Between ongoing and new projects, several major events and our normal flow of short-term and longer-term visitors, 2018 was another busy, fun and productive year at the BBCRC. In May, on the 10th year anniversary of Utah Phillips death, we hosted a major celebration in cooperation with The Long Memory — welcoming the arrival and initial restoration of the 1893 Central Vermont flanger once lived in by Utah. It was a memorable musical event with musicians, friends, family, and fans all gathered for the weekend, sharing music and stories from the stage and around the campfire. Just two weeks later was Dunsmuir Railroad Days. We had a major art show in Dunsmuir featuring six BBCRC-affiliated artists, rode in the parade and hosted a six-band music show in the boxcar.
Shortly after RR Days our eighth rail car, a 1926 Great Northern caboose, arrived at Black Butte and was placed on a newly constructed section of track. A major focus was ongoing work on our Southern Pacific Pullman car #109 the Shasta. In a major push, siding was milled and installed on the car and the exterior painted. We had a number of boxcar music shows over the summer and fall and a successful Fall Work Party. A major concern, as fires seemed to break out all around us, remains wildfire. We suffered smoke impacts for months with one fire stopped just a few miles south of Dunsmuir. We ended the year with another round of forestry work, focused on protection of our historic wood railcars, brush clearance and some additional tree thinning.
In the coming year we have a number of projects and events in the works. A major focus will be work on our wood rail cars, especially our boxcar and reefer, which are both at the point where they will need major preservation work if they are going to withstand the elements at Black Butte for the long-term. Before that can happen we are raising funds for this work, any help with this would be appreciated!