Today was very hot, above 90. Despite the heat, the railcar ran well, making a number of trips to Rosewood crossing. The first trip was the first revenue run the car has made. It happened like this: Only 2 passengers, (a fellow and his young daughter) showed up for the 10:00 o'clock trip. There was a brief discussion between the steam trains crew and the railcar crew as to who would take them. We asked the man if he wanted to ride in the railcar and he said his daughter would love to. It was decided that the Model T would take the passengers out on the steam trains time slot and run as far as Rosewood crossing, north of milepost 7. The car was facing north so the Model T worked it's way through the yard switches and out on the mainline. Once past Jane's Way crossing we went into high gear. We slowed to a near stop for each crossing but made good time going north. During the trip the passengers were told that they were the first paying riders on the railcar which they were pleased to hear. The layover at RC was only long enough to jack and turn the car but the visitor recorded the operation to show the rest of his family. He told us "this is great I've never seen anything like it". We returned to Sheepscot with a very happy father and daughter. Another trip was run as an extra to take Dwight and his weed cutting equipment up past AC. Some of the regular volunteers rode along to get acquainted with the car. In the afternoon, a man show up just to get a ride on the Model T. He had come to the picnic and was disappointed at not getting a ride. He told us "I figured you guys would have the bugs worked out by now" His ticket was the first sold especially for the railcar.
Joe and Gordon did their usual expert job running the steam train and a number of meets were held at AC with the northbound railcar taking the siding as the superior train worked through going south. We didn't have large crowds but today was a great day for the WW&F.
As stated in a previous post, regular trips are not scheduled yet because there is no place in the Timetable for the railcar. It will most likely run as an extra when it is needed or requested, operating under the authority of the dispatcher.
