I rented and watched "Emperor of the North" yesterday for the first time. I loved the many scenes on the OP&E, and the thundering power of No. 19 made me even sadder that the promise of it steaming again on the WURR dissipated like steam in the atmosphere. Of course, I had to laugh at those technical impossibilities, like when "Train 19" barely escapes onto a siding before the "Fast Mail" whizzes past in the opposite direction through what would have been a misaligned switch. And when Shack, Ernest Borgnine's sadistic character, operates the Johnson bar and the throttle, then pushes the hogger into the engineer's seat and the hogger also operates the Johnson bar and throttle, which magically have bounced back to their original positions. Nevertheless, all in all, a great and, I think, underappreciated motion picture.

By the way, WURR now has published a schedule of 10 excursions this summer and fall under the volunteer auspices of the Friends of the Joseph Branch. WURR's Geeps will pull the usual consist. The status of Court Hammond's caboose, parked at WURR's Elgin railyard, is still in question. You'll find the schedule here. Please consider supporting WURR by partaking of Wallowa County's wildly scenic countryside.