Join Fletch and his crew for a mid-week volunteer session on the D&R #9! They will be getting together on Wednesday 7/12, at 10am, to continue plugging away on the #9. Please join if you can.
Category Archives: Dardanelle & Russellville #9 Status Updates
D&R #9 May Workday Update
May 20, 2023; We had a small crew this last Saturday, and the list of tasks we completed on the #9 was small, BUT, what we did accomplish laid the ground work for huge projects in the future.
During our April planning session, Fletcher’s team decided that this year we will focus our efforts on the #9’s Cab. Although we will continue to work on other areas, this will be the “Year of the Cab”. With that strategic goal set, we made our first significant moves on the cab by removing the deck plate. It will be stored and prepared for future restoration.
Next, we focused on the cab itself. Like a politician running for president, we have flip-flopped back and forth on the floorboards in the Cab. Should we replace the floorboards, or should we not replace the floorboards? We have discussed this issue almost since day 1. This would not be a simple task as the entire cab of the #9 would need to be raised to remove and replace the floorboards. On the flip side, the floorboards in the cab are in better shape than the rest of the wood on the locomotive, so should we leave them for future restoration? So, we debated this to no end, and recently came to the conclusion that we will in fact replace the floorboards.
So, after the deck plate, we started removing the many, many nuts/bolts that were holding the cab to the locomotive. This was a tedious task, that was much like an Easter Egg hunt. Where is the next bolt? Is it here, is it there? Some came off very easy, some came off with WD-40, and some had to be coerced with a Sawzall. We removed all bolts under the Fireman’s side, and all bolts on the front of the Engineer’s side. This allowed us to remove 1 of the floorboards from under the fireman’s side, before we wrapped up for the day.
Fletcher was a big help with this task and was able to squeeze in some small spaces some of us couldn’t. I also want to thank Larry Stanley for lending a hand with his tools for some of the more stubborn bolts. Also, a big thank you to Steve Pahl and Jay Slinde as usual.
Please keep an eye out for our June work session, I will post it as soon as we have picked a date.
D&R #9 Work Taking Place This Saturday!
Fletch and his crew will be working on the #9 this Saturday, May 20. We are planning to start at 10am. The weather is looking nice. Fletch says, “If you wanna be cool, come join us.” Lol.
This is an opportunity to help cosmetically restore the Dardanelle & Russellville #9, Mid-Continent’s oldest locomotive (1884). The locomotive is located next to Mid-Continent’s Car Shop Building. To learn more about becoming a volunteer with this project, contact the museum office or stop by during the work session.
First Volunteer Session of 2023
April 22, 2023; We had our first volunteer session on the D&R #9 last week, for the 2023 season. My apologies that a notice was not put out for our first get together, but life got busy on me, and I didn’t get it submitted in time. I will try to stay on top of it for future events. That is also the reason I am getting this update out so late.
We had a successful and safe session along with “somewhat cooperative” weather. That included sun, wind, cold, some light rain, and of course snow flurries at times. We had about 7 volunteers our first weekend, which was a great turn out. We also welcomed our first new volunteer in a long time, and I want to thank Tyler for all his help Saturday. We hope he continues to join us on future sessions with the #9. And a big thank you to the usual volunteers for returning for yet another year; Steve Pahl, Mike Laabs, Frank Fisher, Jay Slinde, and of course our lead volunteer, Fletcher. I hope I didn’t miss anyone.
After a long winter, we uncovered the Locomotive (although mother nature had mostly uncovered it for us by this time). She was looking really good and dry, and ready for this upcoming year. We also got a crew on the front of the locomotive, removed the Dyno, and checked it into storage for future preservation. The tender was looking good as well, and was right where we left it. One of the biggest tasks we accomplished this weekend was planning and coordination. This tends to be a main tasker of ours at the beginning of the year, and for good reason. We also met with Chris Burdick to discuss big events such as the stenciling of the Tender, and the next goal for painting on the Locomotive. All very exciting topics, that we hope will soon become a reality.
It is looking like Saturday May 20 will be our next volunteer session on the #9. I will put out another announcement to confirm as we approach that date. Again, thanks for everyone’s help this last weekend. – Jason & Fletcher Reiman.
Final D&R #9 Volunteer Session of 2022
Come join Fletch and his crew this weekend at North Freedom for a volunteer session on the Dardanelle & Russellville #9. We will be doing some small house cleaning items, and then wrapping her up for winter hibernation. The current start time is 10 am, and as usual, we will meet at the south end of Mid-Continent’s Car Shop.
This weekend is also Fletcher’s 11th birthday. So if you see him around the museum, please wish him a happy birthday.