As I was enjoying reading all the recent posts and seeing Bill's photo of the thermometer, I thought of the day a crew was getting engine no. 9 ready for trucking off the Ramsdell Farm. I believe the date we moved the locomotive out from the engine house, was February 12, 1995. A bright and sunny day with a light breeze at times. Someone there (it might have been Larson Powell) said that the temperature in the sun was 5 degrees..That is was cold was confirmed by the kitchen crew who were finding the cans of B & M baked beans frozen solid. We had a portable kitchen with a two burner Coleman gas stove, so got the beans thawed and everybody fed.
Got to say though, it's been a cold January here in West Bug Bite, Maine. As I remember the cold days at Sheepscot and think of Bill Reidy driving up in his minivan with all the supplies from the Springfield show, I have yet more memories...
There was a cold morning when Harry Percival knew I had my Sawzall and a metal cutting blade. He chalked a piece of rail that he wanted me to cut. I'd got through the head and halfway down the web, when Harry tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to stand clear. Harry put his boot down on that 30lb. piece and snapped it clean
off, perfect.
Another cold day Frank Paul and I were up at a rail pile cutting old track bolts with a cutting torch and shivering in the wind until I suddenly began to feel warmth where there shouldn't have been such. A piece of slag had gone inside my coat and found all the layers of sweatshirt, work shirt, and tee shirt, conducive to combustion. A handful of snow stuffed inside my jacket quickly ended the warm feeling, with Frank just about falling over into the snow laughing so hard.
So to all of you hardy souls, enjoy these days and remember the fun.
