|
Volunteers:
Andrew A.
Angela A.
Glen A.
David H. Sr.
David Ham.
Joe S.
Everett L.
Wimbley V.
Dylan S.
Dwayne S.
Ben S.
Mike B.
Tucker B.
Accomplishments
1. Continued modification of Jackson
Tamper frame for heavy-duty MOW car
2. Replace museum sign on Commissary
3. Replaced M4 motorman seat stand with one that swivels and adjusts
4. Removed Hyster forklift seat for repair/restoration
5. Distributed additional ties for upcoming tie replacement campaign
6. Additional sawmill pad organization and cleanup
7. One pair Hyster forklift brakes modified and reinstalled
8. Spike mauls and sledgehammers rehandled and repaired
9. Two nuisance trees removed near Engine House switches
10. Crane rail dogs set for use
Friday, February 23
The museum was very busy Friday
afternoon with tours and volunteer work. Tucker operated as motorman and
tour guide for several trains for a large tour group that came to visit.
Glen removed the old museum sign from the front of the Commissary. He
had fabricated a new sign to install on Saturday. The new sign he
installed Saturday looked excellent! A job well done and a thank you to
Glen.
Dewayne continued rehabbing the Jackson Tamper frame by cutting off
protruding metal parts from the tamper frame. The car is being rebuilt
into a heavy haul maintenance of way (MOW) flatcar.
David Hamilton, Glen, and Tucker removed the operator’s seat from the
Hyster forklift so Glen could repair/restore it. The seat was in rough
shape and many of the forklift operators are looking forward to not
having springs poke up through the seat.
Saturday, February 24
The volunteers were split into
several groups with numerous teams working throughout the day.
Glen A installed a lockable, swiveling seat mount for the motorman’s
seat in the M-4 which will make it easier for the motor men to get into
the operator’s seat.
Andrew, Wimbley and Ben picked up bad ties and placed them behind the
Planer Mill power house for use as cribbing in that area using motor
cars M-2 and M-8. These will be used to control erosion in the area.
Andrew, Wimbley and Ben distributed ties south of the Engine House and
around the south side of the loop using motor car M-8.
David Hearne used the all-terrain forklift to distribute several bundles
of ties on the south side of the loop as well. He also used the lift to
move a large stack of rail in the middle of the pad to the west side.
This freed up a lot of needed space in front of the tie stacks. He also
moved old ties / landscape timbers behind the Planer Mill for cribbing.
Dwayne continued work on the tamper frame. He rebuilt portions of the
bent side frame, and installed eye bars on the ends for couplers. Dylan
worked with Dwayne grinding down the remaining items sticking up from
the frame in prep for installing the metal deck.
Joe, Everett, Wimbley, and Ben installed a temporary gauge bar on the
north side of the loop in an area where multiple ties will be replaced
at the next session. This resolved a potential derailment problem in
that area.
Joe and Everett worked on adjusting the coupling bars on the M-2 to
raise them to be more compatible with the existing MOW equipment but ran
out of oxygen for the torch before either the M-2 or the work flat were
completed. The bottles will be refilled/swapped out for the next
session.
Mike B, Joe, and Tucker worked on removing the collar on the crankshaft
of the Heisler to access the valve gear eccentrics which will need work.
Everett and Joe worked on completing the modifications to the brake
shoes for one side of the large forklift, and Tucker and Joe installed
them. They look like they will work, and the next step is removing,
modifying, and re-installing the brake pads on the other side of the
forklift. Having this forklift serviceable, along with the all-terrain
lift, will greatly aid work around the museum.
Angela conducted several tours of the museum including a special tour
for Dwayne’s family and special friends.
Vicki Hearne once again provided the volunteers with a wonderful lunch
of pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans! Thanks Vicki!
At the end of the day, the volunteers had distributed over 100 ties in
preparation for the tie work at the next sessions.
Sunday, February 25
The work continued Sunday in several
groups. Andrew, Tucker, and Glen felled two nuisance trees near the
Engine House switches with the museum chainsaw and pole saw. Andrew and
Tucker cut up the limbs and trees and Glen hauled them off in the
tractor. The limbs were brought to the burn pile and the tree sections
were brought to the Heisler wood storage area. These efforts are part of
the long-term goal of continued cleanup in the area, to restore railroad
corridors, and to remove risky trees from historic equipment and tracks.
Everett, Angela, Wimbley, Dylan, and Dewayne inspected the rail dogs on
Ichabod (the rail crane). A chain can be used in the spot where one dog
is missing to hold the crane securely to the track. They also repaired
and re-handled several spike mauls and sledgehammers in anticipation of
our upcoming tie replacement campaign.
-Tucker "Who Dat" Baker
RR&G
Chief Engineer
|
