to the yard. A museum in motion, indeed!
Electric Day was not quite as eventful as all that, but Green Hornet made her debut as the belle of the ball and was quite popular with guests, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Since she’s been operational, I’ve overheard visitors talking about her, and they love her stories about her service life in Chicago and how it compares to here.
Having my own window into the exciting life of a city engine, I can’t say I blame them.
Your friend,
Pilot