May 6, 2020
Greetings steamers,
I wanted to reach out to all of our members and support network. I hope all are well and have not been afflicted by this ornery virus.
As of yesterday, at 12:00 p.m. and after approximately two and a half years of truck repair work, $10,000+ in transit costs from Ohio, transfers and problems in Chicago from NS to BNSF, finding an insurance company for liability with BNSF being the prime additional insured, I can say our future tool car is now safely enclosed at our restoration site.
Many thanks go out to Rich Wessler from BNSF who kept a watchful eye on the car as it traveled from Chicago to Albuquerque. Also to the Albuquerque crew who handled the move from the Albuquerque yard to our site.
Thank you to all those 2926 volunteers who participated in receiving, securing and filming the arrival of the car while maintaining COVID-19 protocols as best they could.
No news as of yet for officially reopening our site and future steam-ups. Hopefully we can get something done by the end of the month of May. Once we do go back to the site we will be working on our summer hours for the volunteers which is 7:30 start time. Any General Meetings will be held at 8:00.
Until then . . .
Keep on Steamin’,
Rick Kirby
CMO, NMSL&RHS