I tood advantage of an invite from old friend Warren Smith, Railtown volunteer and engineer and spent the weekend in Tuolumne County. I had never ridden 4-6-0 3 and he told me that he could fix that. Much as I like the big Shay 2, I found out what a really nice riding locomotive the 120 year old Rogers is. Most here are aware that she has a completely new boiler that was fabricated in Washington State. She also got a rebuild while the boiler work was being done. The result is a really handsome and nice running machine. Becasuse she is kinda light, they normally only put two cars behind her. Nonetheless, she sounds off pretty nicely and would make a great video subject.
3 ran today and Shay 2 ran yesterday. Also switching the Jamestown Yd. this morning was the 45 ton diesel.
If you haven't seen 3 in some years and would like a nice ride, I'd say that this is a great weekend trip to make. There are plenty of dedicated docents there to help and answer questions.
My thanks to everybody who I met and came in contact with.

For Bill Kohler: I tried to answer your whistle question on Train News but am unable to log on. The answer is yes to your question about that "new" whistle for the 3 being of new manufacture. I talked with 2 of the parties who own it and one told me that it comes from an outfit named M.B. Whistles (I think I have that right). They have garnered a good reputation, particularly in the East where a number of tourist roads are using their whistles.