Messages

121

Work and Events / Re: Shop Building & Machinery Improvements - Official Work Thread

« on: September 16, 2017, 05:15:15 PM »

Why not run a 2 (or 3) track box rail along the entire length of the wall between bay 2/3 and bay 1 (at least up to the stairs). Pick it up at your local Lowes, Home Depot or Tractor Supply - it is a regularly stocked item.

You could then put sliding doors on the track as movable partitions so you will be able to close the cutouts . This will support Mike's request to be able to isolate Bay 1 so it can be heated- move the doors and Bay 1 can be isolated with the movable partitions.

I do all of this in my cabinetry shop so I can segment off what I want to heat.

122

Museum Discussion / Re: Alna Center Station

« on: September 15, 2017, 01:41:27 PM »

Close enough of an estimate. Thanks!

123

Museum Discussion / Re: 37th National Narrow Gauge Convention

« on: September 15, 2017, 01:40:24 PM »

I contacted Lee Rainey, regarding the non-profit. Here is his reply.

Yes, it still exists, and is scheduled to do so through 2019. We were advised for liability reasons to keep it alive for three years after the convention.

I'm not sure how "reusable" it is. After all, its name is "36th National Narrow Gauge Convention, Inc." though very little of the legal verbiage emphasizes the 2016 event specifically.

However, creating such a corporation is very easy in Maine and very cheap and we could explain how to do it.

Lee

Lee also has cost information for last year's NNGC, and is willing to provide it, if James' proposal goes forward. He is excited to hear that a grassroots effort has begun to bring the NNGC back to Maine.

I still have the list of modular layout that were at the convention, as well as contacts for each. I can check with the Clinics chairman and Vendors chairman to see if they still have their information.

Jeff S.

Usually the IRS paperwork for 501(c)(3) is more of a pain to file, but there is time before 2022.
It's just a matter of filing the paperwork to change the name with the DoS.

My point was to have a shared entity between the 4 museums whose sole purpose is to put bids in for the convention to be held in Maine on a regular basis. It is another way where the organizations can help each other and promote everyone's mission.

124

Whimsical Weirdness and Foolery / Re: Deep Thoughts...

« on: September 15, 2017, 10:14:40 AM »

I believe that Ed's and James' squares are different colors due to their moderator status.

Jeff S.

We are just not worthy of such distinction....I am lucky, since I am a newbie, that my color did not start as Infrared. 

125

The Original W&Q and WW&F: 1894-1933 / Re: The end of the WW&F

« on: September 13, 2017, 07:54:07 PM »

I need a set of Mark I eyeballs to confirm the information please....I know it is out there, I saw it, but I can't seem to tease it out of the internet today.

126

The Original W&Q and WW&F: 1894-1933 / The end of the WW&F

« on: September 13, 2017, 03:22:34 PM »

The entire line was abandoned and the rails were removed for scrap in 1934 after a paint company called in an unpaid line of credit.

Which paint company? Was it Sherwin-Williams?

127

Work and Events / Re: Trout Brook Bridge - Official Work Thread

« on: September 13, 2017, 01:15:03 PM »

Make that a big skillet and a lot of lemons.  Mooses are big animals.  Or is that meeses?

I was assuming that the Trout genes were dominant, so the size would be small, but the horns would be a pain to deal with...

128

Work and Events / Re: Trout Brook Bridge - Official Work Thread

« on: September 13, 2017, 09:29:45 AM »

So I have a burning question. If we are going to use "Moose Brook" bridge to span Trout Brook, does that mean the bridge should be re-named "Moose Trout Brook" bridge? Is this like a Jackalope?

I'd hate to meet a Moose Trout in a dark alley unless I had a skillet and some lemon. mmmm....

129

Work and Events / Re: Coach 9 - Official Work Thread

« on: September 11, 2017, 11:34:12 AM »

[I would like more information regarding the Coach 9 cloning project] because I own an artisan woodworking/cabinetry shop.

Equipment-wise I seem to gravitate towards mid-century Rockwell and Delta, with a smattering of Acme, Poitras, Kuster Woodworks, Handy, Crouch, Sand-Rite Mfg., Wetzler, Beach Mfg., Boice Crane, Crescent, Newton, Dake-Johnson, Stanley, GE, Van Norman, and anything else I may have forgotten. I do only North American manufacturers unless I have no choice. I don't like plastic machines, only machines made of materials directly on, or alloyed from, elements on the periodic table.

• I can handle stock up to 20" wide and 6+" thick through my largest jointers and surface planers
• I can 2-pass finish sand up to 36" wide and 6" thick
• I can chain or chisel mortise
• My air-actuated Handy door clamping table is good up to 10' x 5'
• I can re-saw with either my 20" or 36" band saws

Let me know some details what you need for Coach 9 when you get a chance. Maybe I can help to fab up some sub-assemblies when there is some slack time in the shop as an in-kind donation.

130

Work and Events / Re: Trout Brook Bridge - Official Work Thread

« on: September 11, 2017, 10:24:05 AM »

"In that case, it would make sense to provide a removable panel so tour guides can show the truss structure."

And mosquito repellant!

don't forget the tick repellant!

131

Work and Events / Re: Trout Brook Bridge - Official Work Thread

« on: September 11, 2017, 10:21:22 AM »

Why not just have a model at the Trout Brook station and explain it there during the layover. It can be interactive and show the science behind the bridge.

If we start showcasing the science behind the railway we can go after new foundation funding sources instead of just coming from a historical angle.

I think we want to keep people from being too close to the bridge on an active rail line. There are lots of opportunities for injuries.

132

Work and Events / Re: Mountain Extension - Official Work Thread

« on: September 10, 2017, 07:25:04 PM »

Jeff is our contractor. He had constructed a road for us just for the purpose of filling the washout and slide. The road was never fully completed, but is within 50 feet of the grade. The plan is for him to complete the road to the grade, and then fill the hole we put the culvert in.

Glad to hear permission was secured to allow heavy equipment into the ROW to handle the fill for the washout. I can imagine how much effort it was going to be to try and do it via rail.

Next we walked to the slide. I am amazed that neither the Army Corps or the DEP are concerned about that. No permit required. We just need to be mindful of runoff, and control erosion.

Thinking of economies of scale, if the heavy equipment is in situ and no DEP or Army Corps permits are needed for the slide, why not take care of it now. Knock off as much of the low-hanging fruit (i.e. no permits required and culvert repairs) as time permits with the availability of heavy equipment. Getting the road access is a major enough game-changing event to revisit the original plan for this year.

Plus, the Museum is losing the "Mr. Scott" miracle worker reputation to the three-foot DSP&P usurpers in Como, Colorado.

133

The Original W&Q and WW&F: 1894-1933 / Re: Weeks Mills Waterworks' windmill at the Windsor Fairgrounds

« on: September 07, 2017, 03:25:44 PM »

How about cross-marketing? Mention the windmill at the Museum and in turn talk about the Museum by the windmill. Encourage visitors in both directions and provide greater exposure for both efforts.

We could decide how it was shipped on the WW&F and make a prop crate labeled as such. Normally it would be in the LCL/Freight exhibit, but during photo shoots it would be on a flatcar.

How close to the WW&F/W&Q ROW is the Windsor Fairgrounds? I realize Weeks Mills is a bit past Head Tide ....

134

The Original W&Q and WW&F: 1894-1933 / Re: Burnham Overhead Crossing

« on: September 07, 2017, 03:21:16 PM »

It is a very cool find. Diamond crossing in Wiscasset and proposal of an overhead in Burnham.

I wonder if this might have been an option for the MEC crossing to connect to the SR&RL by the FS&K?

The could-have been Maine 2' Empire.

Too bad Burnham is physically so far away, creation of the proposed overhead narrow gauge crossing would probably be the only one in the US, possibly worldwide, but I'll let more knowledgeable confirm such a statement.

Very, very cool. It is a find of a lifetime of research and searching.

135

Work and Events / Re: Trout Brook Bridge - Official Work Thread

« on: September 07, 2017, 12:04:43 AM »

I like Rick's idea - no anachronisms. Sliding rather than swinging doors.
Less likely to get hit?

And rather than a 1/4 scale model a 1/8 scale would be easier to put way for the winter.
Iron fittings could be welded or made from PVC or some such.

The nodes are rather ingenious castings, it would be easier to 3D print or cast new parts at the proper scale than to fabricate from flat plate

http://www.woodcenter.org/docs/dayton-conference/MarstonAndrewsMesler_MooseBrook.pdf
http://coveredbridgesociety.org/gorham/gorham-handout.pdf