Our task this past weekend was to
construct the new 11-4 track inside of the Barn in yard 11. We had a
really good group out Saturday to work taking time from their normal tasks to
help us out. The crew was the regular track gang, Frank D, Tom H, Steve L
and Adam R and we were joined by Jamie K, Pete P, Warren L from the diesel dept
and Erik M, a long distance volunteer from Nebraska.
Friday Frank D, Andy C and Erik M came out to prep for the day. They
spiked up the remaining ties from last weekend and got tools, machines and
material ready for Saturday. When we arrived Saturday we split into three
groups. The first group used the Model 50 Burro crane and shuttled panels
into the Barn and set them into place. That group consisted of Tom H at
the controls of the Burro and Jamie K and Warren L hooking, walking and setting
each panel into place. The second group consisted of Frank D, Pete P and
Erik M hooking each panel up and inserting ties under joints. The last
gang was myself, Adam R, on the X-17 Model 30 Burro topping off the ballast
cars from our ballast pile out the Barn door.
By lunch we had all but
three panels set, and both ballast cars loaded (kinda overloaded...) ready to
be dumped. It was very hot out so we kept cool with a cooler of ice and
water. Dave Diamond also came over to help realign the track at the Barn
door sill with the backhoe.
After lunch we regained our strength and finished up building the entire track
to the west end of the Barn! Bob Olson and myself ran into the material
yard for a quick trip to locate more joint bars while the Erik ran our
hydraulic rail saw cropping the ends of the rails and getting the last short
panel set. The next step before ballast was to finish up the Quality
Control work and spiked up all of the joint ties with the air compressor
suspended from the Burro crane and spiking gun. Steve L did a great job
nipping the ties while Frank D and Jamie K preset the spikes. Adam R ran
the spiking gun and Tom H kept the air compressor moving along in the Burro
Crane. Once we cleaned up our mess from the construction it was time to do
a rough alignment of the track to make surfacing easier later on.
We hooked a chain to the Burro and at an
angle and tugged on the track to drag it into place, 15’ from 11-3 track.
With a motivated crew, we figured the next reasonable step
would be to dump ballast on our new track.
Jamie K and Pete P grabbed the USA 8537 to dump the ballast. An attempt to move the cars with the Model 50
burro proved to be too much on the tough grade into the barn. Adam R, Pete P, Tom H and Steve L ran the
four ballast doors while Frank D and Jamie K ran the move. We dumped the entire track with a car and a
half of stone in a matter of minutes.
Our last task, due to the dwindling light, was to plow out the ballast
with our new Amtrak Ballast regulator to prep for the tamper. This was the first time we’ve used this
machine and I think we can all say it was an amazing success. A few minor tweaks and lack of use issues came
up, but we did manage to run the machine down the entire track without any real
problems. It will be a good machine once
we get it through ‘our shop.’
With this said, 11-4 track is completely built! This
Saturday we will begin the process of getting the Amtrak Jackson 6000 tamper
adjusted, lubed and running and hopefully continue to reload our ballast
cars. Until the electrical portions of
the building are complete, we will work on raising 11-4 track inside the barn
and tamping the approaches to the doors outside of the barn. This will be a process of raising, dumping
stone, regulating, raising…and so on. We
need to raise the track up nearly a foot in some places and that will take
time.
Congrats to everyone so far who’s
helped on this project.
The help from
within the museum really makes things easier for everyone working and shows the
commitment they have toward the museum.
To
find more pics on the Yard 11 project Frank D regularly updates his page here:
http://www.irm.org/gallery/album182
Check ‘em out. Thanks,
Adam Robillard
IRM Roadmaster
Comments
Sun, 02-21-2021 21:12
Hi Ethan The 428 has been worked on recently but the focus now is on the maintenance and repair on the 1630 and the Shay. This Spring we will [...]
Sun, 02-21-2021 15:10
How is the UP 428 Steam locomotive engine is most done being fixed. OK Roger.
Sun, 02-21-2021 13:18
Hello Max The answer is Yes, the Dover will be used along with our other Pullman cars only in special event operations. When not in use [...]
Sun, 02-21-2021 12:30
Hello Jim We will be operating the Dover this year depending upon its mechanical condition. I hope to use the car in display venue as well as in [...]
Sun, 02-21-2021 12:24
Hello Kirk Hello, Yes the Dover is now in great shape. There are a couple of little projects to accomplish when the weather changes. I am [...]
Sat, 02-20-2021 18:55
Will the DOVER STRAIT be operational for Museum trips
Sat, 02-20-2021 17:06
I’m really impressed with the wonderful job your volunteers are doing to restore this historic passenger car. Once the restoration is complete, does [...]
Sat, 02-20-2021 14:02
It is great to see the work that Bob Hunter and Gene Macowiak started in the 1990’s. Great work done in finishing the two bedrooms and the buffet [...]
Fri, 02-19-2021 18:41
Very good article. I definitely love this website. Continue the good work!
Tue, 02-02-2021 10:15
I know it is wintertime, and the Virus is making getting people in to do work is difficult, so in a few months, when it's warmer, would someone please [...]
Sun, 01-31-2021 14:37
Hello Jack Thank you very much We in the coach dept are working very hard to have these trains restored Thanks Roger
Sat, 01-30-2021 18:45
pre oiler is a great idea saves lots of wear and tear on engines. a pat on the back for the diesel crew