GRIZZLY FLATS (Con'd)
Begun in 1939 with the purchase of an 60-year-old narrow-gauge steam engine from a defunct Nevada shortline, the Grizzly Flats R.R. now encompasses l/6th of a mile of 3-foot-gauge track, a three-stall engine house, water tank with windmill, a Victorian-style depot, six cars, and two steam locomotives.
RAIL GATHERING SLOW BUT SURE
The 25-pound (per yard) rail, being gathered sporadically at Border Field, south of Imperial Beach, is slowly disappearing, but much remains to be moved. Many feet of the rail was buried under several inches of sand, necessitating a great deal of digging.
About 700 ft. of usable rail has already been salvaged, and since cooler weather is here again, volunteer work parties will attempt to salvage what remains. Volunteers generally take along a six-pack of beer or soda-pop and a sack lunch, and spend the day or part of a day. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the REPORT. P.S.: There is also less back-breaking work in the form of collecting spikes and rail joiners which litter the field.
OLD NO. 54
Bill Morrison, manager of the streetcar No. 54 restoration project, extends a hearty invitation to all those interested in helping with the restoration of this historic old, wooden car, which was once a S.D. cable Car! Official work parties are held on the first and third Saturdays of each month, but Bill is usually there every weekend. He, and those who have helped him on numerious weekends, deserves a hand for the progress already made on the car. It is planned to be placed on display at the Whaley House, in Old Town, upon completion of its restoration but it is hoped that it will someday be operated.
The car is located on a lot adjacent to the Star Machine Works, 418 10th St., San Diego. See you there.
TRAVELTOWN GETS NARROW-GAUGE CAR
Los Angeles' TravelTown museum exhibit in Griffith Park acquired S.P. narrow-gauge baggage car No. 12, earlier this year. The ancient wooden car had been used as an auxiliary caboose on S.P.'s Keeler Branch, between Keeler and Laws, California, until the slim-gauge line was abandoned this Spring. The car is about eighty years old. The original trucks beneath it have long since been replaced with ordinary freight car trucks. It has been spotted with other old narrow gauge freight equipment on a siding of TravelTown's operating railroad.
WHAT ABOUT LAND?
According to some realtors in the San Diego area, land of a type and price range suitable for the needs of our museum project is not likely to be found within a thirty-mile radius of the city of San Diego.
The Museum Committee has expressed willingness to purchase land outright, if the price per acre did not exceed $200. The alternative would be a long-term lease or other agreement. One member plans to purchase a plot of land for speculation, with the agreement that the Society could use the land until such time as it was able to purchase the land outright.
For a suitable museum site, it is felt the following conditions should be considered minimums:
- Land should be reasonably flat or gently rolling or sloping, so that a minimum of expensive grading would be required.
- It should be either accessible by a road or of a nature whereby a good road could be graded at minimum expense. The road must be sufficient to handle heavy equipment (particularly loaded flat-bed trucks).
- The land should be within a reasonable distance from San Diego proper. A thirty-mile radius is considered about maximum. Of course, the closer it is to San Diego, the better it will be from, numerous standpoints.
- Availability of water, both for domestic and project use, and for possible steam operation.
REPORT is edited and published intermittently, in the public interest, at 8689 Lamar St., Spring Valley, Calif. Reader comments are encouraged.
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