Inland Empire Chapter 2008 Report

At our January banquet, after a short business meeting, the speaker, John Howell, the President and General Manager of the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad (EWGrr) told us his history at the Illinois RR Museum. He continued by sharing his hopes for improving the 108-mile state owned EWGRR and why they have upgraded to SD-45 diesel locomotives. This is the same railroad that goes by our property just west of Readan, WA. The switch connecting us to that railroad was finally installed in July. The Chief Engineer followed with movies of Southern Railway steam operations where he worked in the 1970’s with the crew of steam engine #4501.

We participated in the Spokane February Train Swap Meet and had a successful $200 in sales.

A good part of January through March was spent at the Spokane Fairgrounds working on the engine, clutch, chains and hydraulics of our Gerlinger forklift. We also made new wood parts for the rebuild of our British Rail composite container.

March found us at the Pullman, WA, Swap Meet which brought in another $160. Also in March, our President, Bill Gradel, died unexpectedly. His was a tremendous asset to the organization and will be greatly missed. We had a good turnout for his funeral.

We suffered an equipment loss in April; a D6 Caterpillar bulldozer reserved for us was stolen and has not been recovered.

Readan High School’s football team pitched in to help us re-position ties for a planned switch in May. Their strong backs (no pun intended) were certainly helpful.

The big event in June was an Open House at the Spokane Fairgrounds. It was a nice day and drew a good crowd. Admission was by the carload and included unlimited rides on our 2-ft gauge train and trips through the museum train. Our store in the depot was also very busy.

July brought the long-awaited installation of the switch in the EWGrr line to provide access to our Readan property. It was a two and a half day project with many of our members participating with lots of help and tools from the railroad’s crew. The new switch had been completely assembled, spiked to ties and positioned next to the main track. Installation involved cutting the main track, removing the ties, removing the ballast, sliding the new switch in place, connecting it to the main track, adding more ballast and leveling it. It was hard work but it went well. Some members also worked to provide lunch for the crew. Work on extending the siding, installing a second switch and preparing to cross a county road lasted through October.

In September, we operated for ten days during the annual Spokane Interstate Fair. The weather was good every day, we had a great hard-working crew, and we made a record amount of money between ticket sales and store receipts.

In October, the group sponsored the annual Spokane Train Show. We had a best-ever number of table sales, a good public turn out and five layouts on display. The set-up and teardown was accomplished quickly thanks to an energetic crew. All in all, it was a successful day.

In November, we moved equipment from Reardan back to the shop at the Fairgrounds for some needed maintenance. It is a good thing that was accomplished early because December brought an all-time record snowfall for one month, 61 inches, which brought everything to a halt.

At our December meeting, all officers were re-elected, President John Simanton, Vice President Dale Swant, Secretary/Treasurer Wayne Shaw, Historian Gene Hawk, National Director Lee Tillotson and Newsletter Editor Dale Swant.

Lee Tillotson and Gene Hawk continued to be the lead workers in our group. The other members who contributed 40 hours or more in 2008 outside of the Fair include Bob Boltz, Jennell Branson, Bruce Butler, Scott Dowler, Jerry Fey, Tom Heckler, Al Hinkel, Terry Hoagaboom, Bruce Juneau, Mike and Donna McMackin, Wayne Shaw, John Simanton, Dale Swant and Bill and Verna Wagner.

2008 was a good year. The switch installation was a major step forward in our moving plans. The Spokane Fairgrounds still wants us to leave. That is a continuing slow process.

Submitted by Lee Tillotson, National Director and Jerry Fey, Librarian