Railroad & Yard Repairs Still Needed
The summer heat, vacations, and everyone’s busy schedules have understandably slowed our progress in completing the repairs from the trees that came down earlier this summer. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we still have some work ahead of us to get the railroad fully operational again — and we could really use everyone’s help.
Here are some of the areas that still need attention:
Weeds and track cleanup – We have weeds growing on and between the rails in several areas. These need to be removed before we can safely reopen the railroad.
Grandma Line & Outer Loop – The repaired areas near the fallen tree need some additional adjustments and finishing work.
Switch past the station – The switch leading to the siding continues to need attention. Some steam locomotive lead trucks have been picking the points/frog and causing derailments. Work has already been done here, but it appears additional adjustment is needed.
Inner Loop toward the Grandma Line entrance – Another fairly large tree limb recently came down across the track. This area needs to be inspected to determine whether any track repairs are necessary.
Yard tracks – Several of the yard tracks closest to the mainline still need repairs from the tree damage.
Track expansion and joints – The summer heat has caused a lot of expansion at the rail joints. We need to walk the railroad, inspect these areas, and close up the joints where needed so the railroad is ready for operation.
Our Goal: September 12th
As many of you know, our Boiler Inspection is scheduled for Saturday, September 12th, and we traditionally make this a Club Fun Day as well.
I would really like to see us make that happen this year.
After everything the railroad has been through this summer, it would be great to have September 12th be the day we put the storms and repairs behind us, get trains running again, and enjoy the railroad together.
But getting there is going to take some help.
Several of the people who have been putting in a tremendous amount of time on the repairs haven't been able to make it out the last couple of weekends. Rather than continuing to rely on the same small group of people, this is a great opportunity for more of us to pitch in and help get the railroad across the finish line.
You don't have to give up an entire Saturday. If you can give us a couple of hours during the week, an evening, or some time on a weekend, it will make a difference. There are jobs ranging from pulling weeds and clearing track to inspecting and repairing switches and track.
If you're available to help, please reach out to others in the club and let everyone know when you can be at the railroad. That will allow members to coordinate with one another and hopefully put together a few small work crews over the next couple of weeks.
We've accomplished a tremendous amount together over the years, and we've certainly faced bigger challenges than this. With a little help from everyone, I believe we can have the railroad back together and trains running for September 12th.
Thank you to everyone who has already put in hours cleaning up and rebuilding after the storms, and thank you in advance to those who can help us finish the job.
Let's get the railroad running again!
