Current end of track?

[Mike Fox]

I have walked down to the big slide several times now and I think I figured out what caused it. When the railroad was built, they did it as cheaply as possible. This included several French drains. Over the years some have failed (plugged up). The slide looks to be in one of those areas. Logging a number of years ago folled in the drain and over time the ditch started filling up with silt. This retained water until it got to the point where the hillside was waterlogged. Then the weight of the trees took the hillside down.
   Further down toward the right of way toward the brook, another french drain was affected the same way. Only this one took itself out of the right of way, leaving a washout.
  As for the first washout, I don't know what was in there. I found some pins when we cut that area off. Possibly for a trestle. But there is absolutely nothing left if there was a trestle. There are no pipes from a culvert that used to be there. So this could have been another failed French drain.

[Vincent "Lightning" LeRow]

Would anyone happen to have pictures of the landslide?  This would be really helpfull to my understanding of this area of the ROW.

[Stephen Hussar]

This is the best image I have, still very hard to get a sense of things. Obviously everyone is standing at the edge -- approximately in the middle of the ROW.

[James Patten]

If you still need a sense of things, the bottom of those trees is at least 30 feet down.

[Matthew Gustafson]

Wait so were the guys are standing is the original right of way or is it down the slope?

[Ed Lecuyer]

From South to North (along the ROW):
Jason Lamontagne
Steve Smith
Joe Fox
Zach Willey
Gordon Cook
Dave Olszewski
James Patton

There is no way to stand along that slope, it is far too steep. It's also hard to try to get a good picture of it. The best way to see it is in person.

[Mike Fox]

Not sure #1 looks like Gordon Cook and Not sure #2 is Dave Olsewski (sp?).

Matt, the guys are standing on the roadbed, or atleast the half that didn't slide towards the brook.

[Ed Lecuyer]

I corrected my list. Thanks Mike.

How is Joe doing these days? I don't see him on the discussion forums anymore.

[Josh Botting]

Allright Mike,

Please explain the french drain to the dumb frenchman?

[Ira Schreiber]

A French Drain is basically a minature leach field.

[James Patten]

A pipe with rocks in it.  Of course there's no actual pipe, it's a virtual pipe.

[Stephen Hussar]

Of course there's no actual pipe, it's a virtual pipe.

Like they had back in the 60's!!

[Mike Fox]

Just rocks. A trench would be dug, clean rocks dumped in, smaller rocks dumped on top, and then the dirt for the grade on that. I dug around and found a picture online. Basic cross section of one.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

We installed a french drain at Sutters crossing that drains to the northeast, past the crossing sign.  It may be clogged up now from the road gravel and silt washing down into the crossing over the last 9 years.  Fortunately Brad re-engineered the drainage system so the crossing's flange ways stay clean. 

The other problem with the large wash out is that part of the grade was built on fill.  The W&Q didn't use much cribbing when they built the grade against the existing hillside.  Whatever wooden cribbing was there is long gone and the trees took over when the rail was removed.   Tree roots and the height of the trees make leverage against the embankment.  With rain and wind the weakest part (gravel on clay) collapsed with the weight of the trees and gravel taking everything down the hillside.  We will probably have to install gabion baskets to sure up the west side of the restored fill.

[Ira Schreiber]

Or construct a large pile driver and drive pilings.
Do like the Union Pacific did on the Lane Cutoff in Omaha, NE. Construct a large wood trestle and then keep dumping fill  until the trestle is buried.