Sprucing up
Lee Stoermer, president of the Yuma Model Railroaders, tapes up windows on the historic Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Coach Car No. 1643 (top right) before the car, located at Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park, 201 N. 4th Ave., got a fresh coat of paint Wednesday morning. According to Yuma Model Railroaders research, the car was originally constructed by the Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, Calif., in 1875. Before the Central Pacific Railroad became the Southern Pacific Railroad, Coach 1643 operated in the Oakland-Alameda area for many years. In 1913, the Southern Pacific Railroad converted the coach to a maintenance car and it stayed in service until 1938 when it was taken out of service and left on a siding in the Yuma Valley with two smaller cars. According to Stoermer, the two other cars burned, but 1643 survived and was acquired and used for storage by the American Legion in Yuma and then purchased by Yuma resident Don Trigg who in turn stored the coach inside a shed at Westward Village, 3300 S. 8th Ave. In 1991 the coach was donated to the Yuma Crossing Park, placed on a set of caboose trucks (wheels) and is now under the care of the Yuma Model Railroaders Club to help maintain it and save it from further deterioration until additional restoration work can be done. A plaque (top far right) tells the story of Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Coach Car No. 1643. Ed Heikila sprays a coat of “Southern Pacific Green” (right) onto Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Coach Car No. 1643 Thursday morning at Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park. Tony Hoffman (left in photo bottom left) and Stan Ramey cover the windows of Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Coach Car No. 1643 before the car got a fresh coat of paint. Yuma Model Railroaders members (from left in photo bottom right) Lee Stoermer, club president; Tony Hoffman; Stan Ramey and Ed Heiklila prepare Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Coach Car No. 1643 for a fresh coat of paint.