August 2018 Work Reports

[Bob Holmes]

Is this some secret code that we're supposed to understand?

[Dave Buczkowski]

Only if you’ve read Harry Potter.

[John Kokas]

Bob,

You need to pick up a subscription to the Voldemort Free Press, then all shall become clear.   

[James Patten]

Work report Saturday Aug 11: Annual Picnic Saturday

* World War I reenactors: Set up shop at Alna Center last night and bivouacked.  Had a chance to look it over today, the "front" was on the hillside west of AC station and they had in the PM a mortar and machine gun set up. 
* Mountain Extension: A little under half of the concrete blocks were loaded on the flat car early and shipped to end of track.  Mike drove up in the Old Yeller boom truck (a loan from the contractor) to unload them and take them north.  He installed 2 of them.  Later in the day one of the passenger trains retrieved the flatcar, it was loaded, and taken by another passenger train north.
* Picnic: attendance was fair, most steam trains seemed to go out loaded (3 coaches), the second class train was not well patronized.  Railcar operated as second section of second class.
* Board meeting.

[Bill Reidy]

* Mountain Extension: A little under half of the concrete blocks were loaded on the flat car early and shipped to end of track.  Mike drove up in the Old Yeller boom truck (a loan from the contractor) to unload them and take them north.  He installed 2 of them.  Later in the day one of the passenger trains retrieved the flatcar, it was loaded, and taken by another passenger train north.

Empty flatcar #126 was picked up by the first second class train of the day (10.55 a.m. departure from Sheepscot) and returned to Sheepscot.  The reloaded flatcar #126 was delivered by the 1.30 p.m. first class train.  Thanks to good yard management at Sheepscot by Jason and James, the extra work for the two trains which led to later than normal return times to Sheepscot did not significantly delay train departures from Sheepscot.

...the second class train was not well patronized...

We did not get much love at Sheepscot, but I will say we picked up a number of passengers at Alna Center, both to finish their journeys to Top of the Mountain and return, as well departing AC directly back to Sheepscot.

From what I could see from 52's train, the 103rd Regiment Living History group provided a great experience at Alna Center.  I hope they are enjoying this weekend and will continue to be part of the annual picnic in the future.  The WW1-era military truck was very interesting to watch from my distant vantage point -- hope someone got photos of the WW1 AC scenes that can be posted to this thread or our Facebook page.

The weather today was generally good.  Mostly sunny but somewhat cool in the morning (a great improvement over the heat and humidity we've had the last two+ weeks).  Clouds rolled in for the afternoon, but rain (generally light) held off until after 3.   

[Joe Fox]

I dont know what the final head counts were today, but the steam train seemed to do very well, especially on the 10:30 and 12 departures. And a decent charge of first time visitors, and many familiar faces. A fun time was had by all, and everyone that I talked to had a great time.

[James Patten]

good yard management at Sheepscot by Jason and James

Other than running the North Yard switch I had nothing to do with it.  It was all Jason.

That switch is waaaay out there from the platform.  Voice communication is impossible.  It's really hard to see much of anything.  Thankfully Jason seemed to know when I would need to know what to do next and signal it from around the middle switch.  I told him we need a flag system or something.

[Bill Reidy]

I dont know what the final head counts were today, but the steam train seemed to do very well, especially on the 10:30 and 12 departures. And a decent charge of first time visitors, and many familiar faces. A fun time was had by all, and everyone that I talked to had a great time.

And Joe as conductor looked especially sharp today wearing a tie.  I told him I was going to wear a torn tee-shirt as conductor for future second-class trains, rather than my usual WW&F denim shirt.

Yes -- a fun time by all, based on the conversations I had today.  Always great to see both first-time visitors and familiar faces enjoying their time at our Museum.

I was surprised by the strong passenger count I saw on the 3 p.m. steam train.  Good sight late in the day.

[John McNamara]

good yard management at Sheepscot by Jason and James

Voice communication is impossible.  It's really hard to see much of anything.  Thankfully Jason seemed to know when I would need to know what to do next and signal it from around the middle switch.  I told him we need a flag system or something.

The mag phone department might be able to come up with something.🤔

[Dave Buczkowski]

I was really impressed by the re-enactment group. Having the 102 from Connecticut join the 103rd was a great addition. I missed the mortar and Hotchkiss firing but did see the Model T ambulance in action. Alna Center is perfect for this kind of thing. The group leaders were extremely pleased with how things went. I look forward to an even bigger encampment next year.
Thanks to all who helped out today. I was pleased to see new faces. And Joe cleans up real well, tie and all, as conductor.
Dave

[Joe Fox]

Special thanks to Steve Lennox for the finess with the tie.

[Mike Fox]

Putting out a request for help for Saturday morning. I can only be there until just after lunch, and will need a hand guiding the blocks into place, and helping get the truck back,out of the mud, if it should get stuck again. I have got a little work to do first with the Kubota, so that will be first. I want to set the last 3 bottom blocks, and help lining these up will make it easier.

I am also planning on Sunday as well, trying to get as much as possible done. A hand would be welcomed that day as well, but not as needed as Saturday.

[Joe Fox]

Hey everyone,

We will need as much help as we can get this Saturday 8/18/18. Between needing help for the bridge stuff we also need help with Mountain work, regular operation help, and help prepairing for Fall Work Weekend. 2-3 guys for the mountain, and I will need 2-3 guys to work with me if I am free. In the event I am not around Saturday, I will have things set up for a crew to organize rail without me. We are pinched for space, so the 10 rails we sort out will be loaded on a yellow work flat in a way so they can be loaded and unloaded with the fork lift or tractor.

[James Patten]

Some pictures from Saturday:

The Model T ambulance:


The cook area:


Machine gun emplacement:


Mortar emplacement:


The mortar was set up on the west side of the tracks, on the other side of the tree clump in the middle.  There's a broad shallow valley which is all field, ending in the forest quite a ways away.  Bill B told me today that the mortar shot reached all the way to the other side of the field.

[Joe Fox]

For the away crowd, here is a slideshow put together by yours truly. Photo credits are at the end of the presentation, and shows the progress of the bridge and Mountain projects as of last week. Please note that the photos are only updated from last week, so anything done over the last week has already changed. There is no sound so please forgive me as I am still learning how to put a power point together.

https://youtu.be/JggP7VfFPvc

Again, WE NEED YOU. Without our generous members and volunteers none of this is possible, and as we prepare for the Fall Work Weekend we will need as many hands as we can get. Preparing the rail should be relatively easy work, but time consuming as some of it needs to be cropped, drilled, flipped end for end, and stacked in piles of 5 east rails and 5 west rails for easy working both now and when it comes time to build track.