John Kokas,
Just getting around to responding to your message asking whether the PA and MD crew need to machine more switch parts in Baltimore...
Wayne and I only machined 33# rail to make frogs and points for the North Yard; the 12-foot lengths of 33# rail were about all we could lift on our own! Each point had at least 6 steps in the production, and they took us about 5-6 days working 3 hours each day (I would take the afternoon off from my normal job) to create each point. The frogs were a little easier as only two of the four pieces of rail required machining - and the rail was a lot shorter and easier to maneuver! Some of those pieces I machined by myself, before the museum instituted a two-man rule when operating the big mill. Even so, the frogs took 4-5 days to complete.
I don't think I'd want to machine 60# frogs when new ones are available, or additional used frogs might be available from where Wayne purchased others previously. The 60# rail is taller, wider, and definitely heavier when it comes time to lift it up onto the mill table! The larger size means it will take additional passes of the mill bit for each machining step. If I were getting paid my day rate for the hours it takes to make a frog, the cost of a brand-new frog from Alabama would come out cheaper and get delivered quicker!
We still need to machine two more 33# switch points for the switch in to Bay 1; it has stubby, mine-type points, which really jolt you when making the diverging move. When the points for the North Yard were transported up by Randy Beech, there was a fifth piece of rail which already had the "kink" in it; the kink is the first step in the process of making a point. Another piece of 33# rail will need to be cut, bent to have a mate to the existing raw stock.
Just food for thought.
Dave Crow
