Update by Jason Reiman

Fletch and his crew survived winter, and did not waste any time as a small group of us met this last Monday, March 21.  Sadly, Fletch was not able to join us on this day, as he was in school.  As you know, meeting during a weekday is not when we normally work on the #9, but we took this time off to be able to conduct what we dubbed a “leader meeting” or “leaders’ recon”.  Those of you with a military background are probably familiar with this concept.  After the winter season, we wanted to check the current condition of the #9, and for the most part she looked good.  A couple of the lighter tarps had partially blown off, but all in all she was intact and still hibernating well.  After we felt the #9 was looking good, we started brainstorming our first phases of 2022.  We re-affirmed our first priority of this year will be to get the loco staged for what could be her first coat of paint.  With that comes move requests, coordination with painters, volunteer sessions, and watching the weather. We left that day with a good “To-Do” list, and once we solidify some volunteer sessions, we will let you know.