Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec - FriendsOfCumbresToltec.org

Here are some pics from today
High side gondola has had a lot of work doing beams. 1st ones are being set.
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Caboose 0503 is getting lettering today
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Stock car boards are being painted
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Box 3090 with more work
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Wood filler is play dough!
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Full train with a dead head segment for the Friends annual dinner and ride back to Chama
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Some Cumbres pics

This session the back wall is being rebuilt. We are short volunteers for the Cumbres projects. An anonymous donor will buy materials however we really need folks to sign up for work sessions. No experience necessary! Team leader is a super nice guy and contractor. If you ever wanted to learn while working in a spectacular setting, this is it.

Friends had their annual dinner at Cumbres pass. Here are a few photos. There will be a naming ceremony next week for the CRF in Antonito in honor of Ed Lowrance. Also was announced that the states received a matching grant from the Candelaria fund to build two additional tourist cars due to high demand.

Naming the CRF building in Antonito after Ed is an honor he well deserved. Ed originally was against the idea of the Friends putting such a large chunk of their resources over on the Antonito end of the railroad because so few people ever worked over there. He and many other board members were afraid it would turn into an expensive white elephant. But when the board member charged with overseeing its construction left the Friends, Ed put his opposition aside, and put his shoulder to the load by taking over as the general contractor overseeing its construction.

I used to kid Ed about where he placed things like where the people door was located, but over the years it has turned out that Ed was right. Ed not only finished the building, but he and his wife Valley worked out there for years doing projects for making the building even more useful as it is today. Ed's health issues finally put an end to him working there, but till the end he was always supportive about the success that the CRF has become. The words "BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME", have certainly come true with the CRF and we can thank Ed Lowrance for making that happen.

John, thanks for the great information. I had the pleasure to meet and share a meal with Ed. We also traded many emails over the years. He was quite a guy and is missed.

More from the last day of session C.










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