Katy Dickinson

WP668 Caboose Stair Rail

Today, Chris Gremich and his young son came over to work out details on the design of the stair rails for W668, our backyard caboose. Chris is the master welder who already made the replacement roof ladders for WP668 (he is "The Iron Expert" of CG Designs in San Jose, CA, phone: 408-313-3706). Within the next month, we hope to have our new stair rails, which will also allow us to complete the final inspection and get sign off on our caboose work permits, at last!

The new rails will be made of steel piping that is similar to the handrails and grab bars already on the caboose platform. WP668 has leaf springs which cause it to rock very slightly on its wheels, so the new rail will be attached to the wood-and-Trex stairs but not to the caboose itself.

Chris' 8-year-old son looked at the historical photos of WP668 in service then asked his Dad if they could have a train engine in their backyard. Here is a photo of the caboose stairs as they are now with a temporary hand rail:

Image Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 04:20PM Jul 17, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |  Comments[0]

Working from caboose

Lately, with local gas prices being more than $4.50/gallon, I have been working from home several days a week rather than spending $20/day on gas. Or rather, I have been working from caboose. There are still many small projects to complete but after two years WP668, our backyard caboose, is now fully functional!

When I work from WP668, I have my 12-year-old cockatiel, Princess Birdie, for company at my desk. Here are some current caboose photos, by day and by night:

WP668 by day

Bay window desk

Princess Birdie

WP668 by night

WP668 by night

Fake rock night light

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 01:59AM Jun 12, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Dumbarton Train Bridge

Last Friday, we drove across the Dumbarton Bridge from Sun's Menlo Park campus during heavy traffic. We went slow enough to get some good photos of the Dumbarton Train Bridge running parallel to the automobile bridge. According to a history I found:

The Dumbarton Bridge was the first road bridge to span the Bay, and today it connects the built-out Silicon Valley to the real estate of the south-east Bay. The train bridge south of the Dumbarton Bridge was the first rail bridge across the Bay, the Dumbarton cut-off, opening in 1910. Service stopped in 1982, and the rotating span, which allows boats through, is now welded open. ... The old Dumbarton Bridge, which opened in 1927, was replaced by a new bridge built next to it in 1982, and the drawbridge in the middle of the old span was removed.

Driving from Menlo Park to Fremont, it almost looks like the rotating span is moving (motion parallax). Behind the bridge, look for Hangar One and Moffet Field on the far shore.

photo 1	photo 2
photo 3	photo 4
photo 5	photo 6
photo 7	photo 8

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 09:59PM Jun 04, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |  Comments[1]

Moving into Caboose

This week, we are moving books and bookcases into WP668, our backyard caboose. We have been planning this for years but we still have to rearrange or swap furniture, books, and stuff in a variety of rooms and storage areas to get everything into the right place. Jessica and Paul have been very patient and helpful.

Jessica and Paul move bookcase

John, Jessica, and Paul

Starting to fill with books

John and Jessica in WP668

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 01:37PM May 28, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Brunch

The Memorial Day long weekend was a very busy time for WP668, our backyard caboose. We were getting ready for Sunday when we served a brunch to the winners from the SAMA Auction. We did not get everything done but the caboose looks great (particularly our new stained glass windows by Vince Taylor!). Our guests said they had a wonderful time.

We served them fresh fruit (including cherries from our own tree), eggs and bacon and sausage, french toast and morning buns, coffee and tea and orange juice and champagne. Here are some photos from Sunday:

Cherries on tree

Fresh cherries

Table set the night before

New stained glass windows

Brunch guests

Brunch guests

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 09:31PM May 27, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Stained Glass, Bookcases

The Memorial Day long weekend was a very busy time for WP668, our backyard caboose. Now that the rough electrical inspection has been passed, on Saturday, we finally filled in the trench running through the ballast under WP668. Vince Taylor delivered and installed our new stained glass bay window, and the three big red bookcases were delivered by Crate and Barrel. We were getting ready for Sunday when we served a brunch to the winners from the SAMA Auction. We did not get everything done but the caboose looks great and our guests said they had a wonderful time.

It was a delight to see the lovely windows Vince created. You can see his initial drawings and art glass samples on my 11 Feb 2008 blog entry. Here are some photos from Saturday:

John finishing exterior wiring

Open pipe trench

Filled in pipe trench

Vince and John prepare bay window

1st stained glass panel going in

Train silhouette

Lizard silhouette

Vince in window

Vince and John

Vince starting on 2nd window

Two windows done

3rd window ready to go

Three windows done

Vince in window

Delivery truck

1st bookcase arriving

3rd bookcase going in

Glass and bookcases in place

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 10:55AM May 27, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Passes Inspection

WP668, our backyard caboose, passed its first electrical inspection by the City of San Jose today! John worked from home to be there for the inspector. He said the inspector knew all about our project and was excited to be the one from his department who got to sign off. The inspector said if John wanted work as an electrician, he could get him a job. WP668 only has one more inspection: once the stair handrail is installed, it and the final electrical are all that need to be checked.

The original bunkbed and its wall have been reinstalled already. John put up the last of the ceiling trim and baseboards. Both ladders have been painted and installed. The stained glass and bookcases arrive on Saturday (we ended up buying bookcases but we still hope to build in a window seat). John is almost done filling in the bolt holes on the bay windows (once that is done, I can paint the big WP 668 on the front). I have almost all of the stones in place in the arroyito of the new cactus garden. We will be ready for the caboose brunch on Sunday, 25 May.

Work in progress on WP668:

• 24 May - Install stained glass bay window
• 24 May - Install bookcases
• 24 May - Finish painting exterior markings
• 24 May - Fill in trench for electrical conduit
• Install stair handrail (being made now)
• Final stairway and electrical inspection and sign off
• Install roof walk
• Install bay window seat
• Install phone and internet service
• Move in furniture and books

Ladder installed

WP668 side view

View out bay window

Aloe in Cactus Garden

Cactus Garden

John installing bunk

Katy sweeping up

WP668 interior view from the front door

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 10:36PM May 21, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Flooring Done

Today, I worked from home to keep an eye on the crew who were installing the new flooring in WP668, our backyard caboose. Wei, the craftsman from Armstrong Carpet & Linoleum, did an admirable job. I am so entirely glad I did not listen to the people who said that linoleum is easy to install yourself. I do not have the experience, skill, or patience Wei does. For nine hours, he used very precise simple and specialized tools, made templates, and took great trouble to get the measurements on 390 square feet of floor correct to within 1/8" inch. Our new floor is alligned, flat, and perfectly fitted.

See yesterday's blog for WP668 history and photos of the subfloor going in. Here are pictures from today:

WP668 - May 2008

Caboose Cactus

Building Permit

1st Linoleum Roll

Starting Linoleum Installation

Linoleum Installation

100# Floor Roller

Rolling Linoleum

Linoleum Installation

Putting Down Glue

Linoleum Fitted to Doorway

Middle and Side Done

Putting Down Glue

Linoleum Mostly Done

Replacing Doors

Linoleum All Done!

Wei's Tools

Wei's Tools

Wei's Tools

Wei's Tools

Wei's Tools

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 10:31PM May 13, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |  Comments[2]

Caboose Roof Done, Floor Done Tomorrow

Today has been a busy day for WP668, our backyard caboose. After much preparation, the metal roof was installed (by Wildcat Metals) and the subfloor went in (by Armstrong Carpet & Linoleum). Tomorrow, the linoleum floor covering goes down. This is also a school day Paul, plus Jessica's first in-person work day at Stanford University Library (she has been programming for them part-time from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA). So, I drove the kids and worked in Menlo Park and John stayed home to work in San Jose and keep and eye on the two work crews in the backyard. The photos below show the progression of roof and floor development since January 2006 when we bought WP668.

Original Roof-January 2006 San Francisco-Golden Gate Railroad Museum

Original Roof-January 2006 San Francisco-Golden Gate Railroad Museum

Original Floor-January 2006 San Francisco

Floor-Jan 2006 San Francisco

Roof Rebuild-September 2006 San Jose

Roof-Sept 2006 San Jose

Roof-September 2006 San Jose

Roof-Sept 2006 San Jose

Floor Rebuild-January 2008

Floor-January 2008

Floor-Jan 2008

Floor-Jan 2008

Metal Roof Install-May 2008

Metal Roof Install-May 2008

Metal Roof Install-May 2008

Cactus Garden from WP668 Roof

Metal Roof Install-May 2008

Metal Roof Done-May 2008

Subfloor Install-May 2008

Subfloor Install-May 2008

Subfloor Install

Subfloor Done

Images Copyright 2006-2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 09:19PM May 12, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Silly Vehicles

Sometimes when John and I are feeling worried about yet another big bill for caboose restoration, we try to put things into perspective. In addition to having fun fixing up WP668 and bringing a historic railroad caboose back into (limited) service, we will end up with 390 square feet of comfortable, usable space at less than the going rate for new San Francisco Bay Area construction. Also, based on what we see driving around here, not even counting Ferraris and other high end sports cars, there are much sillier vehicles we could spend money on:

Here is a current photo of WP668:

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 08:32AM May 07, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Work Update

Last weekend, John was wearing his OpenSolaris Governing Board hat at the 2nd OpenSolaris Developer Summit on the University of California at Santa Cruz campus. Today, he is at the CommunityOne event at The Moscone Center in San Francisco and JavaOne starts tomorrow, also at Moscone.

So, I have been gardening but we haven't gotten much done on WP668, our backyard caboose. However, four caboose projects which depend on other people's work are creeping toward completion:

• The metal roof should be installed on within a week - I am waiting for the exact date to be set.
• I ordered the Western Pacific Feather River Route replacement decal today (from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, they had extras). The metal plate on which the decal will go is is 23-1/2" tall by 25-1/2" wide.
• The new subfloor and linoleum go in on 19-20 May.
• Vince Taylor may have the stained glass panels done this month. He came by on Saturday to show me the scale drawings and more glass samples. He would have been done sooner but had a big show at Filoli which changed his schedule.

Posted at 06:08PM May 05, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Creating a Cactus Garden, Part 3 (Creating an Arroyito)

Last weekend, I continued creating the little dry creek or arroyito, that runs through the new cactus garden beside WP668, our backyard caboose. I have many sizes of stones and three colors of gravel with which to create the illusion of a natural creek bed. Picking through the stones for those of the best shape and color and then fitting them together takes time. Pictures follow.

John and I have also been hunting contractors to work on WP668. I can tell that our local housing industry is in trouble because I am getting calls back from my messages and estimators will come out to give us a bid within just a few days even though ours is a small job. (To give you a comparison, it took 8 years to find someone who would put a fancy stucco finish on our cabana because the job was too small.) This week, we have finally found a metal roofing supplier plus someone to install the linoleum floor. Those projects should be done within a month. The stained glass should also be completed and installed before June. We are still looking for a woodworker to build 8' x 16' of floor to ceiling glassed bookcases and a window seat. We found someone who agreed to do the work but then he got too busy.

Arroyito photos:

Partly done

Arroyito overview

Work in Progress

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 04:45PM Apr 29, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Caboose Party

There are still many projects to finish the restoration of WP668, our backyard caboose, but it is beginning to be usable. Once the new floor surface goes in, it will look much better. Our daughter Jessica gets credit for holding the first party in the caboose, on New Year's Eve 2007. She invited a hoard of teenagers over for a dance. They didn't care that it was cold, the bay window wasn't in, the floor was covered in plywood sheets, and there was no paint! All that mattered was that they could play their music loud and hang out with each other.

Our second party was last Sunday, when John and I invited our Agape dinner group over. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church has a program for parishioners to get to know each other better by meeting for dinner once a month at each other's homes. It was our turn to host last Sunday. We moved in the old iron stove and some train lanterns for atmosphere, plus the three area rugs we bought for the caboose at Fabindia while we were working in India a year ago. We had wine, crackers, and cheese in WP668 and then moved back into the house for dinner. It went very well.

John and I are moving up to hosting the Caboose Brunch next month and then a Caboose warming party this summer. Here are some photos:

New Year's 2007

New Year's 2007

New Year's 2007

Almost Ready to Party

Iron stove, lanterns

Ready for Guests

Images Copyright 2007-2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 02:34PM Apr 22, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

WP668 Caboose in the news

We just received the current issue of The Western Pacific Headlight (Issue 35, Spring 2008). This is the official publication of the Feather River Rail Society (FRRS) and the Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society (WPRRHS), based in Portola, California. The back pages 22-23 of this issue show six black and white photos of "WP Wooden Caboose Photos" taken in 1973-1975 by Peter Arnold. Our own WP668 is one of them. This is the same WP668 14 September 1974 photo also published on p. 122: Western Pacific Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment by Jim Eager, 2001 (Publisher: Morning Sun Books; ISBN-10: 158248063X, ISBN-13: 978-1582480633)

Here it is in color (published with permission of Morning Sun Books):

All six photos in the current Western Pacific Headlight issue are of steel strapped wooden bay window WP cabooses. This group was originally built as boxcars around 1916 and converted to caboose service around 1943 (for World War II). They are numbers 643, 645, 668, 679, 680, and 683. Looking at the Central California Rails Caboose Index W, at least three cabooses pictured (645, 668, and 679) still exist. WP645 and WP679 are in Portola and, of course, WP668 is in our San Jose backyard.

Posted at 08:38PM Apr 21, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Creating a Cactus Garden, Part 3 (interviewing rocks)

I have been interviewing rocks. That is to say, I have hundreds of garden rocks of sizes from the diameter of my fist to twice the size of my head, plus many smaller and a few boulders even larger. Most of these are in use but all are being considered for relocation to my new cactus garden. The size, color, and texture patterns of each rock determine whether it gets relocated. Also, if it is still needed where I had it originally. For example, the rosemary border between the house and driveway has overgrown its rock edging so all of those are being wiggled out and moved either to the cactus garden or to replace rocks now in the cactus garden. My son Paul helped me move 40 rocks on Saturday. He said he would rather lift weights.

Some of the rocks came with our Willow Glen house and I moved others from our old house. Still more were collected in our driving trips around California and Nevada each summer. The yellow quartz stone below came from Jake's Creek behind my Great-Grandparents' Elkmont cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Below are photos of some of my favorite rocks, plus work-in-progress images of the cactus garden.

My neighbor came by to see what was happening. She said that the caboose in the cactus garden looked like Disneyland. I hadn't been thinking of Disneyland as a source of garden design inspiration but I include two photos from Splash Mountain's small cactus garden below for comparison. As you can read in my blog, my daughter Jessica and visited Disney World - Magic Kingdom after participating in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in October 2007.

Buying more gravel

Dark gravel in arroyito

Starting to place stones

Moving stones

Silver Torch blooms

Trichocereus Carmarguensis Crest

Cactus without nametag

Last barrel cactus

Top gravel placed

Making progress...

Splash Mountain garden 1

Splash Mountain garden 2

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 03:49PM Apr 21, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |