Author Topic: December 2016 Work Planning  (Read 58121 times)

Joe Fox

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #75 on: December 19, 2016, 11:36:08 AM »
Running in the snow is fun. The key is to pre warm the shoes before stopping. And brakemen must be extra careful not to skid wheels. Train brakes are a wonderful thing for an engineer because in the cab in the winter you can feel when the brakes lock up and start skidding because if you are going downhill you will actually pick up speed like on a sled. Not a pleasant feeling.

When running in the snow, its easy for an engineer to control the train with train brakes because he knows where to set the brakes to make them effective. But a conductor or brakemen hearing a call for brakes may just turn the wheel as tight as they can, causing the wheels to stop rather than warm the shoes. I can imagine it took some real experience back in the day to understand what needed to be done.

Dave Buczkowski

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #76 on: December 19, 2016, 12:55:27 PM »
All;
Lest anyone from away think that I have a good looking son named Dan, our enthusiastic volunteer that helped clear the switches is Dan Malkowski. Many thanks to Dan, Bryce and Rider for their able and welcomed assistance on Saturday.
KD

James Patten

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #77 on: December 19, 2016, 02:20:56 PM »
I'm guessing many of the issues experienced by Gordon in #9 would have been greatly mitigated had we run a flanger up the line first.  Someone asked if #9 could handle the 4 car train OK, and I had said no problem, it used to handle a dozen loaded wood cars on the Sandy River in the winter.  However, I bet the majority of the line had been flanged first, and without flanger help the train would have been smaller.  That first trip probably all the track was snow covered, so #9 was crunching through the snow and making near ice with the first wheel and getting rid of the ice with the second.  Then the train's trucks tend to fill in the path they just made behind them, so every truck is fighting momentum.

Jason M Lamontagne

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #78 on: December 19, 2016, 04:09:20 PM »
Funny you should mention that.  Tomorrow I'm picking up material and we will begin construction of a flanging attachment to 52's plow.

See ya
Jason

John McNamara

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #79 on: December 19, 2016, 05:00:14 PM »
Does this mean we'll be adding flanger warning signs?  ;D
Please realize that I'm kidding. The original railway didn't have them, and engineers are supposed to know where the crossings and switches are.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2016, 05:03:08 PM by John McNamara »

Wayne Laepple

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #80 on: December 19, 2016, 05:16:18 PM »
Don't forget the original railway had only a couple of engineers who worked nearly every day. It's easy to forget exactly where a crossing is, especially the ones that aren't used much. I don't think some sort of discrete "signal," like what fire departments use to indicate hydrants, would be obnoxious. Rather that then a derailment!

Jason M Lamontagne

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #81 on: December 19, 2016, 05:17:47 PM »
The first model is down to rail head only...

Modifiable.

Jason

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #82 on: December 19, 2016, 06:12:26 PM »
There is one photo that shows a flanger sign on the original WW&F, it's a 6" wide piece of wood (probably 2" thick) nailed near the top of a post.  It's about 2' long, unpainted with no lettering.  There may have been markings at one time but when the photo was taken in the late 1920's it was just bare wood.

Now, on to Victorian Christmas -

As usual, days and weeks of preparation went into the event.  Here are a few of the jobs done prior to December 17th:

* Steam - Jason, Jonathan and the shop crew got #9 ready (including a midweek fire up) and spent part of a day unloading B&SR coach 11.  The weekday crew also put benches on the flatcar in case we needed it.

* Campus - Joe Fox built new temporary platforms for Sheepscot and AC.  These will be handy unloading passengers at non depot locations.  An entire day went into plowing the parking lot and driveway and another day was spent putting up Christmas decorations and lights on Sheepscot Station.  Phil, Steve L. and others made train direction signs with Greg working on train tickets.

* Treats - As can be seen in the photo of the freight house, the cookies and treats covered most of the counters.  Many people baked cookies and snacks including Nancy Weeks, Cindy Rhine and Amy Preston from the Alna Store.  Another job for the kitchen crew was preparing and packing 40+ lunch bags for the train and Alna Center crews.  This was much appreciated!

* Alna Center - Steve Z. spent a good bit of time setting up trees, decorations and lights for Santa's lodge.  It really looked nice.  Candy canes and WW&F gift bells were donated for Santa and Mrs Claus to give out.  Laura and the craft crew brought supplies for the kids to make Christmas decorations in the AC depot.  Fred donated a truckload of seasoned firewood for the bonfire which was a very popular spot.

The weather kept some people away but still 500+ showed up.  Everyone I spoke to said they had a wonderful time, some thanked us for holding the event with the snow.  We thanked them for making the trip to visit the railroad.  Interest level from those who attended and those who wanted to attend is high.  As of tonight the VC photo album on facebook has been seen by over 10,875 people.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it another great Christmas at the WW&F.    
« Last Edit: December 19, 2016, 06:20:05 PM by Stewart "Start" Rhine »

Bill Reidy

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #83 on: December 19, 2016, 07:42:31 PM »
Gail Ciampa also provided a generous supply of delicious treats Saturday.

While the weather kept the attendance down this year, we did have the opportunity to try out one of the portable platforms Joe built for the first couple of trains.  I thought it worked out very well and expect they will be well-used for future events.  Thanks, Joe.

The folks who did the prep work in the days leading up to the event are unsung heroes.  Despite the weather, I thought the day went very well thanks to the work done in advance.
What–me worry?

Joe Fox

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #84 on: December 19, 2016, 08:12:34 PM »
Plow crews on any railroad use track guys to run wings and flangers. Why? Because no one knows the road better than they do when it comes to obstacles.

Wayne Laepple

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #85 on: December 19, 2016, 08:49:04 PM »
Except on short lines, where the train guys are the track guys are the mechanics are the sales and marketing guys are etc., etc.

Greg Klein

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #86 on: December 20, 2016, 09:51:23 AM »
I'll second what John said about things at Alna Center.  The crowd was easy to manage due to the lower numbers.   Boarding and unboarding at the crossing was great as it was stable and flat with no need for steps at all.  Folks were getting a bit cold but the fire and station were nice and warm.  Lots of continuous sweeping of snow off of the platform and clearing the crossing.  Fantastic views of #9 approaching the station.   
At the end of the day, before the last train made its way up, there were no guests at all at AC.  The snow was falling hard and the silence was so peaceful.  We could hear #9's whistle clearly from Sheepscot.  The echo would reverberate eerily for 30 seconds in the dense, snowy air.  We could hear the echo bouncing back from a northerly direction, feeling like we were under a big dome.  Good times!

Ken Fleming

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #87 on: December 20, 2016, 10:02:53 AM »
We need to get a propane torch like below for melt ice/snow from switches.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Portable-Propane-Weed-Torch-Burner-Fire-Starter-Ice-Melter-Melting-w-Nozzles-/171350910636?hash=item27e54f66ac:g:lGIAAOSwPhdU7yJC

heck Harbor Feight or local hardware store.

Mike Fox

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #88 on: December 20, 2016, 05:38:51 PM »
Good way to burn the ties. Proper clearing with shovels and brooms is a must, no matter what is used. The problem with heat is eventually that water freezes.
Mike
Doing way too much to list...

Bill Reidy

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Re: December 2016 Work Planning
« Reply #89 on: December 20, 2016, 06:28:24 PM »
Snow and ice within the gauge were not the issue with the south Alna Center switch -- the points were clear thanks to Bryce and team's work, but the east point would not snuggle tight with the main line rail.  The problem appeared to be a lip on the point rail that was supposed to slide under the main line rail head but was reluctant in the cold.

Wes brought down a bar from #9 which gently persuaded the point to drop down into place.

What–me worry?