Spur(s) to/at ML&M at Sheepscot Mills

[Joe Fox]

It will be a full switch. Raised rails seems interesting, but I wouldn't di it on a main line. Maybe for light weight cars only, but raised rails can be bad news. Which is why gaurd rails are a smaller size than running rails on bridges.

[Benjamin Campbell]

I imagine a derail will be in order here?

[Bill Baskerville]

I have been told that a derail will be installed.

[Paul Uhland]

Is installation planned before the snow flies over Sheepscot?

[James Patten]

Planned before snow flies, but snow has been flying mighty early in northern Maine so the snow may fly before that happens.  Jason was hoping for mid-November.

[Paul Uhland]

Bet youz guyz could knock this out in a weekend! 

[Joe Fox]

Switch will be installed in the next few weeks. The spur will have a split point derail. Those unfamiliar it is a single point that allows the wheels to enter a half switch causing the equipment to derail. It is more effective than a regular derail which can break off or fall off if the ties are junk.

[Bill Baskerville]

Joe,

I take it from your note we will have a single point derail and not a two point derail.  Either will require a switch stand.
 On the west side of the derail?

Bill

[Joe Fox]

Yes, single point is all you really need. The objective is to drop the wheels just outside the rail so that it does minimal track damage. I am guessing the stand would be on the west side, but it could be on either depending on its final location.

[Bill Baskerville]

I guess we could always put the derail two or three car lengths away from the fouling point, but withing our 66' right of way.   That would give us a serviceable siding for parking cars or equipment either storage or a MOW hiding place when working on the track in that area when scheduled trains are running.  Since we are adding more cars to our refurbishment Que we could use an extra siding on which to park cars.  The mainline railroads do that with seldom used sidings when they have a surplus of cars.

[Mike Fox]

I still would like a single ended siding south of the crossing there. Leaving a flat or 3 there would make that much more room in Sheepscot.

[John McNamara]

I still would like a single ended siding south of the crossing there. Leaving a flat or 3 there would make that much more room in Sheepscot.

Many years ago Jason and I talked about a possible siding there, so the telephone box has the unusual feature of having wooden slots on the back of the door to hold a small clipboard. The clipboard would be used to record train orders received by telephone at that location. Track-laying advanced to Alna Center so quickly that this idea near reached fruition.

[Bill Reidy]

I still would like a single ended siding south of the crossing there. Leaving a flat or 3 there would make that much more room in Sheepscot.

Grading accommodations were made at Sheepscot Mills for an east side siding south of the crossing back in 2000-1, and I remember discussions about it back then.  The main line there was built in 2001.

[Wayne Laepple]

If a siding were located on the east side of the main line south of the Sheepscot Mills crossing, it would be a good place to stash such rolling stock as the aforementioned flatcars, the ramp car and perhaps even derelict equipment awaiting shop time at either Sheepscot or ML&M. I would favor the switch at the north end and a large pile of dirt at the south end!

[Paul Uhland]

So what is proposed is a dual-purpose spur, to soon serve Bryan's place and provide overflow WW&F car storage.
Not to nitpick, but to minimize confusion I learned that a siding is connected, usually parallel, to a main track at each end, a spur only at one end.
Looks like you'll put in a points-north switch, a single-point derail and a couple hundred feet of track.
Nice.