Top of the Mountain Siding - Official Work Thread

[Benjamin Campbell]

I believe that there was an agreement that a house be built on the site before taking possession of No 9 so Harry built his house - moved - and started building the first bay of the shop(along with our earliest volunteers) to house her? I think I am correct but I don't want to rewrite history if not.

[James Patten]

Bay 1 of the car shop was first.  Harry started construction of the house afterward.  It just took a while, I think they hadn't moved in yet in 1994 when I started volunteering.

[Mike Fox]

We will take every possible precaution to prevent loss. Irresponsible actions  by others are hard to plan for. We are trying to recreate or more like create an area that is like it would have been a hundred years ago. And not all in one location. Trying to make it unique.

While it would be better if we entombed our collection in a Fort Knox type structure (Maine or Kentucky), it really is not needed.

[Philip Marshall]

Thanks, James. I was sure Bay 1 came first, but John M. had me doubting myself. (My apologies for the digression.)

[Mike Fox]

I moved some dirt down and built up where the switch stand will go. Hard to tell from that shot, but it is in the foreground, left of the tracks.







Replanted some grass/weeds on the bank

[Paul Uhland]

Definite evidence of good things to come at TOM!
Nice dirtwork, Mike.

[Greg Klein]

Great shots Mike!  Funny thing,  I took a picture during the spring work weekend in 2015 at almost the same location as the first picture in the above string.  Here it is for comparison

[Mike Fox]

Nice comparison Greg. Thanks.

[Mike Fox]

I did a little more this morning before train time, when I had to be in Sheepscot.



Also, found a tie plate. In the area of the original switch..which appears in the top photo before I spotted it, left of the stake close to the orange tape.

[Phil McCall]

Cool, looks intact. I wonder why Mike is finding so much stuff out in what would have been pasture during the original railroad, seems a bit far for a careless track worker to toss it.

[Dwight Winkley]

Greg, The new switch will be installed just north of the south TOM switch in your photo.

[Bob Holmes]

Well TOM was the ruling grade south, and trains were often doubled.  I suspect there was a lot of activity there.  It was not just your ordinary run-through location.

[Mike Fox]

I suspect the tie plate came from between the main line and new grade, because I tossed that stuff with the excavator onto the level area I graded last week to move it out of the way.

[Fred Morse]

Switch points, frog, ties, and switch were put on a flatcar Thurs. to head to TOM this weekend.

[Mike Fox]

All but 2 bales of hay left from last weekend can go north too. And some grass seed if we have any left. I need 2 in Sheepscot