If you’ve been following our adventure, you know that projects have been somewhat on hold this season as we’ve been spending a lot more time working at the railway museum. That’s not to say we haven’t been making progress at Caboose Falls.
The biggest news is that we’ve started the work of removing the floor in P&LE 518. An important step because this will make it easier to open the end door and begin removing renovation debris. Work on 518 is slow; everything left on the project list involves dirty, time-consuming work, and the only way to get it done is to dedicate entire days to the job. There always seems to be another smaller project jumping ahead in the priorities, but slow and steady is how we’ve been going, and we continue to move forward.
On the electrical front, the new outdoor 12V transformer we installed for the B&O CPL failed quietly. We ruled out a wiring issue last week, so bringing the lights back online should be a simple swap. Of course, I’ll have to climb back up the mast to clear out the new wasp nests that keep taking hold behind the lenses. That can wait until temperatures drop and the buggers die off. Thinking about it, this really hasn’t been a bad year for wasps. Our aggressive spraying and nest removal over the last two years seem to have made an impact.
We always enjoy unearthing history at Caboose Falls. Last week, the boys discovered an old, bright green CSX lantern buried near the mainline. What a find! It had been out there long enough to ruin the lamp’s operation, but it’s still going to make a great display piece. This one was made by the Starlight Company, the same company that produced the warning lights on 518. Two other mysterious finds turned up along the old P&LE and CSX lines. They’re probably nothing more than scrap metal, but each was unusual enough to catch our attention and earn a trip back up the ravine to the discovery pile. With a little luck, we may eventually learn more about them.
There’s something fitting about finding an old lantern just as the days are getting shorter. Its light may be gone, but it still has a story to tell. And with the B&O signals waiting for a new transformer and autumn evenings settling in, there’s no shortage of reminders around here of just how much we depend on a little light.
On the research side, I was excited to come across another in-service photograph of P&LE 565 online this past week. Posted on the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie interest page on Facebook by Jim Gray, it shows 565 in a rather familiar location: positioned at the end of a wreck train in the P&LE’s McKees Rocks yard. We’re still hoping to find an image of 565 out on the road, though—I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere, but finding it continues to be our white whale!
As the days get shorter and the nights cooler, we are heading into our favorite time of year at Caboose Falls. It won’t be long before autumn colors dominate the landscape, and as the leaves drop, our view of the river and valley will return. Even if the shorter evenings make those long workdays a little more difficult, the benefits are worth the trade. Besides, with a trusted lantern, game nights don’t slow down one bit.