Happy Easter! The C&S being born again

In 1972, the song that would later become the state song of Colorado, hit the airwaves. John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” was a biographical tune containing the lines, “He left yesterday behind him; you might say he was born again.”

Denver’s reference to “born again” was a tip of the hat to what came to be called the Jesus Movement, a generation of young, often long-haired hippies who eschewed both the sex and drugs culture of the 60s and 70s as well as the stodgy nominal church life of many of their parents. Instead, they discovered that to follow Jesus was a radical new life, akin to begin “born again,” a phrase Jesus Himself used when he explained to a seeker that eternal life is life that begins not in Heaven, but now, at the point of following Him.

On this Easter Sunday, when many of us celebrate that Jesus conquered death, making a way for us to be “born again,” it is a delight to see a symbol of this new life in a tiny railroad that has been experiencing rebirths lately. It might be a stretch to call it a symbol, but I’d like to believe the Lord looks kindly on a our meager attempts to resurrect that which was lost.

There have been so many rebirths in the C&S world this past year, but the one that I want to focus on this Easter is C&S caboose 1006, proudly being born again thanks to the C&S Railway Society. They hope that this year the resurrection will be complete.

Compression block for 1006's new frame-Sept 2017

The society sent me an update on the status of 1006 and their vision for 2018. While completion within the year is the goal, they understandably state, “but with all projects of this nature, it’ll be done when it’s done.” The focus right now is on frame assembly. With all the components of the frame present in Silver Plume, the society is “drilling out the tongue and groove for the frame members to go together.” After the frame is put together the plan is to use a Georgetown Loop forklift, operated by Jeff Badger, who volunteered, “and lift the original body from the frame. After that it will be a matter of replacing individual pieces of the body frame and re-siding the caboose.”

One hope that the society has is to acquire a grant from the Denver Garden Railway Society. In January the C&S Ry. Society made a presentation to them of the 1006 project. If this grant goes through it will “practically bring the project to completion.”

Thankfully, 1006 was rescued way back in 1941 and has repeatedly been saved from neglect and the elements over the years. 2018, however, with this most extensive of restorations on the tiny bobber, may truly be the year of the born again 1006.

Happy Easter! He is risen!