As such, they need and deserve a lot of tender, loving care. Although though the locomotives are replicas of the originals, they are still national treasures. Lee Dalton photo.Īn assortment of valves lay scattered on a workbench waiting to have a summer’s worth of minerals from hard water removed so the brass could be polished again to its full brightness. Maintaining steam locomotives involves a lot of taking apart, cleaning, and putting things back together. The others were working on floor boards from one of the locomotives and on refinishing the pilot – or cowcatcher – from the front of 119. Ron was replacing worn out leather on an armrest from Jupiter’s windowsill. Their two engineers, Ronald Wilson and Steve Sawyer, along with fireman Mike Oesteich, were quietly working on some of the myriad chores needed to keep them sparkling and running. Even cold and silent, the two locomotives inside are awfully impressive chunks of machinery. She’d delay her lunch while she kept trying to get that darned computer back on line.Ī few minutes later, David pulled out of the visitor center’s backyard and led the way for me to follow in my truck the mile or so out to the engine house. Even though the tour wasn’t scheduled for another half hour, he and Tammy decided he should head out to the engine house with me in tow since I was the only one there. Just as I finished in the museum, Ranger David Kilton came back from lunch. I welcomed a chance to have the time and space needed to maneuver around until the light was just right to be able to read texts on displays without feeling I as if was in someone’s way. Between crowds of people and some rather elderly captions printed on transparent plastic that makes reading a bit difficult, I’d never really been able to take in all the displays. The museum room is small, and other times I’d been there it had been crowded with other visitors. I’d been sitting down for an hour on the trip out from Ogden, Utah, so I spent my time before the scheduled tour poring over the museum’s displays. Inside the visitor center, Chief Ranger Tammy Benson made me feel immediately welcome, offered to run the movie for me, and then went back to struggling with a balky computer. Judging from tracks in the ice dust, I was only the second vehicle and third visitor of the day. But of course, they didn’t hang around when I stopped to try for a photo.Īs I pulled into the visitor center parking lot, a couple with Colorado plates on their car was just leaving. It was cold as the proverbial witch’s breath, but it was absolutely beautiful.Īlong the way I’d seen two bald eagles sitting on fence posts just as the road starts uphill into the historic site. It was condensing into a long cloud of freezing ground fog that was dusting the landscape with big and delicate ice crystals. When I arrived at the historic site on a Friday afternoon, a southeast wind was carrying moist air from Great Salt Lake up over the Promontory Mountains. Oil Trains Pose A Significant Threat To National ParksĮven though I’ve visited Golden Spike National Historic Site many times through the years, I’d never taken the tour through the engine house where the replica locomotives, Jupiter and 119, hibernate each winter.The Care And Keeping Of History Within The National Park System.Wastewater And Sewer Facilities Failing In National Parks.Private Philanthropy Fills The Gaps Of Deferred Maintenance.National Park Roads And Bridges Impacted By Lack Of Maintenance.NPS Is Running $670 Million Behind On Caring For Maintained Landscapes.Mixing Energy Development And National Parks.Maintenance Backlog Impacts Historic Structures In National Parks.Lack Of Dollars Crippling National Park Facilities For Staff And Visitors.Invasive Species A Plague On the National Park System.Groups Continually At Work To Acquire Private Lands Key To National Parks.Backlog Of Maintenance Needs Creates Risks In National Parks. Tackling The Maintenance Backlog In The Park System.Coping With 21st Century Wildfires In The Parks.Mixing Oil And Water At Big Cypress National Preserve.
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