On the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2009 people began
to gather at the Hearst Siding in the hopes that a rumored steam
locomotive meet might occur. As President of the Golden Gate
Railroad Museum, I am pleased that I can report that the meet
was able to happen thanks to the support and generosity and
cooperation of a number of groups. I would like to thank the
following groups of people:
|
UP Management, for being supportive
of the preservation of steam operations. |
|
The UP Steam Crew, for their generosity
in stopping UP844 and for their willingness to position
the locomotive for optimal photography. |
|
UP Roseville Service Unit, for
helping to make the stop possible. |
|
UP Police, for keeping us all safe. |
|
ACE |
|
Wasatch Railroad Contractors |
|
Pacific Locomotive Association
|
I would also like to thank all the members of the public
who came out to witness this historic occasion. We had quite
the crowd, which looked to be well over 200 or more people with
everyone having an enjoyable and safe time during the operation.
Both the GGRM and the PLA are non-profit, volunteer organizations
who restore and operate steam with the generosity and support
of the public. If you don't already, please consider supporting
the non-profit steam community with your time or with your participation
in events, or financial donations. While the photo meet was
free to the public, it was not without costs.
The SP 2472 will be out in operation over Memorial Day weekend
and tickets are available now on our website at www.ggrm.org.
In addition the Robert Dollar will be operating on the Niles
Canyon Railway, so check their website at www.ncry.org for an
up to date schedule.
We will be posting some video footage soon to our website
of the event which was captured by Journey films, who are responsible
for the new GGRM DVD on SP2472.
Thanks again to everyone who came out to see the meet and
for keeping it safe a safe event!
Best Regards,
David Hensarling
President, GGRM