Tornado hits Museum's Trailers

Actually, it wasn't exactly a tornado, but it sure looks like one has hit. On Saturday, Todd and Paul Chicoine spent the day getting another trailer ready to be removed from the property. One of the main goals this year has been to clean up the property. We have accomplished quite a lot by getting rid of the trailers in the parking lot, the scrap metal pile inside the loop, the junk stored underneath the train shed, and moving the three Connecticut Company cars out of the Hartman's Siding Lay Up track. In addition, we cleaned up the gardens in front of the Visitor Center and installed a fence between the parking lot and front lawn. Paul and Todd emptied out the trailer of the materials stored in it. Everything inside the trailer was moved to the storage room off of the gift shop. Then, with the help of the front end loader, the trailer was crushed. The trailer should be removed from the property by next weekend.

Xian Clere used the afternoon to continue to clean out the Bangor & Aroostook Caboose. He brought a vacuum out to the caboose to clean the floor and cushions. We are still looking for donations to help offset the cost of moving the caboose and the work that the caboose needs.

Rails to the Darkside has progressed much over the weekend. The set up of the main hall is almost completed with all of the curtains in place and the lighting set up. The Graveyard posts have been set up with the gravestones, lighting, and fencing. We gained a couple of new cast members at the Rails to the Darkside Casting Call, however, we are still looking for more cast. A rehearsal is scheduled for Thursday night. If you are interested in helping out for Rails to the Darkside, contact office@ceraweb.org.

Up in the shop, John Pelletier and Pat McCann began setting up the storage pod. The storage pod will be used to store paints, oils, and other flammable materials so they are not stored in the car shop. Boston Elevated 5645 has been released from the shop. While in the shop, whistles were installed on the car, door motors were repaired, and missing windows were replaced. Springfield Terminal 16 was moved up to the shop to have windows repaired and the motor support bearings repacked.