W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
WW&F Railway Museum Discussion => Volunteers => Topic started by: James Patten on May 03, 2023, 05:50:54 AM
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Anticipated work for Saturday, May 6:
* Annual Meeting, 2 PM at the Alna Meeting House.
* Public trains (2 trips, fireman needed)
* Engine house work
* Boxcar 56
* Digging, or vehicle repairs
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Going to try and finish the yard clean up too..
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Work completed Tuesday and Wednesday 2-3 May 2023.
Tuesday:
Track Crew: Inspection from Sheepscot to Trout Brook Station where 4 trees were removed from the right of way and remaining ties and trash cleaned up. (Steve Lx, Brian W, Steve Lt, Paul R, Dan, Fred)
Passenger car Truck: Crew moves onto brake install for second truck (Jerry, Carlos)
Vacuum brakes: Brake work design, testing install continues. (Jonathan, Jason)
Archives: Archive work continues (Linda, Lizza Keene, Randy)
Gift shop/Mail on going (Cindy R)
Small Engine repair: (Jay Barta)
Wednesday:
Vacuum brake work: (Jonathan, Jason)
Maintenance Flat #34:Spring plank replacement, oiling, greasing, brake linkage repairs.
(Jason, Brendan, Steve Lx, Brian W)
Archive work continues (Linda)
Insuring work is being done (Fred)
Notes: Work continues through out the week to include Jonathan working off site, Cindy R. in and out all week, Ben, Roger and Dave B., Dan and Ed off site, I’m sure there are others doing the same.
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Work done on Saturday May 6:
* Lawn cleanup - Mike and Cody (sometimes helped by me) worked to remove stones and gravel from the lawn. Especially bad is the lawn east of the Percival parking lot, where snow plowing dropped a lot of parking lot onto the lawn.
* Boxcar 56: Marcel was working on the tin roof. He was later assisted by Jay Wiley.
* Annual Meeting: 32 minutes. The usual suspects got elected (Ed, Mike and Randy).
* Public trains: Just 2; roughly 20 passengers on each train. Several Alna families took advantage to ride the train (which is now free for all Alna residents), some of whom had only heard the whistle, but never actually visited the railroad.
* Engine house: Stewart was painting windows.
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Cody and I also attempted to work on the brakes on the loader. Marginal improvement .
Cleaned the yard up pretty well..Fred mowed faster than we could clean..
(https://i.postimg.cc/CKhx5zGR/0506231310a.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/52qtfwCc/0506231311.jpg)
1 pm train returning. 52 is behond me waiting for #9 and train to enter the north yard. We then sove them in after #9 drops to the Woods Track.
(https://i.postimg.cc/htqjFChb/0506231357.jpg)
Jay securing the roof panels after Marcel makes them.
(https://i.postimg.cc/pdsXFRCq/0506231601.jpg)
Eventual gift shop storage
(https://i.postimg.cc/wMCBj22z/0506231610.jpg)
New Archives room
(https://i.postimg.cc/ydrdwsSk/0506231611.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/kG64Czxw/0506231611a.jpg)
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Anticipated work for Tuesday and Wednesday, 9-10 May 2023
* Passenger Car Truck rebuild
* Vacuum Brakes design, test, build
* Small engine repairs
* Engine house build
* Canopy/ flat #126 work
* Maintenance on flat #34
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A summer project is to upgrade 52's prime mover and cab wiring. Using my notes from my last visit and the help of John McNamara a set of schematics for 52's wiring were created this weekend.
In addition to repairing some things that don't work some suggestions have been made relative to adding a fan in the cab ceiling for engineer comfort. Also a cigarette lighter plug and a USB charging port. Even though we can't use electronics while operating, we don't know what future technology will bring. I do know sometimes I would like to simply leave my phone on charge while waiting around for the next move during track operations.
Knowing the risk of opening Pandora's Box if anyone has any suggestions along these lines, now would be the time to make them. No promises and changes must withstand approval of the powers to be.
Bill
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Reply to Bill, Tom Ross donated some lights over the work weekend that I was thinking, maybe we could install a cab light. I see that could be more beneficial then a fan because you can always just open a window or the doors(which are usually open when operating).
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Thanks Dan. There already is a cab light, it just doesn’t work. I plan on replacing it. Along with the dash lights, which also don’t work.
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A fire train crew (52 Engineer, etc.) may be needed for Saturday, 5/13. The current fire danger for Lincoln county is "High", which requires a fire train to be on standby. If it changes to "Very High" a fire train must follow the steam train as a second section.
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Anticipated work for Saturday May 13:
* Mother's Day Tea train (11 AM & 1 PM), Sheepscot Valley Steam Train to TBS (11 AM) and Dwight's Memorial train (1 PM).
* Engine house construction
* Boxcar 56
* Vehicle repair or ground work
* Board meeting at 4
* Sheepscot Stargazing Special (7:30 PM)
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Work completed Tuesday and Wednesday 9-10 May 2023
Tuesday:
* Passenger truck rebuild continues with brake work on the 2nd truck. build/assembly (Jerry, Carlos)
* Coach #9 build and assembly, looked like a lot of sanding going on. (Eric, Ron)
* Small engine repair on lawn mowers. (Jay Barta)
* Lawn mowing/maintenance at Alna Ctr, Sheepscot Station (Randy, Jay Barta)
* SS grounds maintenance (Stewart, Fred)
* Flat car #126 recovery (Jeff Varny, Brendan, Steve Lt, Brian, Dan, Leon, Steve Lx, Joe Dupre, Ty)
* Main Line Inspection SS north TBS
* Canopy rail recovered TOM (Steve Lx, Brian W, Steve Lt, Leon, Dan, Joe Dupre, Ty)
* Gift shop/ mail on going (Cindy R)
* Passenger car trucks and vacuum brakes (Jason, Jonathan)
* Archive work continues (Linda)
Wednesday:
* Flat car #34 maintenance completed, back in service (Steve Lx, Briwn W, Brendan, Fred)
* Vacuum brake work continued (Jonathan, Joe Dupre)
* Coach #9 work continued (Eric, Ron, Seth)
* Flat car #126 inspected, awaiting brake wheel install (Steve Lx, Brian W)
* Brakeman training (Jason, Paul B)
* Gift shop/mail (Cindy R)
* Archive work continues (Linda)
* Yard switching (Steve Lx, Brian W, Brendan)
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Thanks, Steve. I appreciate all the work reports, and particularly the midweek reports. Wish I could be up more frequently to help.
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Work done on Saturday May 13:
* Vehicle repair: Mike and Cody worked on the front end loader and the bulldozer.
* Boxcar 56: More roofing.
* Train ops, including Dwight's memorial train at 1.
* Board meeting
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42 people rode for Dwight’s train in his memory today. What a way to celebrate Dwight.
Today gave me a chance to reflect many fond memories Dwight. I didn’t get a chance to share them, but I remember when we all would be tree cutting the RoW, discovered the rails at Top of the Mountain, walked down the mountain, and countless other times. I can remember back when I first started, telling folks that half of our regular volunteers at the time lived in Mass. Dwight included. Many of these volunteers have since relocated to be closer to the museum. Dave B gave a brief speech at Alna Center and asked for a moment of silence. After the silence was a long blast of the whistle to honor Dwight. The engine, crew, and many others really went all out for our dear friend. (With what I suspect may be our first memorial train?) Going down the Mountain, and thinking of all the walks and days many of us spent alongside Dwight made me truly happy that he was able to see it completed.
Back to the day, there were an additional 86 passengers who rode with us for the full ride, or did the tea event. All of whom had an amazing time.
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(https://i.postimg.cc/x1scZVfp/0513231415.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/SxQnVxhz/0513231415a.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/4NQKzhrg/0513231415a-HDR.jpg)
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Not our first memorial train. We did one for Clarissa, stopping briefly on a northbound trip at Humason for a moment of silence and a tribute whistle.
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Some photos from Saturday, May 13th. At the start of the day, Bill Piche (right) dumps coal into No. 9's bunker, as Trevor Hartford (left) rakes the pile.
(https://i.imgur.com/vxzJs56.jpg)
The day's train being pushed to the boarding area. Trainmaster Ed Lecuyer (right) looks on as Scott Higgins (left) directed the move.
(https://i.imgur.com/IHpSQkD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ts2rz38.jpg)
Mother's Day Tea was held at the Alna Center Pavilion. Pete Stevens (right) served as the railway's event coordinator with the Maine Tasting Center. Dave Buczkowski (left) has just delivered a portable generator to Pete.
(https://i.imgur.com/okEjuZU.jpg)
The setup in the pavilion. The event was well-attended.
(https://i.imgur.com/uTrU80M.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZmSobnp.jpg)
Joan Meehan and Cindy Rhine managed the temporary gift shop.
(https://i.imgur.com/YkfRxou.jpg)
Conductor Joe Fox looking mighty sharp.
(https://i.imgur.com/ohCzyKW.jpg)
At Trout Brook, turning No. 9.
(https://i.imgur.com/tiKelSL.jpg)
As close to an artistic shot you'll ever get from me.
(https://i.imgur.com/gC4agHt.jpg)
John McNamara experimented with equipment to enhance the cell signal at Trout Book station. James Patten (left) and Jason Lamontagne (center) testing the signal, as John (right) looks on.
(https://i.imgur.com/RjJSur7.jpg)
More May 13th photos in these forum threads: J&S Truck Build/Rebuild - Official Work Thread (https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,4352.msg56197.html#msg56197); B&SR Box Car 56 - Official Work Thread (https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,3838.msg56198.html#msg56198); and the Dwight Winkley (https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,4369.msg56193.html#msg56193) memorial.
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Anticipated work for Tuesday-Wednesday 16-17 May 2023
* Track crew preps for tie and dine
* Coach #9 work continues
* Passenger car trucks and vacuum brakes
* Small engine/vehicle repair
* SS campus clean up
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Anticipated work for Saturday May 20:
* Tie and Dine - replacing ties on the mainline.
* Engine house work
* Boxcar 56
* Vehicle repair
* Grounds prep work
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Anticipated NOT work for Saturday May 20:
* Stargazing Train (Cancelled due to rain.)
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Work completed Tuesday and Wednesday 16-17 May 2023
Tuesday:
* Track crew preps and puts out 50 ties for the Saturday tie and dine. Maintenance for mountain
extension marked out with stakes for planned ballast and work.
* (Steve Lx, Steve Lt, Brian W, Dan, Leon, Joe Dupree, Ty)
* Coach #9 assembly/build more interior varnishing (Eric, Ron, Harold)
* Passenger car truck rebuild continues with installing brake parts (Jerry, Carlos, Jonathan)
* Vehicle repair on various machines (Brendan)
* Archives work continues (Linda)
* Gift shop/mail, prep for rearrangement of stock (Cindy R, Stewart R)
* Admin (Ben)
Wednesday:
* Track crew cuts-puts out 20 more ties for tie and dine (Steve Lx, Steve Lt, Brian W, Leon, Joe D)
* Vacuum brakes work assembly continues (Jonathan, Jason)
* Coach #9 work continues with more varnishing (Eric, Ron, Harold, Seth)
* Gift shop/Archives stock moved gift shop set up begins
(Cindy R, Linda, Stewart, Leon, Brian, Brendan, Fred, Steve Lt, Steve Lx, Joe D)
Notes:
Leon makes a second track ladder for tie removal.
Tie and Dine scheduled for this Saturday (20 May)
Star Gazing Special Cancelled (20 May)
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Coach 9 received its 7th and final coat of varnish on the interior.
We still have a lot to go, window sash, ceiling panels, ceiling decoration and more, but 7 coats is a major milestone.
We will examine the finish next Tuesday and may do some touch up if needed, as we try to achieve 'perfect enough'.
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Congratulations Ron. 7 is the lucky number??
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Work done on Saturday May 20:
* Tie & dine. A fair sized crew replaced over 20 ties in the morning (I forget the actual number). The crew went out after lunch but I didn't go.
* Boxcar 56: Marcel was roofing it.
* Can you dig it? Mike (supervised by Cody) dug down on the second drain to install pipe leading to just outside the house, and installed pipe alongside the house to catch water from the house.
* Archives: Fred bought a bunch of NG pictures from his cousin and gave them to the RR. They are mostly all pictures we've seen before. The archives room should be ready on Thursday (the floor had been painted and was drying).
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* 31 total ties replaced during "Tie and Dine".
Thanks to Dan for organizing this, Cindy and Linda for feeding the crew, and to all the volunteers (some from a good distance away) who came out to make today a success.
(And thanks to the rain for holding off until the "dinner train" was nearly back to Sheepscot.)
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Additional Information on work from Saturday, May 20th -
* Campus - Fred and Zack cleaned up around (and a bit inside) the engine house. Also, some trash was cleared from the car barn exhibit hall.
* Gift Shop - Some new items will be ready for sale soon, one may surprise a few people. The store was back in the Freight House thanks to Steve L. and his crew for rebuilding part of the platform and the steps. The move back to the trackside building was a big plus with over $1,000 in transactions today.
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Great work by the guys this week to make the gift shop available..
Cody helped me install a french drain on the north side of the ramp (see pics below) with plans to add just about 15 feet to the south, but need to install some conduit at the same time. I also had to prove to Dave that I can make water run up hill.. We also straightened up the propane tank per Freds request..
(https://i.postimg.cc/13bCX801/0520231419.jpg)
Here is Dave pondering how the water is going to go from the drain up into the catch basin in the parking lot...
(https://i.postimg.cc/FKcPLhGd/0520231419b.jpg)
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Dave pondering how the water is going to go from the drain up into the catch basin in the parking lot...
He is having deep thoughts.
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Yes, they were very draining
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Cody helped me install a french drain ...
Here is Dave pondering how the water is going to go from the drain up into the catch basin in the parking lot...
As Mike claimed its a "French" drain, Dave may have been thinking "Cette tranchée recouverte de gravier ou de roche ou contenant un tuyau perforé qui redirige les eaux de surface et souterraines loin d'une zone ne fera jamais monter l'eau !"
But perhaps Alain may be able to offer a better explanation. 8)
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Anticipated work for Tuesday and Wednesday 23-24 May 2023
* Track prep, recover materials for Jane Way construction
* Prep and move Tank car to TOM
* Vacuum brake work
* Passenger car truck rebuild
* Coach #9 assembly/build
* Small engine repair
* SS campus clean up
* Steam Charters Tuesday and Wednesday
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On Saturday Ed recovered a message from the Sprague’s that the Dairy Car doors wouldn’t open. Marcel and I when to investigate. Two ramp boards were removed and brought back to Sheepscot for planing. They were then brought back and reinstalled.
Dave
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Anticipated work for Saturday May 27:
* Engine house construction work
* Boxcar 56
* Public train ops.
* The Archives room should be ready, so Linda will need some help moving some things down to it. The Archives room will also be home to some gift shop items as the freight shed gets lowered, so there may be a need to move stuff from there as well.
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Work completed Tuesday and Wednesday 23-24 May 2023.
Tuesday:
* Two charter trains (Bob L, Jason, JB Smith, Ben)
* Passenger truck rebuild with vacuum brakes, it works! (Jerry, Carlos, Jason)
* Track crew preps materials for Janes Way Crossing, finish marking for ballast on Mtn Ext.
(Steve Lx, Steve Lt, Leon, Joe D, Ty)
* Gift shop/mail on going, open for Charters (Cindy R)
* Charter support (Stewart R)
* Coach #9 build continues (Eric, Ron Harold)
* Archives work continues (Linda)
* Admin work (Randy, Dave B)
* Box car 56 work continues (Marcel)
* Support and vehicle repair (
Wednesday:
* One Charter, (Jonathan, Eric, JB Smith, Scott)
* Charter Support (Cindy R, Stewart)dmin
* Archives (Linda)
* Coach #9 work (Ron, Harold, Eric, Seth)
* Admin (Bob Holms)
* Sheepscot campus mowing (Fred)
* Training (Jason, Pete S., Scott, Seth)
* Trout Brook Station painting (Ty)
* Track crew, prep for Jane ways, inspection main line, prep stage tank car at TOM
(Steve Lx, Steve Lt, Joe D, Brendan)
* Vehicle repair #52, battery switch replaced (Brendan)
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Thanks Brendan for replacing the battery switch on 52. That was on my list for this summer.
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Tuesday, May 23rd -
As Steve noted, two charter trains operated on Tuesday. The second run was a special for shooting a music video. Nashville Recording Artist Cliff Gelina of Maine's Bluegrass band Breakin' Strings visited the museum with camera director Sandro Medici to shoot stills and performance video for the release of a new song written by Cliff. Video was shot in a number of places along the railway including drone footage from near M.P. 7 to Alna Center and ground level video at the depot. Cliff and Sandro both remarked at how well the shoot went with the train crew being so friendly and willing to work with them to get the shots they wanted. Cliff had been to the WW&F a few years ago but to Sandro everything was new. They really had a nice time and spoke of coming back to ride the entire line. Video locations included Sheepscot yard with water tank and turntable views as well as a rare move to stage engine 9 on the new Garden Track. Cliff played his new composition on a guitar that his grandfather purchased in 1941 and the instrument is full of autographs of famous country and bluegrass stars. It was a pleasure working with Cliff and Sandro and we look forward to seeing the music video and hearing Cliff's new song. A few stills from the shoot are posted on the WW&F FB page.
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Work done on Saturday May 27:
* Boxcar 56: Marcel was working on the roof.
* Public trains: well attended.
Due to my involvement on the train, I was unable to see what others were working on. There weren't a lot of volunteers today.
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I counted 121 each way total for the three trains run today. 85 on our 11 a.m. train northbound.
As conductor, I couldn't take many photos, but here are three.
Early on, I took this photo in shop bay 4, where Harold Downey was busy staining window sashes for coach No. 9. (https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,2944.msg56269.html#msg56269)
Two other photos from today. Brilliant weather, with temperatures in the 70s. The first is of hikers who joined the Midcoast Conservancy's Linc Oliver-O'Neil to explore the trails in the Trout Brook Preserve. They rode our 11 a.m. train from Sheepscot and watched as locomotive No. 9 was turned on the Trout Brook turntable.
(https://i.imgur.com/GBvnVwX.jpg)
Two locomotives at Trout Brook station. No. 9 (right) is on the main line, while No. 52 (left) is on the siding. No. 52 served as the fire train trailing No. 9's public trains.
(https://i.imgur.com/LVsbli0.jpg)
Dan Malkowski asked that No. 9 display U.S. flags to remember the fallen this Memorial Day weekend. Since No. 52 was run as a second section for the fire train, No. 9 carried green flags to denote a second section followed, and No. 52 carried the U.S. flags. Remembering the fallen, and thanking all who have or are currently serving.
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Anticipated work for Tuesday and Wednesday 30-31 May 2023
* Jane's Way Crossing rebuild (Tues and Wed)
* Passenger car trucks rebuild/test/vacuum brakes
* Coach #9
* Engine House
* Vehicle/equipment repair
* SS campus clean up