Messages

1

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 26, 2023, 09:35:32 AM »

Today’s storm turned to rain early and mostly melted.  Dan and I will run up to clear the rail- but not much worry.  Next week’s prediction has changed- now with only a couple inches over Tuesday/ Wednesday, so all in all things look less intense- at least for now. 

Thanks
Jason

2

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 25, 2023, 11:15:56 AM »

Continuing storm clean up operations.

Today I’ll be going out to pre-salt the crossings for tonight’s storm.  I’ll also cover two additional switches.

Tomorrow Dan and I will plow tonight’s storm.  Any and all help will be appreciated- this is an incredible amount of work for just 2 of us.  We probably can’t finish.

Sunday night another 1-2”.

Clean up Monday/ Tuesday.  Test fire 9 Tuesday.

Next Thursday predicted 7.

Major clean up effort next Friday Feb 2.  Please all hand’s available.

Thanks
Jason

3

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 23, 2023, 02:10:49 PM »

Tomorrow morning if everyone available can focus on SS concerns- both track (switches and crossings) and walking paths/ aluminum ramp, etc.  If there’s a functional snow blower this would be very helpful.  Before lunch we’ll wake 52 up and take a swipe through the yard up to Jayne’s Way, to get a feel for the job.  Then let’s plan to eat early lunch and head out on the main right after.

It would be so so looovely if someone cleared the north yard switches while we’re up north.  It’s all a matter of how many folks we have available.

Thanks
Jason

4

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 22, 2023, 07:51:28 AM »

The current forecast calls for 10” tonight through tomorrow, and another 5” followed by rain Wednesday into Thursday.  We’ll have to clear after each storm- especially now that they’re on top of an existing snowfall.  Due to Amherst weekend I’m a tad worried about crew availability for a late week clearing effort, however if the line is cleared Tuesday, clearing the 5” in rain on Thursday won’t be too bad.  I can probably do that with one helper.

Thanks for the nice photo record, Bill, and thanks for the ice hammer demo Steve.  I suspect that’ll become critical for the next few storms.

Jason

5

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 20, 2023, 04:01:11 PM »

In Bath, this snow is like cement.  Tomorrow’s clean out will likely be difficult- 52 will have traction problems, snow will be heavy where it must be shoveled.  This makes this clean out that much more important. 

I’ll get in as soon as I can.  If anyone wishing to help on this crew wants to get going before I get there- the switches in both upper and lower SS yards can be cleared, and the track south of where 52/126 are parked through the entire turntable can be cleared. 

Thanks
Jason

6

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 19, 2023, 07:43:09 PM »

Hi Brian, all,

A very important contention of winter operations is to clean after every storm.  If a storm sits some period of days it settles- even if it’s below freezing- if it then gets covered with another storm it’s packed in and makes clearing everything- crossings, switches and even main line track much more difficult.  The effect is far worse if there is a thaw/ freeze cycle between storms.  We’ve learned from hard experience: keep up and clear every storm. 

Saturdays snow train will take tue time to clear everything well- crossings down to bare planks full width, switches down to ties full width- without any other concerns that day.  I’d only ask for a total of 3-4 people including myself- I’m not trying to impinge upon Mike’s effort- but it’s important to prioritize a thorough clean out of this and every storm.

Thanks
Jason

7

Volunteers / Re: January 2023 Work Reports

« on: January 18, 2023, 06:21:37 PM »

Hello folks,

I’m planning on running a plow extra Saturday am, probably around 10:30.  Some help would be appreciated.  I want the extra to wait rather than go out earlier so we get some mid-day sun action. 

Thanks
Jason

8

Work and Events / Re: J&S Truck Build/Rebuild - Official Work Thread

« on: January 16, 2023, 01:56:44 PM »

The 1904 J&S truck drawings we are using show hex headed bolts.

Thanks
Jason

9

Museum Discussion / Re: Leaves on The Mountain

« on: January 01, 2023, 04:03:59 PM »

I tend to agree with Wayne for leaves.  Jay Barta sourced the appropriate leaf blower for us as well.  Perhaps a rental as proof of concept then seek funds to purchase some units.

For excess ballast- I agree with Steve Lennox that this should be a work weekend project.  Shoveling ballast rock is not easy as they interlock tightly.  Moving the stone over any height or distance is back breaking.  At this point- redistribution into the adjacent ditches, and getting as much labor possible to divide up the work is the practical answer. 

In the future, care to avoid over ballasting should be prioritized.  In the future future, a ballast regulator would be very appropriate (esp with EBT hoppers in the future future).  I’m not sure the unit posted for sale would be a great gamble at $4k plus transportation, without knowing the details of its condition or ability to do our specific job.  Maybe- but not sight unseen.

See ya
Jason

10

Museum Discussion / Re: Leaves on The Mountain

« on: December 30, 2022, 08:29:06 AM »

I have as much concern with the leaves covering ties, preventing daylight from drying them, and from decomposing leaves fouling ballast, causing tie rot.  Ideally the leaves would be kept clear of the track out beyond the ditches.  We’ve talked about leaf blowers for this purpose- but haven’t tried yet.

Thanks
Jason

11

Volunteers / Re: December 2022 Work Reports

« on: December 15, 2022, 07:18:51 PM »

Thanks for noting me Stewart.  I was doing design work on the brake system- specifically designing foundation brake gear for the J&S rebuild trucks and future trucks.  The lever arms and reach rods must apply the correct force to the brake beams in order to avoid sliding wheels while still getting effective braking action.  These levers had been designed for externally applied brake force, but we are now adopting the Eames Brake Co practice of truck-mounted vacuum pots, so the forces and mechanical systems which support them must be verified.  Remarkably- nearly the entire J&S truck brake system works as is with little modification while accommodating the vacuum pots that Jonathan had perfected. 

We are developing detailed sub-system design in order to perform an engineering group design analysis and verification.  We have been in communication with FRA representatives on this topic and have a desire to design and install this brake system in a manner consistent with the industry standard.  Once these documents are complete, reviewed and finally revised, our complete package will enable any sub part of the system to be implemented with clarity and predictability.

Loco 9 and train looked and sounded great coming in at twilight this evening. 

Thanks
Jason

12

Volunteers / Re: December 2022 Work Reports

« on: December 08, 2022, 03:35:32 PM »

The brake book we're reading, The Principals and Design of Foundation Brake Gear, reports that the standard approach on passenger cars is to design for no-load and disregard the weight of passengers.  The only exception they give are subway cars in NYC. 

(While a great resource, the book is horribly colored toward superfluous gauge railroads utilizing the braking system of a certain competitor of our good old buddy Fred Eames, so anything they say might be taking as a colored grain of salt.) 

We also can't slide wheels with the brake system when the cars are empty- and varying the capacity of the braking system for empty vs load is not a simple matter. 

There are acceptable ranges of braking ratios- so I'll run the numbers for both empty and loaded to ensure we land in the range at both ends. 

see ya
Jason 

13

Volunteers / Re: December 2022 Work Reports

« on: December 07, 2022, 08:03:14 PM »

Ok I’ll spill the beans…

Coach 8: 8.6T
Coach 3: 11.8T
Coach 2: 12.5T
Caboose 320: 7.5T
Combine 14: 12.9T

14

Volunteers / Re: December 2022 Work Reports

« on: December 07, 2022, 07:09:20 PM »

Another new volunteer, Jim, joined me today in another leg of vacuum brake work: we weighed several cars in our fleet to facilitate brake linkage calculations.  We have a porta-power jack outfitted with a pressure gauge as a portable hydraulic scale- Jay Barta rebuilt it for us this fall.

Thanks
Jason

15

Work and Events / Re: J&S Truck Build/Rebuild - Official Work Thread

« on: December 05, 2022, 06:12:17 PM »

Thank you Paul for posting this!  I’ve been telling folks my recollection of your recollection- we all know how that goes… so, I really appreciate getting the direct account down officially.  I’ve heard quite a few other Edaville stories that are well worth sharing.

Thanks!
Jason