I started building another sprinkler breadboard from one of the PCBs but didn't complete this effort. Instead I used the breadboard and put a 595 onboard along with a Huzzah and tried the test program with that. It still wouldn't work so I looked at the datasheet and found the line called MR stands for Master reset. When it is held down like i had it all the shift registers are reset to 0. When I moved the jumper wire to 3 volts the circuit started working. I modified the PCB of the sprinkler to make the rest line high instead of low on the 595. The relays all worked perfectly. This is a breakthrough. For dinner Libbie made her pizza but added lots of fresh tomato slices and fresh basil. It was good.
Libbie cleaned the train cars out on the back porch and let them dry on a sheet in the sun. They all fit nicely in the old hard sided suitcase which we will leave in California.