Mountain Extension - Official Work Thread

[Bill Reidy]

Some not very good photos of today's Level the Mountain Work Saturday.  I believe this was the third and final planned for this spring.

Today's work focused on the track in this Mike Fox December 24, 2019 photo:


We arrived via work train from Sheepscot at Top of Mountain around 9.20 a.m. or so and found our "Big Joe" tamper waiting for the trip down to the area of Location 9.  Dave Buczkowski and I rode the tamper down, while the work train followed about 10 minutes later.

After arrival at Location 9, Big Joe and an impatient Dave wait for the work train.


Dave operated Big Joe today.  Here early on Brian Whitney is feeding stone on the west side.


Steve Lennox (left) and Brian (right) fixing things Dave broke on the tamper this morning.  All minor issues, like loose bolts, etc.  Overall Big Joe performed well today.


Today's crew set out jacks in advance of the tamper.  Here we're looking at the area around Location 10.  I believe over the course of the day we had about 12 or so folks join the effort.


Toward the end of today's Mountain work, around 2 p.m.  The end of the day's tamping is marked by the yellow marker in the foreground.


A view of the end result.  More tamping work is needed, but the result looks good.


Great job by all involved.  Steve Lennox led today's work.  Thanks to Nancy Weeks for lunch and to Ed Lecuyer for delivering it.

Warm day, but not quite oppressive yet (we're in the start of a heat wave in New England).  A breeze and shade helped at the work site.  We definitely felt it when we brought the work train and Big Joe back to the open Top of Mountain.

[Mike Fox]

Very nice. I wish I could have helped..

[Bill Reidy]

Very nice. I wish I could have helped..

Looks like you had a very busy day at Alna Center yesterday.  We saw you moving loam on the work train trip north in the morning, and you were busy with Casey spreading gravel in the pavilion on our trip south mid-afternoon.

[James Patten]

I wondered about the breeze.  I didn't feel any breeze in the morning when I was working with you.  When I got back to Sheepscot I noticed it.  I'm sure the hillside protects from that.  At least we were in the shade in the morning.

[john d Stone]

The track is really looking good!

[Mike Fox]

I keep getting reminders in my google photos that 4 years ago, this was happening.



The crew during the week helped with a stone delivery. Photo by Jason



This photo by Brendan. What a great day. Plenty of great help.





And the finished product

[Bill Reidy]

A few photos from yesterday, Saturday, September 4th:

Jeff Verney has started preparations to excavate the turntable pit near Route 218.


Meanwhile, back at Sheepscot, the foundation form for the turntable pivot has been built (foreground right) and will be poured when the engine house floor is poured.


Some views of the new trail crossing and fence line along the Midcoast Conservancy trail.  We're looking north in these photos.


As noted in a recent discussion, here's the phone post on the trail side of the new fence.  As noted by Steve Piwowarski, the new fence is reminiscent of fence lines along the original railway, as seen on page 126 of Two Feet to Tidewater.


The southern end of the fence line, as seen from Trout Brook bridge.  A kiosk will be set up by the trail here telling the story of the historic Moose Brook (now Trout Brook) bridge and our Mountain Extension.


Mike Fox has been busy cleaning up the right-of-way of stumps, logs and other slash along the upper 1,000 feet or so of the Mountain Extension.  Some of his work Saturday:






Looking much better late in the day.

[Bill Baskerville]

Ah, one of the recent pictures shows the mysterious mag phone box, now a walk around the fence for the conductor.  Perhaps a relocation to the fence post is in order.

Also, one of the pictures explains the purpose of the mysterious pyramid shaped box back at the future home of the SS engine(round)house.

[John McNamara]

Ah, one of the recent pictures shows the mysterious mag phone box, now a walk around the fence for the conductor.  Perhaps a relocation to the fence post is in order.

Hopefully the "walk around the fence" problem will be solved when the phone line is extended to the new Trout Brook Station, marble for which is on order .

[Bill Baskerville]

Ah, one of the recent pictures shows the mysterious mag phone box, now a walk around the fence for the conductor.  Perhaps a relocation to the fence post is in order.

Hopefully the "walk around the fence" problem will be solved when the phone line is extended to the new Trout Brook Station, marble for which is on order .

Nothing but the best for our chief ding-a-ling's equipment

[Dwight Winkley]

There is no fence problem. The last post with phone jack is located on the West side of the right of way, 4 rail lenghts North of the new West side fence.

[Bill Reidy]

There is no fence problem. The last post with phone jack is located on the West side of the right of way, 4 rail lenghts North of the new West side fence.

I agree.  When I need to use the magneto phone around Trout Brook, I'll either use the jack just south of the bridge or the jack just north of the trail crossing.  Whichever is closer.

[Brendan Barry]

The excavation work started for the turnatable at the north end this week. The turntable installation is designed to be non permanent. The center pivot is going on a precast block and the ring rail will sit on a three foot bed of compacted stone that drains into the road side ditch.

Jeff Verney digging out the pit.









Yesterday at lunch time a large rock was encountered right in the way of the center pivot. The decision was made to shift the turntable 4' north to miss the rock. The rock is outlined in yellow in the picture.



Stone going in the hole this morning.







Timber cribs being assembled to support the tracks going onto the turntable. The cribs will be placed on the stone base holding up the ringrail and be filled with riprap. The cribs are a smaller version of the cribs that support the tracks and approach spans onto Trout Brook bridge.

[Wayne Laepple]

Was the ring rail for the turntable part of the "kit," or do we have to bend rails to form it?

[Bill Baskerville]

Was the ring rail for the turntable part of the "kit," or do we have to bend rails to form it?

The ring rails are part of the kit.  They were in the upper SS parking lot along with the turntable.