BBCRC had a number of successful events in October, starting with an October 7th honky-tonk boxcar music show featuring Hearts Gone South from Asheville, NC, organized by Milepost 322 Productions. On October 8th and 11th BBCRC participated in the 100-year anniversary commemoration of the “Tragedy at Tunnel 13” during which three railroaders and a postal worker were murdered during one of the last major train robberies in the US, in the Siskiyou Mountains. Two of the rail workers were based in Dunsmuir and we had a commemoration at the gravesite of Marvin Seng, who was the fireman on Sunday, October 8th, after which there was a reception and music at The Wheelhouse, featuring Gina Favano and Hearts Gone South. On display was a large historical panel produced by Southern Oregon Historical Society with input from BBCRC and many other collaborators. What started as a small group of organizers grew to include the Smithsonian, Jefferson Public Radio, and many other organizations. On Wednesday, October 11th, we participated in a ceremony up at Tunnel 13, in collaboration with Central Oregon and Pacific Railway, at which a wreath was placed about the tunnel portal in remembrance of those killed. Here is more info on this fascinating story.
We would like to thank everyone who came out to our Fall Work Party, over the weekend of October 13-15th. A great crowd of friends and supporters helped us move forward on a variety of projects – including the construction of “Black Rock Station” which has been donated to BBCRC as a permanent installation (see https://blackrocktrainstation.com/). We also moved ahead with applying a coat of oil preservative on our Sacramento Northern boxcar, installation of a new heating/cooling system for our PFE library car, firewood processing and further forest restoration work in our creek area, final touches on our library renovations and more! In addition, we had tasty food all weekend cooked by a rotating cast of volunteers and a great boxcar music show on Saturday evening featuring Mason Alexander (Southern Oregon), The Gash (Siskiyou/Shasta Counties) and Ansible (Oakland). Thanks again to everyone who participated!