Those of you who attended the June meeting were treated to a great program of personal photos from Chuck Hinrich’s collection. The photos were from many places and the quality was excellent. Chuck is one of our most talented photographers

I now have a new key to the Center since it officially passed to the City of Madisonville. We have been welcomed by the Mayor and his staff to continue our use of the building for which I expressed thanks to them. Hopefully, we can enjoy the very nice location and facilities at this fine 1929 L&N Railroad Depot downtown for many years to come.

In light of the continued oil spill problems in the Gulf I thought that it was interesting to learn in the July, 2010 issue of Trains Magazine that several major railroads are continuing to study the use of biodiesel for their engines.  Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific, and Amtrak are all testing the use of concentrations of from 5 to 20 percent biodiesel blends made from soybeans, vegetable oil, and animal fats. Amtrak is testing a blend made from the remains of Texas cattle. Previous tests have found some problems with fuel gelling in cold weather but the biodiesel industry claims that this can be dealt with.  The railroads are using diesels from both major manufacturers in their tests which include tests for reliability, overhaul and maintenance, and reviews of specific components on diesel engines. Canadian Pacific even tested the blend in the Calgary-Edmonton area which should be a revealing cold weather test and Amtrak has tested the blends on their Heartland Flyer between Ft. Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. So both cold and hot testing sites are being used. The railroads have not yet released the results of these tests but it should be interesting and might be a good way to extend the oil supply.

At this writing, member Ron Stubblefield has been in the hospital in Marion, Kentucky for about two weeks. Keep Ron and his wife, Kay in your thoughts and prayers as we all hope for a speedy recovery.