Some of the rest of the story

The flooding so far has not been too severe, and in the distant past we've certainly seen worse.  The only real damage has been to the bottom line, since Labor Day Weekend should normally be a well-attended money-making event.  It is certainly nothing like what has happened at Mid-Continent.  But we must emphasize that the story is not over, since more rain is expected in the near future and the ground is saturated, to say nothing of all the ponding everywhere.

Anyway, as requested we'll take up where Frank left off yesterday.

First of all, just to change the subject, we have John Arroyo leaning out the front window of the cab unit, telling visitors about the Liner.

In the middle of the afternoon the weather appeared to be fairly calm, so we brought the two wood cars out for the first (and last) time this weekend, and got as far as the road.  Here they are, mirrored in the placid waters of Lake Decatur.

 Then we're faced with the need to throw switches.  I was glad I didn't have to throw 7-to-8 (in the near foreground)  but 6-to-7 in the background was enough of a challenge.

We waited around long enough for the weather to deteriorate, and decided to put the train back safely in Barn 8.   Then the two steel cars, 431 and 460, were pulled out instead.  Here is some time-lapse photography by Frank of how to throw a switch without getting your shoes soaked.  It requires a nearly incredible degree of balance and skill.

And here they are on the tail track, as the 160 is being switched out after running revenue service during the day.   We then ran a trip on the mainline.  The steel cars had to be put away early due to an electrical problem which we know how to fix, but the steam train, the Zephyr, and two L cars continued to run until about 9:30, as advertised.  There were lots of people on hand, and I'm sure many of them got good photographs.

And at about 10pm the rains started and continued most of the night, I believe. 

As of this morning, the main parking lot was flooded, the volunteer parking lot was flooded, and so on.  I checked Barns 4, 6, 7, and 8 to reassure myself that there was no real flooding there, and no danger of traction motors on our operating fleet having been flooded.  Back in 1978 the water rose from 6" to a foot above the rails in Barns 3 and 4, and most of our operating electric cars were disabled.   One of the first things we did was to pull the cars out of the barns, using the 1792, so the motors could start to dry out.  That hasn't been necessary -- yet.

I would be surprised if the Museum opens at all today, but you never know.

With all the rain, it was an opportunity to look for slow leaks in the barn roof.  Most of these leaks seem to be over the sidewalk, which is fine with me.  Asphalt doesn't rot out.  But I found one which is over the 36 at present, so I put some plastic over it, using the scaffold.  The car has been tagged "Remove plastic before moving car".  

And after that I decided to call it a day.  To be continued.

Update:  Chuck sends me a picture of three of the five visitors from WRM on Saturday.  The guys in white shirts are all IRM regulars whom you should recognize.  Of the other three, Jim Ward is on the far right.  And it's always good to see younger people getting involved!