Author Topic: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep  (Read 11187 times)

Joe Fox

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,275
    • View Profile
Hey everyone, its never too early to begin planning for the upcoming work weekend(s). The Spring work weekends primary focus will be to ballast the almost 1500'of unballasted track on the Mountain. We will be using #9 with two flat cars, and Monson #3 with two flat cars. (The fourtth will be on loan from MNG) While we are ballasting, there will also be a tamper crew to begin tamping from the end of track up the hill. Ballasting is not fun, but many hands make light work and I hope many of you are able to join us.

Later this summer, probably starting in late June or early July we will begin sorting out the 180 rails we need to build track to Route 218. To do so, I estimate we will sort through a total of 260 rails to get decent ones for us to use. Once we have all materials ready for Fall Work Weekend, I then plan to sort through the rest of the pile if there is any left. Make a pile for croppable rail and a pile for scrap rail.

Also this summer there will be a lot of other trwck projects that need to be done. (Some can be done on weekends. As the ground thaws I have already found a few spots that require attention. Some has been on the project list for a short time now, and a few have just popped up.) See the track work thread in the volunteer section for details.

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,414
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2019, 09:25:50 AM »
... The Spring work weekends primary focus will be to ballast the almost 1500'of unballasted track on the Mountain. ... Ballasting is not fun, but many hands make light work and I hope many of you are able to join us. ...
Joe,
I am going out on a limb here and commit to finishing a project based on an idea I have for making ballasting under the flat car between the rails easier for all concerned.  I have tried unsuccessful to describe this to several folks so I have gone ahead and completed the first of two phases. 

I am making two sets so one can be used on each side of the flat car.  My only worry is will this clear the queen post in the center of the car.  If someone could give me the distance from the rail head to the bottom of the truss rods that would help.

It is easily removed from the rails when the flat car is moved and does not attach to anything, just rest on the rail head.  Best of all it should fit in my car for transporting to Sheepscot in a few weeks.  When I have finished the second phase I will sent photos.

B2 (B squared)
« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 09:32:25 PM by Bill Baskerville »
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Paul Uhland

  • Museum Member
  • Dispatcher
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,074
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2019, 10:42:50 AM »
Bill...are you planning to use a loose, transverse tie slowly pushed along by the ballast car's trailing truck to level ballast to railhead height? I watched NM Rail Runner and C&TS construction crews do this.
Paul Uhland

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,414
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2019, 09:38:44 PM »
Paul,

Haven't gotten that far yet.  Right now I am just trying to find an easier way to speed up getting the ballast from the top of the flat car to between the rails. 

The thought process is that the end of the chute is 6" inside of the rail so the toe of the pile should occupy around 12" fore and aft, left and right, or so.  The chute on the opposite side will make a similar pile which should fill from rail to rail, tie to tie.  The dept can be to the rail head or rail base base depending on if it is the first pass or the second pass after surfacing.  The chutes can then be rolled to between the next set of ties.

If need be a few shovel fulls can be cascaded down between piles to help level it all out.  It only requires coordination between the shovel operator on the flat car and the chute operator on the ground who asks for more ballast until time to move.  Several shovel operators can put ballast on the chute at the same time (alternating) to make it all go faster.  I will take a picture of the chute tomorrow and attach it.  I am about a third of the way to having the wheels mounted on the first one.

B2 (Bill squared)
« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 09:41:56 PM by Bill Baskerville »
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Joe Fox

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,275
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2019, 04:59:40 AM »
Unless someone gets to it before me, I will measure the distance the next time I am at the railroad.

John Kokas

  • Museum Member
  • Supervisor
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,699
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2019, 08:51:51 AM »
How about a FundRazr account for a Portland design ballast car?  Got to keep Zack busy   ;)  I'll chip in the first $100.00
Moxie Bootlegger

Dwight Winkley

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 373
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2019, 03:06:30 PM »
Zack's next car project will be boxcar 67.The new cast door mounting hardware has arrived.

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,414
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2019, 09:32:40 PM »
... The Spring work weekends primary focus will be to ballast the almost 1500'of unballasted track on the Mountain. ... Ballasting is not fun, but many hands make light work  ...
...  When I have finished the second phase I will sent photos.

B2 (B squared)

Here is a photo of one of the Ballast Chutes.  The next step is to make the brackets that hold the two wheels, one on each side of the chute.  The wheels width are spaced to ride on a 60 pound rail head (the black piece of 20 pound rail that I have embedded in one of my sidewalks with a 24" gauge that looks a little gimpy in the photo) 

The bed of the chute is 24" wide at the base and 36" wide at the handles.  the chute is 48" long with the handles an additional 12 inches or so.  The end of the chute bed is 6" inside of and just above the rail head.  The chute bed will extend about 16" out from the edge of the flat car to receive ballast shoveled off the car.  It will roll left and right (from the operators perspective at the handles) on the rail head.  When lowered a single wheelbarrow wheel will allow it to be moved out from under the flat car and to the next need location just like one rolls a wheelbarrow.

Note the 110 pound rail embedded in the wall with the 90 pound rail above it.  There are corresponding rails to the left that are on 4' 8-1/2" gauge with the second one up at 42" gauge with 3 more pairs above of decreasing weight rail gauged to 36", 30" and of course, 24".

B2 (Bill Squared)
« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 09:35:38 PM by Bill Baskerville »
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Steve Smith

  • Museum Member
  • Engineer
  • ****
  • Posts: 649
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2019, 10:06:35 PM »
Hi, square root of B squared,

That is ingenious! I recommend that all within 20 feet have really really good ear protection.

ALAIN DELASSUS

  • Museum Member
  • Engineer
  • ****
  • Posts: 705
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2019, 07:24:24 AM »
Hi B2, Dare I say it, you have stealthily made a smart system to drop the ballast bang on the target. At this rate I'm sure that you are soon  going to work out laser guided ballast. I'll stop kidding. I think your system will save the track crew a lot of pains. Bravo Bill !

Jeff Schumaker

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,350
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2019, 08:59:56 AM »
Bill,

I take it that there will be two of these, one for each side of the flatcar?

Jeff S.
Hey Rocky, watch me pull a moose trout out of my hat.

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,414
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2019, 10:11:02 AM »
Bill,
I take it that there will be two of these, one for each side of the flatcar?
Jeff S.

Yes Jeff, I am making two, one for each side.  Of course now I have to find a way to get both of them in my car for the trip north.

I envision a few more folks on the flat car instead of along side as it is easier, I would think, to drag ballast off from the top.  Folks along side the car can shovel ballast from the rail out to the end of the ties as before. 

I think someone made angled boards that direct ballast from the edge of the car more toward the space from the rail to the tie ends but I don't know if they plan on making sets for each car or not.

B2 (B Squared)
« Last Edit: March 29, 2019, 10:12:35 AM by Bill Baskerville »
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Bill Sample

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 344
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2019, 09:28:08 PM »
Excellent work, Bill! This seems to be a major improvement over the old system of having a few of us standing alongside the flat car using our shovels to direct ballast pushed off the deck.   

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,414
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2019, 09:41:20 PM »
Bill,

Joe has fixed that.  He has made angled pieces of wood that hang just outside of the car side edge and angle back into toward the ties.  That should make filling the space between the rail and the edge of the ties.  My idea is to make it easier and to speed up getting ballast between the rails. 

B2
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Carl G. Soderstrom

  • Museum Member
  • Engineer
  • ****
  • Posts: 531
  • Looking for 2' NG knowledge
    • View Profile
Re: Spring Work Weekend 2019, and other upcomimg Work Weekend Prep
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2019, 10:21:45 PM »
Bill

Is this what you are trying for?


B?
This does not work


If you have Apple -
go to Special Characters
then Digits
next to last row

or 3 up



Or change font size right here on message board.

B2

24pt & 10 pt
« Last Edit: March 29, 2019, 10:28:32 PM by Carl G. Soderstrom »