NOMINATIONS STILL OPEN -
GENERAL MEETING SUNDAY
Due to the conflict with the Apollo 11 landing and the Walk on the Moon, the third Quarterly General Meeting was postponed at the last minute until August 17. That means that nominations for the 1970 officers are still open.
Positions open for nomination, and nominations received by mail up until August 2, are as follows:
PRESIDENT. ...................... none
VICE-PRESIDENT. ..... . Terry Durkin, Dave Parkinson
SECRETARY .......... Karen Lindquist, Tom Matson
TREASURER ................... Dave Hobson
BOARD MEMBER . .Wally Barber, H. C. Kerr, Tom Matson
Nominations will close during the August 17th meeting. You still have a chance to make nominations by coming to the meeting. Any regular member in good standing is eligible for nomination. All present officers are eligible for renomination.
In addition to the nominations, the meeting will feature reports on the various Museum activities since the last General Meeting. It's been a very busy four months, so there will be plenty of interesting reports: the Fenton and Del Mar land negotiations, the Coach 576 purchase and excursion, the Shay steamup, future Lavino #10 operations, and more.
Finally, Tom Matson will bring an interesting program of slides and films of the many Trains and Trams he saw while travelling around Europe with the Navy.
The meeting will start at 7:30 P. M. this Sunday, Aug. 17th, In the Safety Room on the second floor of the Santa Fe Depot in San Diego. Starting at 7:00, our newest piece of equipment. Union Pacific Coach 576, will be open. It's on the coach track at the Depot.
U. P. COACH 576 ARRIVES HERE IN FINE CONDITION
By Bob DiGiorgio
Union Pacific is known for keeping its varnish in good condition, and 576 is an excellent example. U. P. had agreed to deliver it in interchange condition, freshly serviced, and that promise was kept. The big six-wheel trucks were freshly silvered, the only dirty parts being quite a few brand-new brake shoes that had been applied after the paint job.
The U. P. yellow exterior is in good condition, except for a few places where the paint is peeling. The interior is also in good shape, the upholstery very good. Painted areas inside are fair.
During the trip down, we tested as many of the car's systems as we could. The air conditioning seemed o.k., although it was a little hard to tell, since every time we stopped, so did the electricity. The car has no batteries, and the train line fuse in the adjoining Santa Fe car blew during the first stop, apparently because the 576 drew a little more power than the lightweight's electrical system was designed to handle. But the generator put out plenty of power while we were rolling, and the car stayed reasonably cool the plumbing and water heaters worked fine, and U. P. had considerately filled the towel, cup and soap dispensers. Water pressure (which depends on air pressure from the brake system) held up for about two days without use, which indicates a tight system without serious leaks.
The coach is a day-night type, with a lighting system designed for night sleeping. This Includes blue lights in the corridors, aisle lights under the seats, and individually switched reading lights under the baggage rack. All the lighting systems seemed to be working, with very few bulbs out.
The coach is equipped with a special trainline for communications and entertainment, suggesting that there might be loudspeakers concealed in the celling for music or paging, but this hasn't been confirmed. The heating system, for obvious reasons, wasn't tested, nor were the 110-volt shaver and curling iron outlets in the rest rooms. The one system that was found to be inoperative was the small electric refrigerator that serves the water cooler and the crew's icebox. That box is just about big enough to cool one six-pack (of Coke: Rule G) The refrigerator seems to be out of gas, and a long history of complaints about it in the crew's book suggests that it has a tiny leak somewhere that's never been found. The cooler seems to be easily removeable, if we have a refrigeration mechanic in our ranks who'd like to take it home and have a go at it. Contact DiGiorgio if you want to tackle it.
The coach is presently kept locked on the coach track at the Santa Fe Depot. Arrangements will be made for any member with a museum key to open it. The coach will be open half an hour before the next General Meeting, August 17th. Come a little early and look it over!