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Weekly News March 28, 2016Description
Traveling through Yosemite National Park in a 60-Year-Old Stanley: I have written in the Weekly News and in the Herald of my 8,300-mile-trip in 1972 in our 1912 Stanley Model 87. Always with at least one passenger, the car was driven on its own power without an accompanying vehicle from Yorklyn to Yorklyn (Delaware), via Montreal, Minneapolis, Yellowstone, Yosemite, San Diego, Utah Parks, Salt Lake City, and Estes Park, Colorado. I was the primary operator for about ¾ of the trip; Weldin Stumpf had this chore for the remainder. This is an excerpt of our two days and one night in Yosemite.
The 21 cars on the “Trans-Con” tour, all made before 1915, were vying for a perfect score on the points system (all for fun). A car lost points if it was late arriving at a check point, of which there were about 20 in the 28 days of the westbound tour. We had a checkpoint at Reno, Nevada, and then two days to make our next one at Fresno, California. The route between took us over Tioga Pass at 9,945 feet elevation entering Yosemite National Park. With three members of the Stumpf family as my passengers, we planned to make it from Reno to Yosemite Valley one day and on to Fresno in California’s Central Valley the next.
The main challenge was Tioga Pass, not only the climb from Lee Vining on the east with a climb of 6,000 feet in 12 miles but also the descent from the Pass to Yosemite Valley, again about 6,000 feet in 40 miles. The Stanley, with water, fuel, tools, spare parts, luggage, and four people weighed well over 6,000 pounds, and at that time it had nothing more than two-wheel mechanical brakes, with no water-cooling to the brakes. It was a challenge, but I always liked challenges.
We left Reno at 5:00 A.M., and by 11:20 we were at Lee Vining, 140 miles to the south. We filled with water and immediately hit the steep grade to Tioga Pass. All systems were working well, and with both water pumps doing their full duty, we kept climbing at about 10 m.p.h. Operating with only a three-tube indicator to show water level in the boiler, we stopped more than 2/3 of the way to the top, as I feared the water level might be getting low, so we jacked a wheel and pumped water for 10 minutes before proceeding on to the top. After a few level miles to Tuolumne Meadows, we began the descent toward Yosemite Valley, which took all afternoon at 10 m.p.h. Had we gone faster, our brakes would have overheated to the point of no control.
We stayed at Yosemite Lodge in the height of the tourist season. The people in Yosemite were not sympathetic to the needs of those crazy enough to be traveling through in a 1912 car, and we had difficulty finding water and kerosene. Despite this, we were on our way the next morning, climbed to about 8,000 feet near the Winona Tunnel Tree in Mariposa Grove and then descended into the valley. By mid-afternoon we arrived at Fresno at an elevation of 300 feet and an afternoon temperature of 106 degrees. We still had a perfect score! In four more days after a brief visit to Tijuana, Mexico, the 1972 “Trans-Con” Tour would be over, and we would begin the eastbound trip on our own.
Work Report: On Tuesday, March 22, 18 volunteers were on hand, as follows: Steve Bryce (in charge), Jerry Lucas, Mark Bodenstab, Dennis Tiley, Brent McDougall, Jay Williams, Mac Taylor, John Schubel, Tom Sandbrook, John Bacino, Tom Marshall, Bob Jordan, Mark Russell, Ted Kamen, Tim Ward, Mike Ciosek, Dave Leon, and Ken Hilbeck.
The Little Tikes Tender was moved to its summer location on the pad, and a new plywood floor was cut, painted and installed. Voltage drops were carefully checked on the Lionel train layout, and restoration on two former locomotives, long out of service, was finished, and these engines were tested. They ran like new.
The pilot on the Model CX was checked, and a groove was discovered on the seat for the pilot screw, which was repaired. The nozzle was peened and re-drilled to fit the pin, and all is ready for testing again. The burner was plastered up after the vaporizer was put in place. The 735’s pilot is also troublesome, and a leak was discovered in the U-tube vaporizer. Another used vaporizer was substituted, but it, too, has a leak. The first attempt to braze this leak was not successful.
On the Auburn Valley Railroad, the turntable was power-washed, and paint trim on the driving wheels of Locomotive 401 was touched up. The troublesome injector was cleaned again and made ready for testing Friday morning. The “Diesel” locomotive was thoroughly cleaned.
The perch poles were fastened in place on the Model H-5, and it is ready to be brought to the garage for installation of the newly rebuilt engine. On Little Toot, a shut-off valve was added to the whistle’s air line. Work continued with installation of the wiring harness on the ’37 Packard.
At the afternoon work session on Wednesday, March 23, seven volunteers were on hand: Jerry Novak (in charge), Tom Marshall, Bill Schwoebel, Mike Ciosek, Richard Bernard, Dennis Dragon, and Bob Jordan.
More new ties were installed near the water tower on the AVRR. The Model CX was moved to another location in the garage, and the Mountain Wagon was fired up and brought to its summer residence, also in the garage. Snow stakes and tape were put up around the lawn areas where the Egg Hunts will take place Friday and Saturday. The Gift Shop carts were moved to the garage, also in preparation for the upcoming weekend events.
The Rauch & Lang electric was disconnected from its charging apparatus and moved to the museum’s door, ready for outdoor display during the Egg Hunts. The South Bend bench lathe was worked on. Some issues involving the new wiring harness on the ’37 Packard were discussed.
On Thursday night, our work session was cancelled so our volunteers could attend the lecture at the Hagley Museum by Irenee du Pont Jr., age 96. The illustrated talk featured his lifelong love affair with automobiles. It was a fun evening.
On Friday morning, the testing of Locomotive 401’s injectors under steam was very satisfactory, and since the waiting line was long after 12 noon to ride the single diesel-powered train, 401 made about four trips to relieve the bottleneck. The Egg Hunts on Friday and Saturday, both sold out at least two weeks in advance, were a great success, with nearly 600 people on the grounds on Saturday, a gorgeous day. Our staff and our cadre of volunteers are to be congratulated for a job well done.
It is with sadness that I read of the death of Thomas N. Crump, age 72, who was an active volunteer with FAHP 10 to 15 years ago. He is responsible for machining several of the three-chime brass steam whistles used on our Stanley cars. As this goes to press, I learned of the passing of our longtime volunteer and shop manager Chuck Erikson. Chuck was responsible for sorting, refurbishing, and labeling most of the fasteners in our shop. In failing health, he and his wife, Gloria, spent his last years at Ware Presbyterian Village in Oxford, PA.
