Katy Dickinson

Caboose Railings

We are still working on the stair railings for WP668, our backyard caboose. Chris Gremich (CG Designs in San Jose, CA, phone: 408-313-3706) has made the part of the bannisters. He needs to finish those and then attach them to the balusters. Balusters have to be less than 4" apart for safety. WP668 still has the temporary railing John put in last year.

Those who have been to Sun Microsystems' Menlo Park, CA, campus have probably seen where we got our bannister design.

WP668 today

WP668 Bannisters so far

Sun Bannister

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 08:52PM Oct 14, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Open Source JMRI Timeline

This is about a U.S. legal case in which a free open source software project is defending itself against a commercial entity trying to patent and control intellectual property created by model train enthusiasts. Some of this IP has been in public development and use since 1946. (The United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO says: "A person shall be entitled to a patent unless ... the invention was ... in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent...." See 35 U.S.C. 102 Conditions for patentability.)

The timeline below was derived from many public sources and is to the best of my knowlege correct (but certainly not complete). Why publish this? The Case All of Open Source Has Been Waiting For is complex but seems to be establishing important precedents in open source law. Seeing the many threads of action set forth chronologically may help non-lawyer readers understand. This blog entry follows up on my August 29, 2008 entry called "Open Source Court Hearing Today" about the JMRI model train software legal case. My husband John Plocher and I have been following the JMRI open source court case since it started about 3 years ago. John is also a JMRI contributor.

Background:

• What is JMRI?
  From the JMRI model train software website:
  "JMRI is an informal open-source group. We do this for the joy of model railroading, and don't produce anything for profit."
• JMRI is good work.
  It won James Gosling's annual JavaOne Duke's Choice Award, for "Java Everywhere" in 2006.
• Bob Jacobsen
  Bob leads the JMRI effort. He was the winner of U.C. Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004. See Bob's picture accepting the Duke's Choice award. Remember MythBuster's TV story in 2006 called Anti-Gravity Device? Bob was the Guest Star Physics Professor on that MythBuster's show.
• SLAPP
  SLAPP means "strategic lawsuit against public participation", defined in wikipedia as: "...a lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. ... The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate."
• A very brief summary of this complex case (from JMRI Defense: Our Story So Far):
  "JMRI is open-source software for model-railroaders. ... Matt Katzer owns KAM Industries, a company that tries to sell model railroad software. He's never contributed anything to the JMRI effort. But that hasn't stopped him from taking JMRI intellectual property. Matt Katzer and his company KAMIND Associates, Inc. are attacking the rights of open source groups to enforce their copyrights and licenses. If they prevail, the rights of open source groups like JMRI will be significantly weakened, if not lost. We are breaking ground for open source groups in federal court and establishing legal rights for open source groups and their members. We need your help and donations to succeed in this legal fight."
• To make donations, go to Donating to JMRI.

John, James, Bob and Duke, JavaOne

Model Train Layout at JavaOne 2006

"Model train control system" U.S. Patents by Matthew A. Katzer or KAM Industries involved in this case include:

US Pat. App. 11/981320 Filed Oct 30, 2007	US Pat. App. 11/607233 Filed Dec 1, 2006	US Pat. App. 11/593770 Filed Nov 7, 2006	US Pat. App. 11/592784 Filed Nov 3, 2006 Jan 25, 2008 USPTO rejected
US Pat. 7209812 Filed Mar 14, 2006	US Pat. 7216836 Filed Oct 26, 2004	US Pat. 7177733 Filed Nov 16, 2004 issued February 13, 2007 Disclaimed Mar 18, 2008	U.S. Pat. App. 10/889,995 Filed Jul 13, 2004 Dec 21, 2006 USPTO rejected
US Pat. 6909945 was App. 10/713,476 Filed Nov 14, 2003 issued June 21, 2005	US Pat. 6827023 Filed Jan 10, 2003	US Pat. 6877699 Filed Nov 10, 2003	US Pat. 6530329 Filed Apr 17, 2002 issued March 11, 2003 Disclaimed Mar 18, 2008
US Pat. 6494408 Filed May 15, 2001	US Pat. 6460467 Filed May 15, 2001 issued October 8, 2002	US Pat. 6270040 Filed Apr 3, 2000 issued August 7, 2001	US Pat. 6267061 Filed Apr 17, 2000 issued July 31, 2001
US Pat. 6676089 Filed May 14, 1999 issued Jan 13, 2004	US Pat. 6065406 Filed Jun 24, 1998 issued May 23, 2000

Timeline:

Coming Events

December 19, 2008 - Court Hearing (to be in San Francisco)

2008

* January 18, 2008 - Jacobsen's Response to Katzer's Contract, Copyright and Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Arguments * January 22, 2008 - Amicus Brief Accepted * January 23, 2008 - Deadline For Settlement Disclosures Set * January 25, 2008 - United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Rejects Katzer patent application 11/592,784 * February 01, 2008 - Katzer Doesn't Provide Disclosures, Files to disclaim Patent, Moves to Dismiss * February 13. 2008 - Settlement Conference * February 15, 2008 - Hearing Rescheduled * February 29, 2008 - Motions for For Early Discovery & Rescheduling Denied * March 18, 2008 - Katzer disclaims patent 6,530,329 (issued March 11, 2003) * March 18, 2008 - Katzer disclaims patent 7,177,733 (issued February 13, 2007) * April 04, 2008 - Two replies from Jacobsen * April 11, 2008 - Hearing * May 07, 2008 - Copyright Appeal Hearing * July 14, 2008 - JMRI 2.2 released * August 13, 2008 - Copyright Appeal Decision * August 29, 2008 - Scheduling Conference

2007

* January 19, 2007 - Federal Court Hearing * February 13, 2007 - Katzer patent 7,177,733 issued (disclaimed March 18, 2008) * July 22, 2007 - JMRI 1.8 released * August 06, 2007 - DecoderPro.com Ordered Transferred to JMRI * August 17, 2007 - Ruling on January 19th Motions * September 5, 2007 - Request for Reconsideration on Cybersquatting Denied * September 13, 2007 - Appeal of Copyright Ruling * September 14, 2007 - Case Management Conference * October 30, 2007 - US Pat. App. 11/981320 filed by Katzer * October 31, 2007 - JMRI files a Second Amended Complaint * November 2, 2007 - Katzer files a Motion in Opposition * November 29, 2007 - Jacobsen files a Motion pointing out Katzer's misstatements and noticing issues * December 03, 2007 - Katzer replies * December 11, 2007 - Second Amended Complaint Ruling * December 17, 2007 - Jacobsen Appeal Brief Filed with the Court of Appeals * December 21, 2007 - Katzer files a 3rd Motion to Dismiss * December 28, 2007 - Key Open Source Organizations File Brief Supporting JMRI * December 31, 2007 - JMRI 2.0 released

2006

* March 13, 2006 - Jacobsen asks for a Declaratory Judgment * March 14, 2006 - US Pat. 7209812 filed by Katzer * May 25, 2006 - Katzer files an Information Disclosure Statement 10/889,995 * July 12, 2006 - Anti-SLAPP motions * August 7, 2006 - USPTO provisionally rejects Application 10/889,995 - a Continuation of '329 - for unpatentability * August 13, 2006 - Court Hearing * September 10, 2006 - Infringing Copyrighted Material * September 11, 2006 - Jacobsen files an Amended Complaint * September 27, 2006 - Another Round of Motions from Katzer * October 20, 2006 - Written Ruling on Initial Motions * October 25, 2006 - Request for Preliminary Injunction Against Copyright Infringement * October 30, 2006 - Request for Reconsideration of Motions Denied * November 3, 2006 - Reply to Motions; Defending Open-Source Copyright * November 3, 2006 - US Pat. App. 11/592784 filed by Katzer * November 7, 2006 - US Pat. App. 11/593770 filed by Katzer * November 9, 2006 - Katzer files a Memorandum of Opposition * November 17, 2006 - JMRI files a reply and additional materials * November 17, 2006 - Katzer also files a reply * December 1, 2006 - US Pat. App. 11/607233 filed by Katzer * December 04, 2006 - JMRI filed a Motion for Leave to File Surreply to Defendant's Reply Memorandum. * December 21, 2006 - USPTO Rejects application 10/889,995 - a Continuation of '329 - for unpatentability

2005

* March 8, 2005 - Jacobsen gets a bill from Katzer for JMRI downloads (at $19/copy) * 7 April 2005 - Katzer vs. Britton trademark infringement suit settled * June 18, 2005 - JMRI 1.6 released * June 21, 2005 - Katzer patent 6,909,945 issued * August 24, 2005 - Jacobsen gets a $203,000 bill from Katzer, for 7,000 JMRI downloads (at $29/copy)

2004

* January 13, 2004 - Katzer patent 6,676,089 issued * February 22, 2004 - Katzer registers the domain name DecoderPro.com * April 08, 2004 - JMRI 1.4 released * July 13, 2004 - US Pat. App. 10/889,995 filed by Katzer * September 08, 2004 - Glenn Butcher removes his loconetd and railroad apps after being advised of potential patent infringement by Katzer * October 13, 2004 - A post on the LocoNet Hackers yahoo group mentions Katzer's use of DecoderPro.com. * October 15, 2004 - Jacobsen posts to the JMRIusers group about it. * October 26, 2004 - US Pat. 7216836 filed by Katzer * October 27, 2004 - Jacobsen registers DecoderPro as a trademark with the USPTO * October 29, 2004 - Jerry Britton offered to trade Katzer another domain name for DecoderPro.com * 8 November 2004 - Katzer sued Jerry Britton for trademark infringement * November 16, 2004 - Katzer files for patent 7,177,733 (issued February 13, 2007, disclaimed March 18, 2008)

2003

* January 10, 2003 - US Pat. 6827023 filed by Katzer * March 11, 2003 - Katzer patent 6,530,329 issued (disclaimed March 18, 2008) * August 18, 2003 - JMRI 1.2.5 released * November 10, 2003 - US Pat. 6877699 filed by Katzer * November 14, 2003 - Katzer files for patent 6,909,945 (issued June 21, 2005)

2002

* March 2002 - JMRI developers use Java RMI to provide client/server capabilities * April 14 2002 - JMRI test version with client/server code released * April 17, 2002 - Katzer files for patent 6,530,329 (issued March 11, 2003, disclaimed March 18, 2008) * September 17, 2002 - Katzer files lawsuits against Hans-Rudi Tanner and Juergen Freiwald for patent infringement * October, 2002 - Hans-Rudi Tanner and Juergen Freiwald reply * October 8, 2002 - Katzer patent 6,460,467 issued * October 28, 2002 - JMRI 1.1 released * December 30, 2002 - Katzer dropped the Tanner and Freiwald suits

2001

* May 15, 2001 - US Pat. 6494408 filed by Katzer * May 15, 2001 - US Pat. 6460467 filed by Katzer (issued October 8, 2002) * July 12, 2001 - First "commercial" use of the name decoderpro by JMRI developers * July 31, 2001 - Katzer patent 6,267,061 issued * August 7, 2001 - Katzer patent 6,270,040 issued

2000	* May 23, 2000 - Katzer patent 6,065,406 issued * April 03, 2000 - Katzer files for patent 6,270,040 (issued August 7, 2001) * April 17, 2000 - Katzer files for patent 6,267,061 (issued July 31, 2001)

1999	* May 14, 1999 - Katzer files for patent 6,676,089 (issued Jan 13, 2004)

1998	* June 24, 1998 - Katzer files for patent 6,065,406 (issued May 23, 2000)

1946-now

.

Selected Prior Art Listed in U.S. Patent 7,177,733 (patent disclaimed March 18, 2008) 1946-now The Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) is a student organization at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). TMRC is one of the most famous model railroad clubs in the world. Formed in 1946, its HO scale layout specializes in automated operation of model trains. Many TRMC publications are referenced as prior art. 1988 The Märklin Digital Club: The Digital Club was launched in 1988 and has since been keeping pace with the rapidly advancing technology of digital multi-train control. Many Digital Club publications are referenced as prior art. 1992 "A model railroad for Ada and software engineering" by John W. McCormick, "Communications of the ACM" archive: Volume 35 , Issue 11 (November 1992), pp. 68 - 70, ISSN:0001-0782 1994 Rutger Friberg Model Railroad Electronics Allt om Hobby Publishing Company, ISBN-10: 9185496731 (expanded and republished: 1995, 1997, 1998)

Posted at 11:58PM Sep 14, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  |  Comments[1]

wp668.org - WP668 Caboose Story

I have been adding photos and information to the new WP668 railroad caboose home page at http://wp668.org. By putting the history of our backyard caboose out there, I hope I will be contacted by people who have additional photos or stories. It may also be of use to others starting on a similar project. (Surprisingly, I have been contacted by several such people in the last few years.) I am pleased now to have one place for a summary and key image archive on WP668. I am mostly finished with http://wp668.org, even though I keep thinking of more stuff to add.

Posted at 01:56PM Sep 04, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Open Source Court Hearing Today

My husband John and I have been following the JMRI open source court case since it started about 3 years ago. John took the train up to San Francisco again today to support Bob Jacobsen during today's federal court hearing. Some background:

• What is JMRI? From the JMRI model train software website:
  "JMRI is an informal open-source group. We do this for the joy of model railroading, and don't produce anything for profit."
• JMRI is good work. It won James Gosling's annual JavaOne Duke's Choice Award, for "Java Everywhere" in 2006.
• Bob Jacobsen is very cool. Bob is a great teacher: he was the winner of U.C. Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004. See Bob's picture accepting the Duke's Choice award. Remember MythBuster's TV story in 2006 called Anti-Gravity Device? Bob was the Guest Star Physics Professor on that MythBuster's show. Bob is also the JMRI contributor who is bravely taking the lead in this long and expensive case for what he believes is right: keeping the JMRI open source alive and free.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote a summary of this case in Condition or Covenant, and Why Should You Care? (13 August, Legal Analysis by Michael Kwun).
• Larry Lessig wrote a blog post called huge and important news: free licenses upheld (August 13, 2008) in which he wrote: "In non-technical terms, the Court has held that free licenses such as the [Creative Commons] licenses set conditions (rather than covenants) on the use of copyrighted work. When you violate the condition, the license disappears, meaning you're simply a copyright infringer."
• SLAPP stands for "strategic lawsuit against public participation", defined in wikipedia as: "...a lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. ... The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate."
• A very brief summary of this complex case (from JMRI Defense: Our Story So Far):
  "JMRI is open-source software for model-railroaders. ... Matt Katzer owns KAM Industries, a company that tries to sell model railroad software. He's never contributed anything to the JMRI effort. But that hasn't stopped him from taking JMRI intellectual property. Matt Katzer and his company KAMIND Associates, Inc. are attacking the rights of open source groups to enforce their copyrights and licenses. If they prevail, the rights of open source groups like JMRI will be significantly weakened, if not lost. We are breaking ground for open source groups in federal court and establishing legal rights for open source groups and their members. We need your help and donations to succeed in this legal fight."
• To make donations, go to Donating to JMRI.
• My husband John is also a JMRI contributor.

Here is John's writeup from today's hearing:

JMRI-v-KATZER was 1st on the agenda at 1:30; the focus was on
scheduling and paperwork deadlines.  Take-home from the whole
thing seemed to me to be:

    Clean up your paperwork so it is clear what you still want,
    taking into account the ruling from the appeals court, and
    get it all done and responded to and finished so we can
    have a "Jacobsen -vs- Katzer Day" (Judge White's words)
    in court on Dec 19 where the Judge will decide all the
    things that need to be decided.

The "things" seem to be

    Katzer: Motion to dismiss because of lack of Jurisdiction
    Katzer: Motion to dismiss because of lack of Merit
    Jacobsen: Motion for preliminary injunction
    Jacobsen: Motion to address Anti-SLAPP/DCMA

The details of all these motions seem to be in docket filing 227
(http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/227.pdf), as well as in
Jacobsen's reply (http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/226.pdf)

The Jurisdiction part has to do with the patent(s) that Katzer
has disclaimed - his claim seems to be that since he has repudiated
that patent, obviously he can no longer sue Jacobsen over it, so this
whole court case no longer has any basis and should be dismissed.

The Merit part seems tied up in Katzer's claims that this should be
a breach of contract issue, with DCMA and free speech thrown in.

The injunction (http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/227-2.pdf) to
prohibit KAM/Katzer/... from reproducing JMRI and/or JMRI Decoder
definitions, make derivative works, distributing any software that
is substantially similar to JMRI and authorizing anyone else to do so
unless Katzer demonstrates that they have complied with the terms
of the JMRI license.

I didn't take notes on the last motion, but it was something to do with
the Anti-SLAPP stuff that was argued earlier in the decision that was
vacated by the appeals court.

Posted at 11:58PM Aug 29, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

New WP668 Caboose Web Page

I have finally started building the WP668 caboose home page at http://wp668.org. I am not done adding 2008 photos but I have already included a brief 1916-2008 history, the historic photos I have from 1973-1974, a selection of photos from 2006-2008, and a reference section. Of course, there are more details and photos on this blog but it is good to have one web location for the basic WP668 story. Enjoy!

Posted at 11:25PM Aug 25, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

96% SEED Mentees Matched

Since 9 July, we have been in the SEED 2008-2009 Mentor Matching Cycle. That is, the 84 Engineering mentoring program Participants (Mentees) have created and prioritized their 15-name Mentor Wish Lists and I am in the process of sequentially contacting the highest priority potentially available mentor for each of them. In about a month, 81 or 96% have been matched so far. There are two terms being matched at the same time:

• September 2008 - September 2009 Recent Hire Term
  which already has 22 out of 23 matched
• September 2008 - March 2009 Established Staff Term
  which already has 59 out of 61 matched

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 03:52PM Aug 08, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Window Restoration Photos

John finished restoring the first window on WP668, our backyard caboose, last night. There are four more vertically sliding windows plus the bay windows that slide side-to-side. This first window told us much about how WP668's windows were put together and how we can fix them up while respecting their history.

Part of our work is research. For example, although most of the glass in WP668 was destroyed by vandals during storage, the few original pieces of window glass are etched with the brand Duolite. A search found the Types of Auto Glass Offered by PPG in 1957 web page which says:

"Published to the Trade by PPG in 1957
Pittsburgh Safety Glass is manufactured to meet the exacting requirements of the American Standard Safety Code for Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operating on Land Highways (A.S.A. Z26.1 - 1950) ...

DUOLITE SAFETY SHEET GLASS
Two pieces of Pennvernon Sheet Glass of similar thickness laminated together with an interlayer of Vinyl plastic to provide greatest elasticity and resistance to breakage at all temperatures. Safety Sheet Glass does not have the true vision of Safety Plate Glass, but does have an equal safety factor. Duolite is not recommend for use in windshields as here true vision is necessary for safe driving. Thickness 1/4"."

WP668 was originally built as a boxcar in 1916 and converted to caboose service during World War II. Since 1950 is date of the referenced safety standard, this probably means that all of the glass in WP668 was replaced with the new safety glazing within ten or twenty years after its 1943 conversion from boxcar to caboose. The sheets of Duolite glass are heavier and thicker than regular glass and the edges are lined with bubbles.

In addition to restoring the first window, John has made screen inserts which keep the air flowing through WP668 (with few bugs). Here are photos of the window work in progress:

Duolite glass brand (backwards)

Original sash, no trim

Restored window sash

John and new window screen insert

Inside window view

Window with screen

John installing sill

John in WP668 window

WP668 Caboose

Inside WP668

Eleanor Dickinson WP668 Portrait

Before trim install

Window trim install

New trim done

Just needs putty

John back to work

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 05:07PM Aug 01, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Restoring Caboose Windows

I am working from home in WP668 (our backyard caboose) today. WP668 is very comfortable except when summer's late afternoon sun hits the roof. John has been working on restoring the caboose windows for the last week or so. He designed screened window inserts to let in a cross breeze while keeping out bugs. The original caboose fittings included wide metal mesh screens to protect windows against rocks (or vandals?), not bugs. We removed the window trim during painting last year and have gone back and forth discussing whether to buy new or restore the original windows we have.

The difficulty is that the windows installed in 1943 have no framework other than the caboose itself. That is, on five of the windows, the sash holding the glass slides straight up between the inner and outer wood walls. On the bay window, the two sashes move horizontally along built-in metal slots. We haven't found any windows for sale (standard or semi-custom) anything like what we have. We could go to a custom historical window manufacturer but that would be a very expensive solution.

Last weekend, John took apart one of the windows to check its condition. It is clear that the walls of the caboose were painted much more often than the window frames. However, after much scraping, the wood on the first window is solid and the original railroad safety glass is intact. So, that window will be reinstalled with new trim and sill. The rotted original trim and sill are providing the pattern for the replacement pieces. John said he found over a dozen rusty nails in one piece of trim. Repairs during active rail service were hasty...

I will post photos when I have more to show...

Posted at 12:58PM Jul 29, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

For Train Nuts in Northern California

It is easy to have fun being a railroad enthusiast (aka "train nut") here in Northern California, even if you don't have a caboose in your own back yard. Here are some local and regional delights:

Real Train Nuts - from WP668, our caboose

Places to Stay

• Featherbed Railroad Company Bed and Breakfast Resort sleep in a caboose on the shores of Clear Lake
• Railroad Park Resort sleep in a caboose in Dunsmuir, near Mount Shasta

Short Trips, Dinner Trains, Excursions

• Amtrak's Coast Starlight one of the 10 Greatest Train Rides on Earth (not a short trip but a grand one)
• Amtrak's Capitol Corridor Bay Area to Sacramento and the California State Railroad Museum, passes Drawbridge ghost town
• CalTrain ride the commuter train from San Francisco to Gilroy and back, get off and walk to lunch in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, California Ave./Palo Alto, or Mountain View
• Napa Valley Wine Train between Napa and St. Helena through the wine valleys
• Niles Canyon Railway near Fremont, Pleasanton (rent a caboose for your birthday party!)
• Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown
• Redwood Valley Railway 5/12 Scale Narrow Gauge Passenger Railway (trains are 5/12 the size of a full-size locomotive), Tilden Regional Park above Berkeley. You can ride on the trains.
• Roaring Camp Railroads beach or mountain rail route, Felton, near Santa Cruz
• San Francisco Cable Cars in The City
• Shasta Sunset Dinner Train in McCloud (base of Mount Shasta)
• Skunk Train, Sierra Railroad Dinner Train, Sacramento River Train three former working rail lines now offering a variety of tours, meals, and entertainment
• Yreka Western Railroad's Blue Goose Yreka excursion train
• Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Fish Camp excursion train

Museums

• Cable Car Museum in San Francisco
• California State Railroad Museum Old Sacramento - take Amtrak from the Bay Area then walk to this wonderful museum
• California Trolley and Railroad Corporation in San Jose
• Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Point Richmond
• Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California
• South Bay Historical Railroad Society museum and model train club in Santa Clara Railroad Depot
• Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola northwest of Lake Tahoe
• Western Railway Museum in Suisun

Image copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 08:46PM Jul 21, 2008 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

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  | 

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  |