Flagg Coal

04/08/2022

It has been over a year since we have traveled and we've missed the fun and friendship of all our railroad friends. But we have been more than busy with repairs and maintenance, inspections, and support for Dan Pluta in his restoration work. And of course there were Pat and Cheryl's "Honey DO" lists.

We have two more trips scheduled for this year. We will be running for the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation on Sept. 10-11 (https://www.kentuckysteam.org/events) and visiting the Walkersville Southern Railroad November 5-6, 12-13,and 19-20 (http://wsrr.org/ws/). Hope to see you somewhere along the way.

04/08/2022

We are so excited! It has been a difficult time for us here at Gramling Locomotive but we are working through and are pleased to announce that the guys have an engine on the road again! Trucker Dave and "Mack", Jeddo Coal Co. #85, left this morning for Ohio with Barney following close behind. They were headed for the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad and their Summer Steam Train event August 6-7 and 13-14. More information can be found at the railroad's website https://lebanonrr.com/summer-steam-train.

16/12/2021

We are so grateful for the outpouring of comfort and support for our family. It has been wonderful to hear from so many of you in remembrance of our Kate and celebrating her meaningful life. Gone too soon but never to be forgotten.

28/11/2021

Thank you all so much for all your support and caring in our time of sorrow. Many of you did not know Katie as well as the rest of the Gramling Locomotive crew and we wanted to explain how important she was to Gramling Locomotive Works.

She was our creative consultant. She developed our logos, pamphlets and brochures, Tee shirt designs, necessary forms and business stationery, and even our Christmas cards. Without her prompting and excellent editorial advice our book HANK THE TANK ENGINE would never have come to be.

She was our computer wizard and internet guru. She did our website design, development, and maintenance and handled Facebook and other social media. Her photography was outstanding and she wrote interesting and informative content. John and Barney depended on her for computer searches (and rescues when they messed up).

She was our behind-the-scenes facilitator. She designed and commissioned pins, patches, coffee mugs and other promotional items. She printed tee shirts and made hats. She took care of things and critters at home, leaving us to travel without worry.

We could always count on her to give us the encouragement and help we needed with a patient smile and never an “I-told-you-so”. We are devastated by this loss and so sorry more of you will not have the opportunity to get to know her.

26/11/2021

https://www.fellerandclark.com/obituary/KatharineBKatie-Gramling

We are very sad to inform our friends that our Katie B. passed away unexpectedly on Thanksgiving morning. She was a beautiful person and her light will be sorely missed.

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20/05/2021

Happy Birthday, Dave Tunison!
Dave is the “Will Travel” part of “Have Steam Engine, Will Travel”. He has hauled well over 200 engines and other pieces of equipment for us from the beginning of this adventure. He has always gotten us safely to wherever we needed to be in a timely manner and with unfailing good humor. Thanks, Dave, we are honored to have you as part of our Locomotive Works family.

15/05/2021

Saturday, May 15, 2021: Trucker Dave got here before 11:00 and he and Mack were on their way to Walkersville, Maryland, before noon. The loading went so smooth I didn't have time for a lot of pictures.

11/05/2021

During the last year Barney has enjoyed working with Dan Pluta of PROS (Pluta Rail Options & Services). They have been busy with several inspection, maintenance, and/or restoration projects—at on-site locations and here in the Gramling Locomotive shops.
They have also been successful in acquiring several large pieces of equipment for our machine shop (that is steadily outgrowing its portion of the original building).
These pictures show the arrival of their "new" 1922 engine lathe at the Ashley shop. Barney and Dan have completely refurbished the lathe and modified it to increase its capacity. One of its first jobs has been to turn the wheels for Flagg Coal #75.

10/05/2021

Since we were not traveling we were able to work on the 15 year Federal Inspection for Flagg Coal #75 as well as involve ourselves in some new projects. Jeddo Coal #85 needed builders plates so we decided to try and make our own. Barney obtained a significant number of patterns for plates and number boards from an individual who had made items for many engines during his career. We have a variety of patterns for Alco, Baldwin, Heisler, Lima, Porter, Vulcan, and other engines. We have also made our own patterns and have completed sets of builders plates for Hank, Mack, and Sadie. We have also been able to pour plates and number boards for other engines.

10/05/2021

Barney wants to thank everyone for the kind words and birthday wishes.
After all the engines have been parked for over a year we are glad to be heading out on the road again. Barney and Mack (Jeddo Coal # 85) will soon be leaving for Maryland for our first event of this season. They will be at the Walkersville Southern Railroad May 22-23, Memorial Day weekend May 29, 30, 31, and June 5-6.
On to Pennsylvania where they will be spending three weekends with the Stewartstown Railroad and then to Spencer and the North Carolina Transportation Museum in time to celebrate the Fourth of July.

01/05/2021

Byron Charles Gramling
April 30, 1971
Happy Birthday, Barney!

07/01/2021

January 3, 2021--the first significant snow storm of the new year.

07/01/2021

January 2, 2021--the first ice storm of the new year.

07/01/2021

Welcome to 2021! Our wish is for everyone to have good health, prosperity, and peace in the new year. We look forward to renewing old acquaintances, maintaining and growing our fleet of steam locomotives, and embarking on exciting new adventures.

05/12/2020

16/04/2020

If there is a silver lining to this pandemic situation it is that we finally have uninterrupted time to finish the 15-year inspection on Flagg Coal #75. We are making good progress and thought we would share some of the things we have accomplished. We are able to maintain social distancing quite effectively since Barney works on the engine in the main shop and John spends most of his time in the back room machine shop.

11/03/2020

In addition to all the events planned for this year we need to find time to get Flagg Coal #75’s fifteen-year inspection done so he can be back on the road before Christmas. The new shop is a real blessing. We have space to work as well as room for a variety of machines, equipment, and tools to make the jobs easier.

We decided Hank needed to some wheel work because we hadn’t done much with them during the initial restoration. Over several weeks Barney and PROS worked up a system of blocking and jacks to raise the engine enough to pull the wheels out from under it.

Today was exciting because everything worked like it was supposed to and the sets of wheels were removed easily and safely. There was a brief moment of panic about clearance when we were lifting the engine but we got the height we needed about an inch and a half from the ceiling.

10/02/2020

It was over a decade ago when we first met Asa Newby and his family. We were running one of the first events of Flagg Coal #75 at Mt. Dora, Florida, and they were enthusiastic visitors. On our last day here at Parrish we were delighted to renew their acquaintance. Asa is 18 now and still enthusiastic about trains. In addition to being a helpful cab rider today he went “Hand on the Throttle” with Jeddo Coal #85 and Barney said he did a fine job. Congratulations, Asa, and full steam ahead!

08/02/2020

Friday was a good day for Mack and friends. The weather was cooperative and they spent their time running up and down the tracks helping Watson Wu record railroading sounds for an upcoming television series.

07/02/2020

Sounds like the weather will be favoring us this, our last weekend in Parrish, Florida. Looking forward to a good turnout.

Due to circumstances beyond the control of the Orlando and Northwestern Railroad we will NOT be running in Tavares the next three weekends. We are very disappointed that there will not be a Tavares to Eustis event this year but are hopeful we can schedule another time.

04/02/2020

We’re off to a busy start for 2020! Jeddo Coal #85 has begun his travels this year by visiting the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish. Mack has only one more week of his 3-week stay to run here. Then we head north but only to Tavares, Florida, where for 3 weekends Mack will be running from Tavares to Eustis for the Orlando and Northwestern Railroad. After finishing there the next stop will be in Salisbury, North Carolina, and the North Carolina Transportation Museum where Mack will be running the next 7 Saturdays.

Barney has bought his own horse trailer and fitted it out for a traveling tool shop and storage as well as living quarters. So far it seems to be working out pretty well. John has gone to a smaller camper so that he can do some extra traveling between events.