Dunsmuir is a small historic railroad town south of Mount Shasta in California. After the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1887, Dunsmuir was a vital service stop. But with the end of steam trains in the mid-1950s, Dunsmuir’s significance vanished. Today it is a quaint tourist town that celebrates its railroad past.

Dunsmuir is a stop for Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle. Thus the town made for a perfect spot for a YouSolar work session that requires no air travel.

With Dunsmuir’s steam train past epitomizing the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of significant increases in carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, it is also an ironic and apt place to work on the future of power.

Arnold Leitner, CEO, left, and Jon Farley, Embedded Systems Engineer, review changes to the PowerBloc’s operating system, TRAFFIC™ OS. Dunsmuir, California.

The third-generation PowerBloc that YouSolar is preparing to ship in 2024 includes powerful upgrades to the current system. The goal of the Dunsmuir session is to review the changes to the PowerBloc’s operating system, TRAFFIC™ OS.

Many of the town’s businesses are closed for the season. The few restaurants that are open are filled with locals, except for the occasional family returning from the holidays and making a stop on I-5. The cold rain outside makes the kitchen of an Airbnb a cozy place to work, and evening walks cleanse the mind.

Tomorrow, the changes and new ideas that originate in Dunsmuir will power some of California’s most iconic homes and soon, people’s lives everywhere.