B&SR #34 flat car - Official Work Thread

[Ted Miles]

I see in the meeting minutes that the B&SR #50 box car was traded to the Maine Locomotive and Machine Works for the B&SR #34 flat car (B&SR Shop, 1889).

I assume that it went to the Edaville Railroad after leaving Bridgton in 1945. They converted the Bridgton flat cars to open Excursion cars like the Edaville 2001. Does it have a known Edaville number?

Will these changes be removed to make it back into a flat car?  I imagine that the addional  flat car will be very useful in ballast operations next spring.

Will the rail gantry stay on top of the WW&F #126 flat car?

Any news would be most welcome!
Ted Miles, long distance member   

[Mike Fox]

Hi Ted.

The flat car is essentially a kit. New wood was purchased, as well as some replacement steel, but never put together. The original car is still together, so will have to be taken apart to salvage what can be, then rebuilt.

The plan being discussed is make this car have a plug in the center of the car. This will be a removable door basically, so the tank can be placed on the car after is is repaired, or removed and the plug put back in to use it as a flat car.

[Bill Baskerville]

Can we be creative and design a second plug that when inserted can be controlled so as to allow ballast to be dumped between the rails when used as a ballast car?

[Joe Fox]

Bill, there is talk of designing a system to direct stone into the "tank hole" to allow ease of shoveling stone into the center. Great in theory however in reality you will only be ballasting 2-3 ties at a time which will be kind of slow. In which case the discussion of a full hopper car buiot to the original but never built plans has also come up. Flat car sides are still in the works to allpw ballast to be dumped in the middle. Unfortunately there is simply not enough help to execute these ideas or designs so they fall on back burners.

[Wayne Laepple]

On the other hand, since we will complete ballasting track in another couple or three years, perhaps it does not make any sense to use resources to build a dedicated ballast hopper car. Once the main line to Route 218 and the associated sidings are completed, there really won't be a need for a "production" ballast car.  It seems to me we can get along using the tried and true methods, although I think having removable center trap doors would streamline ballasting into the gauge, and if the car was moving at a slow pace and some sort of screeding device was employed to scrape the ballast off the rails, dropping material down into the gauge would work okay. Historically, a tie shoved along by the trailing truck of the ballast car worked just fine.

[Joe Fox]

We still have potential to continue to expand, so to say a hopper car will not be needed after a few years is short sighted. Also not to mention a hopper car can also come in handy for surfacing the railroad like we did this past spring.

[Dwight Winkley]

Ted, A spot out back in the woods has been graded to store the rail gantry.

Flat car 34 will receive the B&SR fuel oil tank. This is the largest of the two B&SR tanks. It will carry water for fire protection.

[John Kokas]

I like the various ideas for #34 but the tank should be the #1 priority.  Having it for extra seating would also be great.  But I would much rather see a dedicated Portland ballast car instead of jury-rigging a flat car to be a ballast car.  Let's just "do it right" the first time and build the ballast car.  Enuf said...…….

[Jeff Schumaker]

When will the rebuilding of #34 begin?

Jeff S.

[Joe Fox]

Work will begin sometime in or before January. The plan is to have the car built as flat car for the Spring Work Weekend, and capable of serving as the flat for the tank as well.

[Wayne Laepple]

From the perspective of how we raise and expend funds, I believe that building a hopper car for ballasting would not be the best use of our resources at present. Just the purchase of wheels alone would run in the area of $14,000-$16,000, not to mention the steel for the axles and truck frames, the timbers for the car frame, etc.  At least in the short run, raising and spending that kind of money does not make sense. Once we reach Route 218, we need to turn our energies and attention to completing coach 9, building the roundhouse and the coal shed, and planning for another structure to house rolling stock, not to mention the construction of the pavilion. In the interim, we can explore how to expand our railway and perhaps consider building a ballast car. And while I think the tank car is a good idea, there is a lot of work involved in repairing the tank so it will hold water.

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

, there is a lot of work involved in repairing the tank so it will hold water.l

Since the tank will only be used for water, has any though been given to just having the inside sprayed with a heavy fiberglass coating with just enough internal repair to hold the fiberglass. I have a small rusted out steel riveted tank I want to use for water and want the rustic look and I have thought of doing that with mine although mine is much smaller and has an open end so mine would be easier to do.
Mike Nix

[Mike Fox]

The repairs that need to be made can't be skipped. The integrity of the tank could be compromised. The plan was to put original looking patches on (riveted) and then line it with a bed liner type material, like Rhino Liner or Line-X, creating the seal and protecting the tank from rust, and keepung the water from turning rusty.

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

Is there a way into the tank once it is repaired (or while).

Or will you put a person hole in the bottom where it is not obvious using capture nuts and bolts?
Button head - hex drive - bolts look like rivets.   

[Dwight Winkley]

Tank dome is open on top. Dome lid is missing,