IML: Mrs. Blueberry - yet still she sleeps
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

IML: Mrs. Blueberry - yet still she sleeps



Tomorrow, the 3rd of July is the 47th anniversary of the original purchase of Mrs. Blueberry, my rather down at heel 1958 Imperial. The sad thing is I still won't be able to celebrate the day by taking the old gal out for a drive. After almost 16 months, the engine and transmission are still out of the car. Both have been completely rebuilt but not reinstalled. I was delighted when the owner of the huge trucking company volunteered to take on the project way back when and I console myself with the sure fire knowledge that the car would actually be in worse condition in my garage if he had not done so as money woes have either been beating me over the head with or trying to trip me up for quite some time now. Still and all, it would be nice to get it back, as you can imagine.

I was speaking to the trucking company owner about it on Thursday. At the same time I had to mention our 1958 fire truck needed some serious attention after the clutch on the manual transmission burned up on a recent parade. I finally was able to stay home because some one else volunteered to drive it and they cooked that clutch so badly it's a wonder the vehicle didn't catch on fire. Oh well!

Roy asked me, with a certain amount of devilish amusement, which vehicle was more important to the museum. That's like being asked if you want to be beaten over the head with a trick or tripped up by it. I had to say the fire truck, of course, as it is a revenue maker, but, and forgive me if I sound ungrateful if he can make time and space for a big old fire truck you'd think he could squeeze in the Imperial, especially as the engine and transmission have been rebuilt for ages and are just cluttering up the joint, and not nearly as much as a fire truck, either. Sigh! They sent a big wrecker out for the fire truck today. Some times fate can be very fickle.

The good news is I figured out a way to include the car in my forthcoming book, due to be published this fall. It is a local railroad history book, but I wanted the Imperial in it if at all possible and I came across a time relevant association that made it pertinent. The city of San Antonio was given a retired 2-8-0 Mikado, Number 784, in 1957. It sat neglected for years in an obscure park until 2000 when it was moved outside the newly restored SP station. I took the Imperial down there a few years ago and took a snap of it beside the locomotive. So, I get two for the price of one. A picture of the locomotive and a car from the era it was donated to the city. Here is a link to the picture on the museum's web site:

http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/SPD90.htm

You might be surprised how much effort I put into coming up with the idea. Simple things for simple minds, I suppose.

Hugh




----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm




Home Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network


Copyright © The Forward Look Network. All rights reserved.

Opinions expressed in posts reflect the views of their respective authors.
This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.