The purpose of Touch A
Train events is to bring the public, train lovers and the general public, in
contact with both the Downeast Scenic
Railroad and New England Steam
Corporation's work in restoring Maine Central steam locomotive 470.
Before I get into
specifics, allow me to thank Mr. Art
Shean and his grandson, Griffin, who set up a captivating "G"
scale layout in the rear of the NESCO shop building. This had to be one of the most exciting parts
of the show. Art represents the Maine Garden Railroad Society.
Governor's Restaurants, which is our longest time sponsor, provided five
huge trays of desserts for visitors. Governor's
is our "official restaurant", and has been generous with feeding our
workers, going back to 2014!
Penobscot Energy Recovery Corporation (PERC) provided ice cream, sponsored the whistle blow, and
raffled off some pretty nice garden chairs!
PERC has been a long time supporter of NESCO, having built the lovely
three chime whistle. That whistle has
visited CNJ steamer #113 and well as the Maine Narrow Gauge.
Hancock Fire and Rescue once again, brought down a fine looking truck for
visitors to enjoy, and was joined by "A
Family for ME". Thank you for
being with us, and your good work in the region.
Furbush-Roberts Printing, of Bangor, once more provided us with quality
posters which were spread around Bangor, Brewer, Bar Harbor, and
Ellsworth. Furbush- Roberts does all
NESCO's printing, and we recommend their services to anyone needing quality
printing. Thank you Tom and Caitlin!
Display's inside the
cavernous shop building included some magnificent souvenirs from Odd Duck Foundry, New England Steam's
shirts, hats, and railroad collectibles and the beautifully restored 470
turbogenerator, restored by A.C.
Electric Company of Bangor. The
turbo was under power and illuminated 470s headlight, tender backup light, and
the beautiful classification lights. You
may not know, but A.C. Electric restores Diesel locomotive traction motors and
historic motors from museum trolleys. We
were honored by the presence of one of A.C.'s prime electrical technicians, who
finished 470's turbogenerator.
Crowds began to flow in at
9:00AM and continued in a flood until 12:30PM.
The popular caboose hop in DESR's restored Reading caboose, continued to
be the premier attraction. Engineer
Leverett Fernald and Downeast's volunteer docents kept the ride safe and
operating all morning. The special 1:00
train left the yard with a large contingent of happy passengers as well.
After reviewing the
Hancock Fire Department's display, families took turns sitting at the throttles
of ALCO Diesel #1055 and Davenport 0-4-0 #53.
The beckoning of the PERC steam whistle and 470's restored bell, this
year mounted in the original yoke. After
blowing the whistle, supervised by director Paula Santos-Shevett, families met
the PERC engineers who handed out ice cream cups - lots of ice cream cups! Volunteer Jessica Morris, standing in the
shade of the 470's tender, helped direct the bell ringing, and awarded each
child with a souvenir sticker,
replicating a Maine Central pass from the 1950's. Inside the shop building stood the frame and
drive train of the 470, adorned with color photos of the locomotive in
service. Across from the frame director
Bob DeWachter not only manned the 470's turbogenerator and light display, but
kept a model live steam locomotive operating.
On his flanks were Odd Duck Foundry and New England Steam's gift and
souvenir tables. The feature of
Governor's cookies and Art Shean's model trains, were the capper for the
inside part of the event.
NESCO President Richard
Glueck was interviewed by the WABI television, while other special visitors
came by to meet company representatives and find out how they can help awaken
470.
This was our fourth
"Touch A Train" event. The
official count was 767 individuals who parked and shared the day with us; our
largest crowd, yet. The actual number may
be even greater, as crowds took advantage of the day to "get in touch with
their "inner train". It
couldn't have come off better for all parties.
