Summer Work: Trim the Trains!

[Ed Lecuyer]

Day 3 report:
It was deemed more important operationally to get the switch at TOM working correctly, so no cutting was done. The good news is that the crossover switch is now much easier to throw.

Day 4, July 4th:
I will be around Sheepscot and would like to tackle a clump of saplings between the turtle pond and Sutter's Crossing. There is also a good size bush south of Brook Crossing (Davis Curve) that needs to be removed as it is obstructing sight lines. Email me or post here if you want to celebrate our independence from the evil standard gauge.

[Jason M Lamontagne]

celebrate our independence from the evil standard gauge.

LIKE

[Ed Lecuyer]

The revolution against the tyrannical standard gauge was celebrated at Sheepscot today. Some saplings were cut near the oil house and tool shed/section house. The large bush growing south of Davis, and the trees growing out into Eastman Lake have also been removed. It was too hot to do much else.

There are still a good number of saplings growing on the West side between Eastman Lake and Sutter's Crossing. Hopefully someone can take the lead to get those taken care of before they become trees.

Meanwhile, Dwight has also been doing some limited cutting. Thanks Dwight!!

[Steve Smith]

Ed, I imagine you wish you could also get free of the tyrannical annual sapling attack along the right of way. Recollection of my feeble attempts at the task a dozen or so years ago is that unless the saplings were tiny, perhaps 1/4 inch in diameter, when the spinning blades hit one the kickback would tend to swing the trimmer, and me--very annoying for one as puny as I am.

[Paul Uhland]

Don't feel alone. The C&T Scenic Friends just showed two bulging  flatcar loads of branches cut along the road's 64 mile route, with more to come during their summer-long weekly work sessions.
Colorado aspens are their main "harvest".

[James Patten]

Thanks for taking care of the saplings on the Davis/Brook Crossing curve.  It was getting to feel like a corridor there.

[Bill Reidy]

Joe Fox and I made an attempt at brush cutting at the south end of Top of the Mountain yesterday.  I managed to get to a few samplings before the heat got to be too much.  Joe got a lot further with grass cutting.

Ed did a good job with the cutting this past week.  I'm impressed with how ground he covered.

There's plenty of samplings to be cut between MP 7 and the south end of TOM.  Perhaps better as a spring (or maybe fall) activity, when it's cooler and there are less weeds, so the samplings stand out.

[Wayne Laepple]

Historically, brush and sapling cutting was done by track crews in the late fall and early winter, after the ground froze but before the snow fell, when they were not able to replace ties and tamp ballast. The majority of this work was done with brush hooks, scythes and hand saws.