Adopt-a-Mile: So long, Klamath Falls!

We've blown past Klamath Falls, OR and now we're less than 40 miles from Chemult, OR.  We've now covered 276 miles of the 890 mile trip from Portola, CA to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad.

It's still a great time to make a donation to adopt-a-mile of the trip!  Through the end of this month (about a week away), you have the opportunity to double the impact of your donation with our current matching challenge.  So far we've met about $600 of the $1,000 challenge.  Help us collect all of the matching challenge by making a donation today.

Contribute today!

 The 5057 breezes past the Klamath Falls, OR Amtrak station.

(Original photo of the station by Steve Wilson)

"Photobombing" the 5056

While the subject of this photo is obviously Milwaukee Road U25B 5056, as far as we're concerned it's upstaged by the locomotive on the far right.  Yes, that's the 5057 sneaking into this picture of the 5056.

What makes this photograph particularly notable is that it shows the only two surviving, intact Milwaukee Road General Electric locomotives.  The 5056 is part of the collection at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL.

The two locomotives were photographed in Portland, OR on September 29, 1979 by an unidentified photographer.

MILW 5056 and 5057 at Portland, OR on 9/29/1979

Adopt-a-Mile: We've made it past Bieber, CA!

Since our last update, we've raised another $356.  That's 71 more miles out of the 890 miles from Portola, to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad.  We've now covered 176 miles of the trip, which puts us about 25 miles past Bieber, CA.  Our next milestone is Klamath Falls, OR -- 66 miles away.

Now is a great time to make a donation to adopt-a-mile of the trip!  Through the end of May, you have the opportunity to double the impact of your donation with our current matching challenge. 

Contribute today!

Photo by S.L. Dixon, Railroad Pictures Archive

Volunteers needed in Portola, CA (June 9 to 14)

We need a few volunteers to participate in a work party at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA during the week of June 9-14.

This work party will finish preparing the 5057 for movement to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA this summer.   The primary focus will be on the air brake system.  The brake beams and hangers for the #3 axle need to be reassembled so the air brake system can be tested and any problems can be resolved.  Also, more work needs to be done to secure the locomotive for the trip (welding temporary steel bars across the hood access doors).  We will be working hard to get the work done earlier than June 14, but we're allowing extra time in case things don't go as planned.

Volunteer accommodations are available in a sleeping car at the museum at least to June 12.

All participants will be Feather River Rail Society members.  If you are not a member, we will ensure you become a member.

Hard hats and safety glasses will be provided or you can bring your own if you have them.

If you're interested in joining this volunteer crew or have questions, please contact Paul Krueger at kruegerp@nwlink.com.

Join our crew for the June 2014 work party!

We're seeing double! Matching challenge donation

An anonymous donor has stepped forward with a matching challenge donation.  The donor will match the the next $1,000 dollars we raise with a $500 matching donation.  The donor's donation is eligible for an employer matching donation, effectively making this a $1,000 matching donation.  In other words, if you donate now the impact of your donation will be doubled!

All donations contributed toward this challenge will count toward our  Adopt-a-Mile campaign.  If we're successful in meeting this challenge, it will be the equivalent of 400 miles out of the 890 miles to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad.  Added to current Adopt-a-Mile donations, this would put us across the Columbia River into Washington!

This offer is good until June 1, so act soon.  You can donate using PayPal through our website or by mail.

Details, details, details...

If you're interested in the mechanical details of the 5057, here is the page from the Milwaukee Road diesel diagram book that describes the U25B locomotives on the railroad.  Click the image to see the full size version.

Click to enlarge.

Adopt-a-Mile: We're more than half the way to Bieber from Keddie

We've raised a bit more than $275 (55 miles) since our last update, which puts us near Lodgepole, CA.  This is more than half of the $500 needed to get us 100 miles to Bieber, CA.  From there, our next goal will be Klamath Falls, OR.

Looking at the big picture, people have sponsored 105 miles of the 890 mile trip between Portola and the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad.

Please pitch in to keep us moving toward the interchange with the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad by making a contribution today!