Servicing Stop - Glacier Siding. With just about 6 miles to go to White Pass, the crew of the mighty Rotary #1 goes about the business of servicing their machine, while the locomotive crews behind them do the same. Watching over the scene from his cab door, is Rotary Pilot, Alvin Gordon. Although retired from the railroad for more than a decade, this 75-year old gentleman is one of the few remaining veterans who operated Old Number 1 back in the day. His expertise was considered so valuable that the WP&YR invited him to come along on this trip and help "write the book" for future generations of White Pass crewmen. Just below him, the WP&YR Shop Mechanics have the hatches open and are inspecting and servicing the left side cylinder, rod and flywheel. Behind them, #1's Fireman climbs atop the tender to begin the watering process. Note that this Rotary Plow was modified with an all-steel cab when she was restored in 1995. That's a confidence-builder for the crew, when you consider that the danger of avalanches and rock slides is ever-present in the high country on this line!
