July 2020 7.5" Gauge Progress
New drain pipe installed.
The small pipes on the left are for signal cables for the track.
Track building storage area with containers in background.
Frank Woodard continues to hold the record for hauling used carpet to the railroad. This was a very full pickup truck load. We lay the used carpet on the roadbed (mostly sand) to prevent the ballast from disappearing into the soft sand. On the right: storage area for ties and rails.
Scott Thompson fabricated and delivered yet another grade crossing for the railroad.
Even more track revisions and additions--it's really coming along!
End of track bumpers on left. The club's passenger cars under the tarp.
Freshly painted end of track bumpers on left. Passenger cars stored on a dead siding.
Track building jigs. We are replacing all of the wooden ties and reusing the aluminum rail. The red bars are track gauges or spacers to hold the rails 7 9/16 inches apart on straight track and 7 5/8" on curved track. Two people can rebuild a twenty foot track panel in about a half hour, while one person working alone will need almost two hours.
Faithful and extremely hard-working member, Jim Needham, brings a load of crushed granite ballast to the new grade crossing.
This is a nine foot track panel under construction. Odd lengths are required from time to time to meet terrain requirements or to replace a bad section of track. On right, Jim covers the ballast pile with a tarp.
Sections of rail for the grade crossing on the left.
Newly rebuilt track panels ready for use.
Half a cubic yard of crushed granite ballast for use on the new grade crossing. We purchase twenty ton loads of ballast for about $1,200 delivered. Think about that when we ask for donations.