Labor Day at Night

Here's just a part of what you were missing on Saturday of this year's Labor Day celebration.  Of course, if you can show up on Sunday or Monday, there will be even more.

The open car was in service all day, a sure-fire crowd pleaser:

And the LGB group had a large layout on display:

Both steam locomotives were in operation:

And of course there were lots of photographers about.  I always like to take pictures of other people taking pictures of trains:

During the day, the North Shore cars were in operation:

I had some time to stop over at the Model Railroad building, which was busy as usual.  I should point out that they have lots of trains and equipment for sale, as well as books:

And I was struck by this model of the 308 that was recently donated:

I guess some people are more easily amused than others.

Anyway, Frank and I were on the night shift, so in the afternoon we had some time to work on the 18 a little.  I cleaned up the interior a little:

While Frank touched up the grey paint:

Over on the next track, Zach and Norm (under car, not shown) were working on diagnosing a problem with the Electroliner's electrical system....

with the aid of nice big circuit diagram.  I gotta get a copy of this.

Finally, it was time to bring out the CA&E wood cars for their evening runs.  We decided to switch the order to put the 36 at the east end, so the "solarium" end is at the front of the train:

And you can watch the steam trains go by:

Here's the crew: conductor Jim Lewnard, motorman Frank, and me:

And the IT 101 was also in operation on the night shift:

During actual night operations I was too busy to get many pictures, but everything worked out well. The lanterns stayed lit and didn't set anything on fire, so what more could you want???

Wait, I have the answer!   Member's Day, aka Museum Showcase Weekend!

Frank adds...

I didn't take nearly as many photos, but I'll echo that it was a terrific day with great weather and a good time was had by all. As shown previously, I ended up with enough time in the afternoon to put some more grey paint on the 18.

I finished up a three window-wide panel on the left side and the panel between the doors on the right side, meaning the entire car below the belt rail - other than the doors themselves, which need some work - now has fresh grey paint. I also touched up a few spots on the letterboard where roof paint had dripped under the masking tape; the letterboard will need to be heat-stripped and properly repainted one of these days, but this makes the car look neater in the meantime.

And just a couple of photos during the afternoon: the 319 on the ladder track, and the "Brookins Special" of the 319 and 36 on the tail track.

I didn't get a photo of it, but the RTA diesel bus was circling the property for much of the afternoon. The bus guys got it running and Steven was driving it in his official first day of public operations at IRM. Congrats!