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News Letter Index |
Various members give a report of happenings at the railroad.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Rolling Stock: Work continues on the upgrade to the Hardt gons. I have now finished 8 cars. Mike Brennan and I pulled two of the four couplers off the wagner's stored in the trailer. We found out that the other two couplers have draft gear instead of a bolt through them. I spent Sunday straightening up the shop a little and reworking the two couplers removed from the wagners. This coming Wednesday, i should finish the ninth gon and start on the tenth. I have learned to mig weld and it has greatly helped with this project. I have just counted the work days left to opening day. Wed, sat, sun, minus 3. 18 days to go. With luck, the upgrade will be complete. The 3 minus days are, March 29, I won't be there, shake down day, and grease day. After all this is done, work will resume on the new car. Jim Scott
Sunday, March 22, 2009.
As members waited for the full track crew to arrive, several raked up black walnuts from the station/turntable area. Some rock was picked up near the yard area, placed in buckets and loaded onto the train. Once all were present, the worktrain picked up the remaining tools near the station and prepared to depart for Summit.
We met Dale Bitsch and the signals work train at bluff siding on our way to Summit. As we passed the turntable at Mohan, we came across the watchfull eyes of a local inhabtant. Engine 704 with Rich Owings, Mike Lorance, Hank Welch, Tom Ernst, Wayne Mosbacker and Jim Greathouse (behind the camera)
We continued on to the top of summit where we dumped some of the rock and fill along the hill side to continue building up the shoulder.
Once the fill was dumped and dressed up, some cleared leaves while some cleaned out the ditch on the hill side of the track down to the bottom of the hill.
The next project was to clear some of the trail rock that had washed across the tracks. A few shovels and the job was quickly finished. Next was on to the Wye to continue raking and blowing leaves away from the tracks. Then we headed back toward home.
We met the signal work train at Meramec Junction sitting on the main. We backed up to Bluffs and Dale slipped his work train into the siding. We ran around him and headed to the yard to put away the train.
Jim Greathouse walked back down to meet up with Dale and help dig where a new junction box will be installed.
Other activities Sunday included Jim Scott in the Carbarn. Jimmy Scott and Greg Wapelhorst were working on plastering a replaced wall in the Crew Shack public entrance area as well as more work in the dispatch office on the second floor of the Stucco.
