October 2018 Work reports

[Mike Fox]

The plan was to have 9 to cover the passenger trains so the 52 was free to move the flat car down the Mountain. Without the ability to move the flat, or to have a car for workers to ride in, it is just easier to cancel. I really want the help picking up the wood as we chip the brush.

Plus there is talk of a storm, probably in the afternoon Saturday.

Working on a new date. Tentatively November 10th. I am planning on not being around next Saturday (3rd), but if someone wanted to run down the mountain with a flat car and pick up some, that would be greatly appreciated. As long as the flat was emptied before the 10th.

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

Beware Ticks! Use repellent.

A Museum member is down with tick-borne  ehrlichiosis, which is being treated with antibiotics. 

His sister described it as Lyme's Disease on steroids.

[Bill Reidy]

I am planning on not being around next Saturday (3rd), but if someone wanted to run down the mountain with a flat car and pick up some, that would be greatly appreciated. As long as the flat was emptied before the 10th.

Hi Mike,

What needs to be picked up, versus that that will be chipped?  The silt fencing that's still in place?  Otherwise, the gantry train picked up a lot on the Sunday of work weekend, and I understand Dana's crew cleaned up a lot that Monday.

I expect to be in Sheepscot on the 3rd, so I can join a clean up train crew, if we have an engineer that day.

[Mike Fox]

I may get the silt fence this weekend, but I am mainly talking about the wood. I am not sure how much could get done before train time. A lot is mixed with the brush, and figured we could pick up and chip at the same time to prevent handling the brush for a 3rd and 4th time.

We will not be cutting trees and leaving the brush piled this winter. The brush will be taken care of the same day it is cut. I had to move lots of the brush myself to get the work done this summer.

So, we are now planning November 10th. We will be starting part way down the mountain, cleaning up trees that blew over a year ago. Chip the brush and pick up the wood back to the tree line. Then skip over the Fossel Access road, because we will pile and burn that, then continue picking and chipping. Hoping we can make location 9 in one day. If not, we may do another day late November or early December, depending on crew and equipment.

[Bill Reidy]

In terms of cut wood, I don't remember what's present that's hardwood.  I assume it's the hardwood we want to bring back for firing #9 and we'd leave any softwood in stacked piles along the right-of-way.

Thanks Mike.

[Mike Fox]

Actually bringing it all back. Fred has a drop point for the soft wood. The only wood left will be the pine logs on the west side, south of the slide. I call it the Bobby C. pile. He can point that out while he is conductor and tell guests that "those are from the trees that were growing where the track is now.." You know you can hear him saying that. But I would like everything else picked up. Clean and neat is how I think it should look..

[Bill Reidy]

Of course.  I forgot that Fred has his ways.  Yes, clean and neat is absolutely how it should look.

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

Just curious what do you call soft wood and what hard wood, some consider anything that loses it's leaves hard, but some only count oak,elm,walnut and such as hard. I like some of the softer hard wood  like poplars, basswood and birch for heating because they give up their heat quicker.
Mike Nix

[Mike Fox]

Well we also have soft hardwood and a hard softwood in Maine.

Hardwood around here is the .maple, oak, beech, birch and ash. The soft hardwood is poplar.

Softwood would be the pine, hemlock, spruce and fir. The hard softwood, which I haven't seen in the Alna area, is the Norway Pine, or Red Pine. The wood is harder than your average softwood. I have a few around my house.

[James Patten]

Work done on Saturday Oct 27:

* Parking lot clean up: Fred put the chain saw to use cutting up junk wood to load the truck and send it up the street.  He got in 2 loads.  It made a medium sized dent in the pile.
* Landscaping: Mike was moving dirt around by the Woods track/storage box, setting up the pad to be able to remove the gantry crane and place it.
* Last runs of the season: Two trains went out, the 10:30 and noon.  Rain had started by the noon one.  Good number of people for a cold day.  We put the coach away at the end of the noon run and hoped that nobody showed up for the 1:30 (nobody did).
* Pavilion materials: A bunch of braces and edging from the pavilion were in Fred's truck this morning.  They are now in the storage container.

[Mike Fox]

Fred and Al doing the screw sorting for the Pavillion. Perfect rainy day project


Shortly after the picture Fred had to stop and look up. His eves were going screwy..could not focus

[Jeff Schumaker]

I did not recognize Fred with the glasses. He looks studious.

Jeff S.

[Fred Morse]

Slowly cleaning up the parking lot of old ties and junk wood from building bridge. Only doing it on Sat.  right now, but it will be done before Christmas trains and new ties and benches put where they belong. Hope we can get some gravel on our newly cleared parking lot so we can use it this year.

[Marcel Levesque]

Hmmmmm.......looks like a bucket brigade to me.

[John Kokas]

Is it the Bucket Brigade or just a couple of guys working their Bucket List?  We wait with baited moose-breath!