358 Update – 12/15/2019

2019 saw some very positive steps forward for 358, with new batteries on board, many parts collected, we are at a point where things will really click together to get the old girl back on the road.  

I can not even begin to tell you how many eyes are watching us and this project to get an original Nickel Plate Road SD9 back into its original colors out the door and running.  We are at a place in time where demand for this locomotive is high, and we haven’t even started the prime mover yet. We have offers to be literally in 3 places at once in 2020, the biggest of them all is the NKPHTS convention in Cincinnati, September 24 through 26 (this means we need to be wearing a fresh pin striped suit of black and gold). 

We go into the shop on January 2, 2020 and our goal is to have 358 completely done by Open House in August, we have just 32 Saturdays, and 32 Sundays to get it done.  If you include Fridays, that’s another 32 days. 96 possible days to work on 358. If those days are 8 hour days, for a “man” that’s 768 hours of work. Multiply that by the number of volunteers we can get, and our work rate goes nuts!  

We need everyone now to really step up, from sanding, scraping paint, to running electrical wiring, to laying flooring in the cab….it’s literally all hands on deck for the next 8 months.  

I’ll have a list of tasks that need completed posted in the shop, and I’ll send it out on a separate email here as well.   I’ll have them broken down into easy / medium / skilled, you pick what you’re comfortable with and we’ll get you the tools you need to get things done.  

This is the year, it’s time for the old girl to rumble back to life, and we need every hand available to make it happen.    

Any questions, thoughts or ideas, my door is always open, call or email me whatever is convenient.   

Thank you.