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Conductors
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Clovis, California……………...
Eddie and I want to thank all those good volunteers at the Indio Rally.
The
Golden Spike members did an outstanding job this year as usual. At the
same
time I think that all of us had a good time. During the Ice Cream Social
our
chapter handed out 4,176 bars. We were only $29.00 over budget. There is
no
other chapter that costs WMHA less money. We also recruited 5 new
members paid
up at the Chapter Fair. I think that we were on top also.
Our next Rally will be near Clarkdale, Arizona. The dates are March
27-30,
2010. We will ride the Verde Valley Railway. This is one of the more
scenic
routes that we have taken. Barbara and Tom Westerfield are the wagon
masters,
with the help of the Fresno/Clovis group. Our Rally follows the 83rd
FMCA
Convention in Albuquerque, NM. More on this Rally will follow in the
Telegraph.
Please don’t forget our Spring Rally in Montana in June. Our fall rally
will be
in Oregon following the 84th FMCA Convention in Redmond.
Hope to see all of you there.
Conductor
Tom Harrison
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tom’s tidbits……
A staged head-on collision between two Steam
Locomotives???
Yes, it did occur in Fresno, California in October, 1919.
Clyde G. Eberhart, who was the manager of the Fresno Fair, bought two steam
locomotives, and some track, from Santa Fe Railway . His intent was to
increase the attendance at the fair because at that time it was only a small
agricultural fair. A Fresno Morning Republican article on October 10th, 1951
stated that there were over 100,000 attending the opening day event. Santa
Fe furnished the engineers who started the locomotives in motion and then
jumped. Smoke billowing, whistles blowing the locomotives came together with
a deafening crash. Bombs placed on the front of the locomotives enveloped
the steel giants in black clouds of smoke. William Saroyan, who was 11 at
that time, wrote the Fresno Bee in 1969, that he felt that it was only a
“nudge”. Whether the wreck was a deafening
crash, or a nudge, more than 100,000 people came to see the two locomotives
collide. By the way, the locomotives were named ‘Fair Special’ and ‘Raisin
Express’. ………………………………Tom
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