PROJECT 1: CLUBHOUSE & WORKSHOP
Project 1: Clubhouse & Workshop Construction
The purpose of this project is to take three 40ft shipping containers and combine them together to build out a clubhouse and workshop to use as a meeting space and shop. When completed the space will be about 960 square feet of usable space. The structure will have electricity, water, and climate control making the space useable year-round. In order to fully complete the build of the space a lot of work will need to be done along with raising the necessary funds to complete the building project. As of December 2023, it is estimated to cost about $25,000 to complete the buildout which includes framing walls, insulation, electrical, HVAC, and more. This does not include the hundreds of volunteer hours our membership and other volunteers will put in to complete. Below is an outline of workdays and tasks we are trying to complete during.
Another productive work session happened last Saturday, August 8th as a dedicated crew gathered to continue work on the future clubhouse and workshop project. While smaller in number than some of our recent workdays, the team made excellent progress toward preparing the containers for the next phase of construction.
The weather cooperated perfectly on Saturday, allowing another productive work session at the railroad. Crew members Wes, John, Norm, Darryl, and Robby continued making steady progress on Container #2, focusing on finishing work that included fishing, floor repairs, framing, and installation of the back wall.
The momentum behind the clubhouse and workshop project is really starting to build — and this past Saturday proved it.
In an impromptu work session, Wes and Norm came out and made tremendous progress preparing the next section of the container for repairs. Thanks to their hard work, we are now in a position for the repair work to take place sometime this week or during our next official workday on Saturday, May 30th.
The beautiful weather helped set the stage for an incredibly productive workday on Saturday, May 16th!
The momentum actually began Friday evening when Wes and John arrived early to help prepare for Saturday’s activities. On Saturday, the hardworking crew of John, Wes, Gene, Norm, and Robby tackled several important items on the clubhouse and workshop project.
With the containers now positioned exactly where we want them, the clubhouse and workshop project is gaining momentum once again—and the progress is really starting to show.
On Saturday, November 22nd, Wes, Norm, and Robby spent the day on-site taking advantage of the warm November weather to knock out several important tasks. Wes and Robby focused on the roof, kicking off the process of making Containers One and Two watertight, while Norm worked on sealing up the end sections. These steps aren’t the finish line, but they’re major strides toward getting the entire structure fully weather-ready.ing workdays!
As the weather cools and the holiday season approaches, progress around the railroad continues full steam ahead. This past Thursday, a dedicated crew headed out to the site to accomplish two major tasks: flipping Container #2 into its new orientation and installing a concrete footing between Containers #1 and #2. These steps are key milestones as we move toward building out our future workshop and clubhouse space.
Big progress on the clubhouse and workshop project this past Saturday as the crew, which consisted of John, Scott, Kenneth, Tyler, Robby, and Norm, finished electrical, finish painting ceiling and walls, and installed lights. The crew also placed clamps on the two containers in preparation of sealing the containers together. It was determined container two needs to be moved a little before the clamps can be fully tightened. Until then container two needs to have several items moved out and placed in the blue container in order to make room for work to begin on cutting out the inner walls and insulating container two. Dates for the next workday are being planned for February so stay tuned for details.
Speaking of February our next club meeting will be Saturday, February 1st at the railroad.
A workday is planned on the Clubhouse and Workshop project this Saturday, January 25th starting at 8:30 a.m. The heat is running, and container is warmer than you might think inside. The plan is to work on electrical and finish painting the last bit of walls and ceiling in container one. Over the next several workdays we will begin getting container 1 and 2 ready for fastening them together and removing the interior wall. In case you haven’t already respond to the clubhouse workday survey that was sent out a few weeks ago please do so we can make plans. The official push on the project starts February 1st with the hope of having the first two containers attached and opened up before our first run day in April.
As we countdown to the last public run day of the year a small crew went to the railroad on Saturday to make sure things are in good shape for our November 9th big event. The work crew consisted of Wes, Kenneth, Scott, and John and took split up and worked on east loop repair and the “Grandma Line”. Wes and Kenneth worked on the east end outer loop inner track which need some attention in several areas. Scott and John worked on the “Grandma Line” by setting forms, bringing buckets of crush and run over, and laying out several panels. John also worked Friday on the container mural by lettering several mural containers. He added Hapag Lloyd and “K” Line, Sea Land, and Maersk. John is taking recommendations for other painted containers on the mural. If you have any real or fake container companies, you would like to see let him know.
A small crew made big progress at the site today on the clubhouse and workshop project by finishing painting the walls and ceilings. It is amazing how big the space looks even though it is just the first section.
After months of debate on how to move the blue container to a new location on the property it is finally done with the help of Wes and his team.
This past Saturday saw great progress on two big projects which includes the clubhouse and workshop project and the grandma line. Not a lot of pictures to show but the crew consisted of Wes, Robby, John, Rick, “Bob Jr”, David E., and new member Seth. Gene and Joan also stopped by and delivered a newly assembled box car that was donated by Thomas K. George also stopped by and visited with the crew during lunch.
John, Rick, and “Bob Jr” spent the day working on bringing in loads of dirt for the grandma line. The loads would be dropped, and John went to town on spreading and leveling each load.
The summer heat and humidity have been a little more than we’d like but that doesn’t mean things aren’t getting done around the railroad. Work on the clubhouse and workshop continues as well as the grandma line. Weather permitting, we have workdays planned for Saturday, July 27th, August 3rd, and August 10th starting at 8:30 a.m. The plan for each workday includes finishing installing insulation, plywood, and paint inside the clubhouse container along with building track panels for both the clubhouse and grandma line.
We had a rare Friday workday to close out the month of May. The focus of the day was to work on the clubhouse and workshop as well as the Grandma Line. The crew arrived early and helped get Rick and “Bob Jr” setup to start moving dirt to the Grandma Line area. Bob Jr complained about the dirt pile being hard to do dig, but Rick helped him out by putting Bob’s forks on and used them to break up the dirt pile. The rest of the crew included Gene, Wes, Norm, and Robby as they worked on the clubhouse and workshop project. They finished framing the outside wall and ceiling inside container one. Bob C. also stopped by and unloaded his recently finished caboose and helped out with the clubhouse project.
Things continue to move forward on the “Grandma Line” this Saturday as the project crew continues to work on various aspects of building out the new line. If you are free to come out and help the crew would love to put you to work. The crew starts around 8:30 a.m. Don’t forget to bring plenty of water and a lunch. We are tentatively planning on laying track, building panels, and possibly spreading some dirt.
Things continue to move forward on the “Grandma Line” this Saturday as the project crew continues to work on various aspects of building out the new line. If you are free to come out and help the crew would love to put you to work. The crew starts around 8:30 a.m. Don’t forget to bring plenty of water and a lunch.
Today marked the sixth workday out of the past eight days at the railroad as a number of projects make a great deal of progress. We saw everything from progress on the Clubhouse and Workshop project to the “Grandma Line” and more. Here is a recap of just some of the items that were worked on this week:
The week has been very productive on a number of projects including with the clubhouse and workshop project. Today’s crew painted the newly installed walls along with getting power installed into the container. The crew also worked on moving about several yards of dirt to continue to fill in some low spots in the future “Grandma Line”.
The third day of our work week saw more progress on a number of items around the railroad including repairs on the club steamer and clubhouse and workshop project. The injectors were returned after being cleaned and the first sixteen feet of wall and ceiling are now installed into the clubhouse and workshop space.
Another weekday workday complete with lots of work done around the railroad. The day saw drainpipes installed, walls built, steaming bays painted, pressure washing, and more.
If you are available to come out and help or take on a project the crew plans on starting around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3rd.
The beginning of the workweek brought progress on the clubhouse and workshop project as Norm, Wes, and Robby began framing the first of many walls in the containers. Once the first wall is completed an electrical panel will be installed and we will have electricity in the container. This will help make future work obviously easier and get us a step closer to having a clubhouse and workshop at the site. A lot of work and money is needed to complete the project, but we are well on our way. The crew will be back at it on Tuesday, April 2nd at 9 a.m. as they continue to work on framing walls and ceilings in the first container.
A big day at the railroad as a last-minute push to get the utilities marked on Friday was successful so we could finally get electrical and water to the clubhouse and workshop containers. After nearly a three year wait to start the project, we are now on track to making the first two containers functional in 2024.
With Christmas just around the corner some of the elf’s took a day and went to the railroad to plan out a few things that will take place starting in January. As many of you know we’ve been waiting to start on the clubhouse and workshop project and one of the key items that we need to get done for the project to pick up steam is get electricity into the containers. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been measuring and determining what supplies we will need to run power from the grey container to clubhouse container 1. Earlier this week Wes went and picked up more than 200 feet of electrical conduit and laid them out today so we could make the path for the trenching to take place and to also prepare for the property to be marked before digging.
The plan at this point is to trench and install the electrical conduit on Saturday, January 13th.
The purpose of this project is to take three 40ft shipping containers and combine them together to build out a clubhouse and workshop to use as a meeting space and shop. When completed the space will be about 960 square feet of usable space. The structure will have electricity, water, and climate control making the space useable year-round. In order to fully complete the build of the space a lot of work will need to be done along with raising the necessary funds to complete the building project. As of December 2023, it is estimated to cost between $10,000 and $13,000 to complete not including the hundreds of volunteer hours our membership and other volunteers will put in to complete.