Mountain Extension - Official Work Thread

[Mike Fox]

Bill is correct. That would be the next sensible way to go. I have already been walking and looking, getting ideas of what may need to be done where. And what we will need for permits.

We will have the train ride, now we need to work on the destinations. That is starting with Alna Center. Pavilion to erect..

Next year at this time I'd like to think we could be working again at TOM. We have a building to build up there.. Get some of these other items behind us as we plan the next move.

[Bob Holmes]

Eric, Fred and Bill ALL nail it!

[John McNamara]

We will soon have run-a rounds at Alna Center, Top of the Mountain, and Trout Brook. I would be interested to know what the public response would be a choice of these.
 

[John Kokas]

Like many have said, and I on other threads, the best "small" track expansion is South.  It's not complex or a giant earthmoving job and we already own the land.  As far as the FRA and Maine DOT goes, (by law - Class I) all we need is crossbucks and flagmen for the crossing and we will always have someone there to flag.  Layout is simple and it solves an operational problem that only gets worse when the crowds get big.  Lets get that done before we consider going any further North. 

[Bill Baskerville]

Every train into Sheepscot has at least a conductor/brakeman, if not a conductor and a brakeman.  We may also have a dispatcher, depending on if we are running just to the schedule or not.  The brakeman always gets off to uncouple and man the switch so they would be the ideal candidate for crossing guard.  If it is a pushing move, the conductor or brakeman has to guard the rear of the train, and usually the conductor helps keep folks on the platform away from the yellow line.

My point is that John is correct, we have the staff to cross Cross Road, we just need to add track, hopefully long enough to run the full train beyond the relocated south switch.

[Allan Fisher]

It will not be as easy as many of you think to go across Cross Road. In fact, it will be rather hard - listen to Mike Fox - proper preparation and planning are what is needed - and only when we have nothing else to do between Sheepscot Station and Trout Brook. 

[Dana Deering]

I am not sure where this notion came from, that the only way to maintain interest and enthusiasm for the railroad is to keep laying track, but I disagree with it.  Getting the track down the Mountain and over the bridge was great.  At the same time, we were having trouble maintaining the track we already had.  We have to focus on maintenance for a while and on completing some of the other projects on our lengthy list.  We have a shingle mill and sawmill to set up at TOM, we have buildings that need to be erected (roundhouse, etc.), and we have a railroad to run, all of which take time and people.  All of these should be enough to keep folks interested and involved.  I still have to work for a living so my spare time is limited and I try to spend as much time at the railroad as possible but we all have lives outside of the museum and we can get over extended and I think that's where we are now.  I vote to take a breather on extending track and for getting caught up on the back burner projects.  I really don't think that would dampen anyone's enthusiasm.  Just my 2 cents.

[Anthony Vo]

We will soon have run-a rounds at Alna Center, Top of the Mountain, and Trout Brook. I would be interested to know what the public response would be a choice of these.

if you guys keep this up, get more coaches, and keep up with locomotive maintenance, you guys could get something like the Talyllyn Railway workin. I my opioion, if you guys get more coaches done, 3-5 per train.

[Benjamin Richards]

Hear, hear on the maintenance. Maybe I'm a little weird that I find maintenance tasks (of all kinds) exciting. But I can see the Work Weekends settling into a "ping-pong" type of arrangement, where one of the two (say, SWW) is allocated exclusively to heavy maintenance, and the other is allocated for capital improvement-type projects. Or, each WW is split 50/50.

New track is deceiving because it's all brand-new and beautiful. But that only happens once. If the lifespan of a crosstie is 10 years (just guessing a number), then we need to replace 10% of the ties per year, every year, forever. Persistent slow orders are insidious.

[Dwight Winkley]

Anthony Vo  The wood parts to build new coach #9 (a copy of coach 3) have arrived at the museum. The local lumber company has received the 40 foot logs from the state of Washington. They will cut the logs for the coach frame when the museum needs them. My guess is after the new flat car for tank car 14 is finished.

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

I agree with what Dana said. If you think about seeing a building go up, or a new paint job on something can also be satisfying. If you look at the parking lot we could even have a major weekend moving and re organizing things. (could all the rail be sorted and stored af the top of the mountain ?) And tie replacement will be a major concern in the future. We may have a track maintenance weekend some years with several foremen and crews.  And after a day of replacing ties I think everyone will think that they worked on the railroad.

[Bob Holmes]

BTW, just laying track is only the beginning.  It needs to be ballasted, leveled, aligned, tamped, etc., etc.  After the fun and games of laying and spiking, there is still more than 50% of the work to be done, and we need as much enthusiasm as FWW just to complete it properly.

Just say'n...

[Dana Deering]

Agreed, Bob.  Getting newly laid track in service takes a lot of effort and focus but I find it just as satisfying as spiking new track.  I also find track maintenance to be very satisfying.  We've dedicated parts of work weekends in the past to track maintenance and I remember it being as much fun as any other project I have worked on.  I know there are folks who want to help and may have limitations as to what they can do physically but they have other talents that can be utilized on other projects.  I think the keys are not to have too many projects going at once on a work weekend and striking a balance.  That can be challenging.  I thought the FWW was very well balanced.

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

You're both right. I was a member of the AMTP trackcrew for decades and I enjoyed  repairing the track although it was a rather gruelling task to tamp the track with a mattock of sorts. But back then the atmosphere was great  and the track crewleader was a tough but smart guy that thoroughly planned and prepared the work and whose main concern was  to spare the crew too many pains plus we were all aware that maintening the track was of paramount importance.  Maintening the track is above all a safety issue then it limits the wear and tear of the rolling stock and motive powers and  finally it increases a lot the pleasure of the steamcrew that has not to comply with never ending slow orders. I'm definetely sure that the WW&F mainstays and regular volunteers are totally aware of that fact.But what about the others ?

[Stephen Piwowarski]

I'm of the sentiment that track maintenance is as satisfying as track building. Both have their pros and cons, but one thing is for sure: once it is built it must be maintained.

One of my favorite work weekends was a couple of years ago when Dana took us out with a crew on Monday and spent it lining track, lifting low joints, and tamping mostly north of the ladder. It was work that needed to be accomplished and a few small groups of people accomplished a lot in about half a day. Afterward, we looked back at where we had just been and the flaws had been replaced with proud accomplishment. What a great way to end the weekend!

As Ben pointed out, frequent slow orders can really kill operations on a railway and we have our share. Working towards getting them fixed will give everyone, volunteer and visitor alike a better experience.

As Dana points out balance is key.