Years ago, while I was the Curator of the Walker Transportation Collection at the Beverly Historical Society, we met regularly every Wednesday evening in a "workshop" environment. Anyone was welcome to come and do research or volunteer at those sessions. An elderly woman used to come to some of those sessions. She was sort of an odd person but was greatly interested in trains. One evening we heard footsteps overhead (the collection was housed in the basement in a totally renovated area) and then they were coming down the stairs. As God is my witness, it was our friend, and she had with her none other than Alice Ramsdell. I could barely believe it. She spent over two hours with us that evening, looking at photos of the SR&RL #6, and regaling us with stories of her father's plans for it. I'd heard the stories of her allowing certain trusted folks to "work on" the engine, and "bar" it out for photos, etc. YANKEE Magazine did a story on her about that period of time.
One of our Walker volunteers, Russell Munroe, had been down to her farm at an earlier time and took pictures. He told us that the house and all the property was like a time capsule. She butchered her own animals and all the other farm chores by herself. What a remarkable person. After the visit that evening, we never saw her again, but I'll never forget that night as long as I live. I'm sure she would be thrilled to see what finally has become of "her engine". (It was rumored she once threatened Nelson Blount with a gun when he tried to bargain the engine away from her -- anyone know if that's true?)
Richard
