Saving railway history, one vacation at a time

Docent Bob Ross describes the route of the Rio Grande San Juan Extension. Ross is one of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec who gives his time to the railroad. Jim Wrinn photo

Sublette, New Mexico's buildings and sign shine because of the work of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec. Jim Wrinn photo

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal carried a feature story about volunteer travel opportunities for 2012. The story highlighted 10 worthwhile trips you can take to see the world and do good at the same time, from preserving wildlife in Africa, working in ancient ruins along the Gulf coast, and even painting a historic World War II battleship in Hawaii. As a long-time volunteer in railway preservation efforts, I like seeing people take the time to do their part in other endeavors, as well.

Most of these trips are organized and run by well-known non-profits, including the Sierra Club and ElderHostel. This gave me an idea: Perhaps it’s time that railway preservation worked with some of these organizations to bring in new blood to the effort to save America’s transportation history.

I know that organized events already take place. Two railway preservation groups set up days-long, intensive work sessions to make significant progress on their railroads.

One is the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Maine. My good friend Wayne Laepple goes there a couple of times a year, spends a few days building track, and comes back with great stories about this charming 2-foot-gauge steam railway in the woods. I want to join him one day. The next one is in February 2012.

“The winter session will mostly be working on the Turner Dairy reefer, steam locomotive No. 9, and brush and tree-cutting at various places on the property,” Wayne says. “The spring and fall work sessions started out mostly doing track construction, but they have expanded to include shop work, painting, etc. The summer work weekends will probably include a lot of right-of-way mowing, in addition to shop and locomotive work.

The other railroad with extended and well-executed work sessions is the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway, which has organized formal work sessions of five days since 1988.

Friends of the C&TS Executive Director Tim Tennant says that in 2011, 396 individuals (up from 380 in 2010) volunteered on the 64-mile, 3-foot-gauge railway between Chama, N.M., and Antonito, Colo. In addition, the Friends have a satellite restoration site in Colorado Springs, Colo., to tap into the abundant labor supply in the Denver area, and a group in Albuquerque, who work with the Dorman Photo Collection. They provide narration for the train trip on the Rio Grande’s San Juan extension across 10,000-foot Cumbres Pass. All together, these groups contributed about 25,000 volunteer hours to the railroad, one of the finest preservation projects in North America.

In 2012 the Friends will offer six work sessions at the railroad. Some of the 2012 projects include rebuilding a cook car, a stock car, a gondola, and frameless tank cars. Volunteers also will continue work on Railway Post Office No. 054, derrick OP, repair the stock pens in Chama, N.M., and work on the mileposts and other signs along the right of way.

The fringe benefits, Tim says, include getting out of the heat the rest of the country faces during the summer and discounts on train tickets. The biggest benefit: Seeing railway history come to life thanks to your own presence.

I think I may take a few days off next year and get my hands dirty again. How about you?