Restoration Update: A Brief Look Back
- Friends of No. 9
- Nov 27, 2024
- 2 min read
Sometimes it’s good to take a look back to see how far we’ve come.
Two years ago a large part of Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Engine No. 9 needed work. Two years later, No. 9 looks really good. (See photos below.)
The Millerick brothers think we’ll be done next spring. But there are still big things to do which include recreating No. 9’s long missing 650 gallon fuel tank, mounting the 300 pound pilot or "cowcatcher" and then building an enclosure around No. 9 to contain the overspray from the final paint job and then protect the red and gold lettering from dust and dirt as it is hand painted on the engine.
The California State Railroad Museum has expressed interest in a short term exhibit featuring No. 9. If that happens, being exhibited by a nationally recognized museum, it will be a huge feather in our cap and an acknowledgement of the care and quality of the work we’ve done.
We really appreciate the donations that keep this restoration moving.
All best wishes to you for a happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Fred Runner
President
Friends of No. 9, Inc.
A Nonprofit Corporation
Early stages of restoration for No. 9. Both the tender, which held water to make steam, and the cab, where the engine crew worked, had been moved to the Millerick brother’s workshop for repair in 2021. Asbestos removal was done during the Covid pandemic during July 2020. Our restoration work began in April 2108, the month after we bought No. 9 in an auction against 5 other bidders.
Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods No. 9 shortly after "landing" the restored cab back on the locomotive.
Backhead of the boiler a few days before remounting the cab and beginning to add gauges and controls.
Slowly the working details for the cab are coming together. Research reveals long missing and rare pieces to be found or recreated. Missing gauges and mechanical assemblies (the beefy steel throttle) had to be researched and built. Plumbing (and there’s lots of it) is being reconstructed.
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