Sunday, June 8, 2008

Five, Fifteen, Twenty-Five Years Ago

1983: We were living in Ithaca, N.Y. but paid a visit to Illinois around the time of Frank's first birthday. I did a number of minor touch-up jobs on the 309. On one of these days, I was helped by my father. I also installed a new section of tongue and groove siding on the 321; for many years there were large gaps due to the deterioration that had occurred during the 1964-1976 period, as shown here. Ugly, wasn't it?

1993: Most of the interior restoration on the 309 was completed; the last piece of mahogany molding was installed in June. We started cleaning up and checking the 309 and 321, in preparation for moving them to the newly-constructed Barn 7 from the hideous darkness of Barn 2. Working in Barn 2 was like being in a dungeon. There were a few overhead lights that did little good, and the roof leaked.

2003: The 308 and 309 began running in revenue service on a regular basis for the first time. Work continued on the interior of the 308; much of this was being done by Jack Biesterfeld on weekdays. To the right we see one of the first revenue runs, with Steve Jirsa as motorman.

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