Track Department

Saturday's plan involved a two pronged attack.  One group was to finish walking the mainline, the second team was to load the mainline ties onto a flatcar, so they can be peddled out for install in the coming weeks.

Again, I picked up Marcus at Aurora Transportation Center, and we drove up to Marengo Cafe for breakfast. After Breakfast we met a new volunteer to our group, Patrick Shea. Adam joined us at the caboose on 110 track and the plans were set in motion.

Marcus and I walked track. We started with the stretch from East switch to Karstens, so the diesel department could use the east switch as head room for fueling diesels. We then continued out to signal 201 with no significant defects found.  The walk continued from East switch to West before we broke for lunch. After lunch we finished off the West end finding one broken bar. The total repairs for this spring,  two pull aparts  east of 4 mile siding, which is still out of service, One broken bar on the main between 201 and 251.  One broken bar at West switch.  We intend to have the two broken bars fixed before the start of the season.  The pull aparts depend on getting some warm sunny weather to get the rails to expand enough to get new bolts in the rail.

Adam and Patrick grabbed the fork lift and started loading bundles of ties onto the TTX flat car that the Camp Grant arrived on. All the other IRM flats are in use, so we pressed this one into service since it was just taking up space in the siding. The diesel department was kind enough to retrieve it and bring it to along barn 9 for us.  In short order Adam and Patrick had the flat loaded up and ready for Sunday's distribution party.

A break for a brief meeting, and we were back at it putting the train together. Tom joined us for this phase of the job. Tom finished off getting the four part hook put back on the crane. The hook was taken off last year to rig up the clam shell for loading stone. Tom, Marcus, and I, then got the 529 caboose moved over and the loaded flat car onto track 112, while Adam and Patrick loaded a couple more bundles of ties onto tie flats with the tie crane. The tie crane was tied down in yard 10 for the night.

Tomorrow's projects, go out and peddle ties where we marked ties for replacement.

A few photos have been posted here: http://www.irm.org/gallery/album271

Frank D.