Coach 350 Painted
Open air coach 350 gets a coat of gray two part epoxy primer applied by Museum President Jim Lundquist after several weeks of preparation. Larry Rose played the tag team bit on this job that took two guys ten hours to complete. This 80 foot heavyweight is the most popular car with our train riders in the summertime. The dark spots are made by a special rust attacking clear finish that was applied after the worst of the surface rust was sanded off. Jack O'Lexey and Tom Meatzie helped with the rust inhibitor treatment. This is the first paint job applied on our SD&A equipment since the cars first went into service eighteen years ago. The six ex Erie Lackawanna commuter cars will be the next in line. A painting area has been set up on track 10 near the paint locker. Larry Rose. Photo
PSRM SUED BY SWEETWOOD
Champion Marine and Diesel, of 8929 Gardenia Way, Lakeside. CA. 92040 (same address as Carrizo Gorge Railway) filed a lawsuit naming the Museum as a cross defendant, demanding $2000 in payment for an over due freight bill. The Museum was informed that Gary Sweet wood's father runs Champion Marine. (Gary is president of CZRy) There was no attempt at communication with the Museum prior to Champion filing suit. We began to look into the nature of the claim and found out the following information, to the best of our knowledge:
1. The Museum's old Board entered into an agreement to sell three passenger cars from the Museum collection to Carrizo Gorge Ry (CZRy) a few years ago.
2. One of these cars had bad leaf springs.
3. Someone contacted the Union Pacific Railroad using the Museum's name and solicited the donation of springs for this car now in the possession of CZRy
4. A freight company was contracted by the Museum to transport these springs from Omaha to Campo. Carrizo Gorge Railway offered to pay the estimated shipping charges of $450 through Champion Marine, one of the Sweetwood companies. The original shipping request was modified to show Champion as the party to be billed.
5. While in transit, the load was weighed. It was found to be more than twice the estimated weight. The bill was adjusted up to reflect the actual weight.
6. The springs arrived in Campo and CZRy transported the springs to Jacumba when they relocated their base of operations there after moving out of the Museum's yard and grounds soon after the new Board took office.
7. The springs were found to be useless, as they were used coil springs and not leaf springs so they would not fit the CZRy car.
8. According to the freight company, several attempts to collect the additional costs from Champion were unsuccessful, the freight company turned the debt over to a collection agency, which sued Champion Diesel for payment. With the collection costs and back charges. the bill was now around $2000.
9. After several months, CZRy hauled the springs back to Campo. Two Board members helped them unload the springs. The nature of the springs deal was still unknown to the new Museum management at this time. CZRy did not tell museum of their subsidiaries plans to name the Museum as a cross defendant even though weekly meetings were in progress at the time between the two parties.
6
| BACK | HOME | EXCURSIONS | GALLERY | FAQ | HISTORY | STORIES | SOUNDS | LINKS |