Well it turns out Veteran's Day is an Amtrak holiday... know knew? Well the weather cooperated today so I head out with a list of one man jobs to accomplish. To my surprise, JD Marzec and Greg Frech both showed up willing to do track work! Turns out they had the day off as well. So with three people the job quickly turned to Yard 11. The job was to get 11-4 track ready for another pass with the tamper so the first task was to regulate the stone that was dropped a few weeks ago. After getting the regulator fired up, Greg and JD made a few quick passes with the plow and broom. After they finished the 6000 tamper and regulator were moved to Yard 10 to clear 11-4 track. We made our way to Track 24 to fire up the tie crane and motorcar/ powerpack combo. We had to replace a ~12ft stick of rail on 11-4 track to close a 3" gap in the curve. So Greg and JD both got a walkthrough on the machines and ran them over to yard 11 while I acted as the U-man on the ground. The three of us made quick work of removing the old rail and cutting/ installing the new rail. After the last spike was through we headed for lunch at Joe's.
After lunch we spent a few hours cleaning up material and prepping other jobs. Greg ran the tie crane and dropped some old wood in our scrap pile in Yard 14 and cleaned up misc ties while JD and I moved the 100lb track panel from the connector track to Yard 13 for the next yard track. JD did a great job running the crane and we had the panel moved and the crane put away little before sundown. All of the machines were put away and our tools cleaned up at a good hour and called it quits. Not bad for a Wednesday I'd say. I'll be out this weekend but it sounds like we'll be short Tom and Frank for sure. I hope to do more misc work in Yard 11, load scrap and repair the loose switch stand. Given the weather holds up of course. We may also do some more tamping with the 6000 if there is someone willing to learn the machine...
Until next time,
Adam Robillard
IRM Track Dept
Comments
Thu, 05-16-2013 21:52
Looking good Bob! I hope to come out soon once I'm done with school.
Wed, 05-15-2013 21:28
I was not around at the time. General discussion suggests that it was "pretty marginal" in a number of areas. Nigel
Mon, 05-13-2013 11:08
"THUMBS UP!"
Fri, 05-10-2013 02:15
No, it will not be necessary to hold any of the work waiting for the plow to be turned, end for end. Weather will be the major factor, but there will [...]
Thu, 05-09-2013 19:54
The CGW X-38 plow is really coming to life. Bob Kutella and Vic and crew need to be very proud of your collective efforts. I am very appreciative of [...]
Thu, 05-09-2013 15:20
The snowplow looks great! Are you going to apply the door and upper windows befor it is turned to continue work?
Thu, 05-09-2013 09:09
Max, Is there any progress to report yet, in regards to the installation of the poles and overhead wires? Have a good day, sir.
Wed, 05-08-2013 18:40
Thanks for the update! I still don't understand why Commonwealth #5 was removed from service. Do you know why?
Tue, 05-07-2013 09:28
Mr. Kolanowski.....I was just wondering if the Spaulding webcam will be up and running soon for us stay-at-homes. Thanks!2FP
Mon, 05-06-2013 23:04
Max, Has work begun yet on the construction phase of erecting the poles and putting up the wire? Wish I could be there to watch it happen.
Mon, 05-06-2013 23:02
Keep up the good work, Bob. Wish I could be there to help!!!!!!!
Sun, 05-05-2013 18:53
Ah yes, I have made such Jibs myself. If it were me, I would add in each corner an angled piece from the base to the Jib to act as sway bracing. [...]