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MRH Author 5,534 posts Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,534 posts
Michael Tondee

That the San Juan Central is going to end up as part of a museum display. It was donated to the NMRA and they are planning to use it as part of a display at the California State Railroad Museum. MR is also donating money for a display case to be built.  I usually could care less about the NMRA and there have recently been negative threads here about MR  that I have participted in but I had to stop and give them both a round of applause.  Wonderful to know that this piece of model railroading history will survive. Now if only Linn Westcott had been successful in saving one of the few undamaged pieces of the G&D, how great would that have been?

Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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joef MRH Founder 17,467 posts
joef

Agreed

Agreed, it is nice to see some of the hobby's history being preserved.

Regarding the Gorre & Daphetid, Steve Prevette of the Pasco WA area has some G&D roadbed that he has preserved, complete with ballast and ties. He got it because he was stationed in the Monterey area and he went to see the G&D one weekend, only to arrive and see construction contractors gutting the basement in preparation for renovating it after the fire damage. Steve did not know John had passed away or that the G&D had largely been destroyed by fire and a partial floor collapse.

Off to one side was a pile of G&D debris - Steve asked if he could take some of it, and the guys said "be our guest" since it was all headed for the garbage landfill anyway.

Wow, what an end to a marvelous model railroad. It felt very wierd to hold a piece of the actual G&D in my hand and to know this was probably about all that was left of this once famous layout's physical plant.

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

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Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,534 posts
Michael Tondee

French Gulch

I remember a passage from Linn Westcott's book on the G&D about how he and someone else had spent hours sweating and sawing to try and get a relatively undamaged section of French Gulch out only to see it crumble into pieces as they pulled it from the wall. No telling where the debris Steve got came from...maybe even French Gulch.

Do I understand correctly that the NMRA has a couple of pieces of Irv Schultz's St. Clair Northern as well?

Michael

 

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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