e-News: Wed Oct 18 2017

Pink Mixer Driver,
Vicky Long!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Vicky Long, Team Elmer's pink mixer driver, is busy. 

Attending multiple events throughout the month to bring awareness, we are reminded to continue to perform medical check-ups. Click here for more information from the American Cancer Society or click here for more information from the Susan G. Komen foundation. 

In addition to Vicky's busy October schedule, she was interviewed in August by Chris Fiffie of Big Rig Videos for his Youtube channel.  Explaining the reason for her first time driving a large truck, her love for drivng is apparent. Check out her story here.  We thank Chris Fiffie at Big Rig Videos for his time and talent.

Two Cranes and a Train

Even with talk of light rail returning to Traverse City in the future, passenger and cargo trains are a rare site in Northwest Lower Michigan.  Not so over 100 years ago. Rail was the work horse of the logging and mining industries, carrying resources to larger markets for production.

That was the case with a local landmark found in East Jordan's Memorial Park. The 121,000 lb locomotive was slated for relocation to Sportsman's Park 1/4 mile away to allow more space for viewing and easier parking access while freeing up Memorial Park for festival space.

"We felt Memorial Park needed more space for our master plan and Sportsman's Park has a lot more areas we could fit the train," explained Tom Cannon, East Jordan City Administrator. 

Click Here For Team Elmer's Update - Episode 37

In addition to the 19-foot tall oversized locomotive, the tender was an additional 78,000 lbs.  "We used two cranes to minimize stress on the historical structure", stated Al Papcun, crane and rigging project manager for Team Elmer's. Both units were slated for removal and transport across a local bridge managed by MDOT. How did they cross the bridge? Check out Team Elmer's Update - Episode 37: Historical East Jordan Train to find out. One thing you should know, it was an uplifting experience.

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