“After a long winter, we are happy to report work has begun once again on the cosmetic restoration of the D&R #9. The first work session was small and generally uneventful, but with the crew consisting of Fletcher, myself, and Tyler D, we got to work, “prepping the battlefield,” so to speak, for the next big operation. One of those next big operations on the radar is lash up of the tender and locomotive. To make that happen, we located the tender pin, deck plate, and riser, and moved them to the locomotive. Next, we began double checking the moisture levels of our pilot timbers, identifying imperfections in the wood, marking them, and re-calculating our “usable” stock. Finally, we did some coordination with the museum for future moves and then we were calling it a day. Nothing too crazy for our first session of 2025, but it’s moving us in the right direction. As Tyler put it, “Progress is progress, no matter how small.” Please stay tuned for future dates of our work session and come join us if you can.”

-Fletch and Jason R.