While we didn’t have an official workday on the schedule today, it was John’s official weekend to come out to the railroad. He spent time on the container mural, along with installing a retaining wall for the “Grandma Line”. A big thanks to John and his commitment to getting this project a step closer to being completed. Our next official workday is coming up on Saturday, May 10th, as we prepare the railroad for our May 17th public run day. Please come prepared to perform track maintenance, cut grass, and have a good time. Workday begins at 8:30 a.m.

We had a great turnout for our workday on Saturday. The crew took a divide and conquered approach by working on multiple projects at the same time. We had a track crew working on the Grandma Line installing a new switch off the mainline on the west end of the project. We had another group work on electrical throughout the property and so much more going on throughout the day.

A small work crew, which consisted of John T., Wes, Kenneth, and Norm, came out on Saturday along with a few who stopped by to say hello. The work crew started work on building out the last switch needed to connect the east end of the “Grandma Line” to the railroad.

Once this switch is complete and installed the last 80 or 90 feet of the “Grandma Line” can be connected completing another change to our mainline traffic. However, before this can be done, we will need to build a retaining wall most likely out of the cut container panels we have similar to what we did earlier this year near the Nicol bridge. With the installation of a new retaining wall, we will also need to bring in more dirt reduce the drop off on the east end of the “Grandma Line”.

As 2023 winds down work on the “Grandma Line” took place on Saturday, December 30th with a major milestone taking place with the installation of a new mainline switch. This new switch will eventually connect both the “Grandma Line” and the east end of the water line to the mainline. Until then John and Wes also installed a few straight panels off the new switch and began to map out the relocation the existing water line switch and what track panels will need to be built next. You might be asking what switch is being relocated, well it is the switch closest to the red water tower on the east end of the water siding track. This relocation is needed to connect the “Grandma Line” and water line together before they eventually connect to the mainline.

What an incredible day around the railroad during our March 18th workday. The day start out a little cold, ok just above freezing cold, as John, Robby, and Scott positioning track panels for container number four while Rick, Gene, and Norm did a little planning on the shop container project. Wes joined in on the fun with the container crew as they removed a switch from the mainline, which was the old red container switch near the main grade crossing. Norm and Gene removed the rest of the cross over switch from the mainline that was used to get to the middle of the steaming siding near the water tower. The crew then took the switches and rebuilt them before reinstalling them for the container number for track. The crew also ballasted the panels as the day ended.

In 2021 the club accepted a recommendation to rename the East Loop to the Adkins Loop in honor of Wayne and Berta Adkins. Most of the panels used in the east end of the railroad were built by Wayne and Berta. The Adkins Loop is one of the first things visitors see when they pull into the property and makes up such an important part of the Conyers & Hightower Trail Railroad.

A plaque has been installed on the newly installed signal mast which Dave Levy is installing and also plans on installing two working signal heads making them our first permanently installed signals on the railroad drawing attention to the plaque each time trains pass by.

What an incredible day. After 42 workdays over 14 months of work the passenger line is now complete. Today’s crew consisted of Wes, Gene, “Bob2”, Scott, Norm, David E., and Robby installed the last 55’ of track.

We had a rare workday during the week today as a small crew went out and finished ballasting, leveling, fixing drainage, and setting forms so the final 6 panels will go in easy during our next workday. The crew consisted of Ben, “Bob”, Peter, Dave E., Norm, Wes, and Robby. The crew focused on a few different areas throughout the day starting with finishing ballasting from the end of the passenger station area and worked towards the pedestrian crossing.

This past Saturday, August 21st was another product workday. The crew which consisted of Rick, Ben, “Bob”, Gene, Scott, Norm, Tyler, and Robby where able to set forms for the remaining 170’ of track, crusher run for about 130’ feet and about 90’ of track. With the progress the crew made we are so very close to completing the passenger line project just in time for our re-opening plans for our first public run day in two years.

On Saturday, August 14th we began the last 170’ of preparation work needed to complete the passenger line project. Gene, “Bob2”, Norm, and Robby came out to do grading work ahead of our next official workday which is on Saturday, August 21st. Dave E. was out, and he continued to work on making sure the new drain that was installed has a place to drain into the “dry pond” area under the bridges on the west end of the railroad. Dave and Dale also spent a little time looking at Dave’s locomotive in preparation of our annual club fun night event on August 28th.

Another productive day was had this past Saturday, at least before it started raining around 2 p.m. The crew consisted of Norm, Ben, a healthier “Bob”, Calvin, Wes, David E., Scott, and Bob C. They split up and took care of a few things including the 50-foot section of track that needs to be finished to connect the east loop with the gate crossing. Wes took care of cutting most of the grass while Bob C. spent time with the club steamer making sure she was feeling good. Scott also took time to clean the rust of the gate crossing rail and treated it with a product that should keep it looking good for a while.

What a great turn out we had today including the rain. The morning started earlier than normal as the crew started arriving before 8 a.m. and went right to work to connect the last fifty feet of track at the man crossing. Scott and David E. spent time on address future drainage needs closer to the station area by digging a trench for a drainage pipe.

What a difference just a couple of weeks make. We now have a new 60-foot gate grade crossing at the main entrance to the property which is part of the new passenger line. The crew, which consisted of Wes, Norm, Gene, “Bob"2”, Scott, Robby, and Calvin, spent the day working on finishing the grade crossing grading and packed in about 120-feet of crusher run in the forms between the gate crossing and the man crossing. The crew also installed about 70-feet of track between the crossings.

The “Big Dig” continued on the passenger line project as a small group went to the site to pull the form boards on the grade crossing and set forms for track laying to begin between the new main gate crossing and the man crossing. I’m being told that Scott performed miracles with the wire wheel and grinder to clean the concrete off the rails. Be on the look out for a workday to lay track in the coming days and weeks.

Wow what a hot day but we did get the new grade crossing poured. The crew consisted of Wes, Gene, Norm, Scott, Robby, Ben, “Bob”, and Joe. In typically fashion for us the concrete truck was delayed several hours which pushed us into the hottest part of the day. Progress was slow but the team pushed through it. As you might imagine the concrete will not be ready to drive on for a week or so. We had a little extra concrete which gave Joe and Norm the opportunity to use it near the west end of the yard that has a drain that keeps clogging with dirt. Now the concreate should help reduce the clogging.

Another big day working on the passenger line project. The day consisted of grading nearly 200’, setting the man crossing, and adding more conduit under the new 60’ gate crossing. The crew, which consisted of Gene, “Bob2”, Norm, Calvin, Elijah, David E., Wes, Robby, Tyler, James, and Jaxon also spent time saying goodbye to James and Jaxon as the family moves out of the area onto a new adventure. We wish them the best and hope to see the family around a railroad in the future. The crew also visited with James and Jaxon as they prepare to move out of the area onto a new adventure and hope to see them around the hobby one day in the near future.

Check out these pictures from the day’s activities. Don’t forget if you are available on Monday, May 24th the 60’ gate crossing will get nearly 7 yards of concrete and could use all of the extra hands as possible. The plan is to arrive around 8:30 a.m. with the concrete truck arriving in the 9 o’clock hour. If all goes well, we should be done around lunch time.

One thing that is constant is change when you are planning things. This past weekend we had planned on working on getting the next member container area ready, which we did, however delivery of the container was delayed because of the quality of the container available was not as good as we had hoped. While continue to search for the next container we pivoted on Friday and put together a crew for Saturday impromptu workday and started the “Big Dig” portion of the passenger line project. The crew consisted of Ben, “Bob”, Gene, “Bob2”, Norm, Robby, Wes, and John. Scott was also at the site working on installing some additional electrical in the grey container. About 90% of everything was completed but we are looking for any individuals who are available this week to install the rebar so we can schedule a concrete truck to pour on Saturday, May 15th. Contact Norm if you have time this week as he will be coordinating the installation of the rebar.

Our 2nd club workday of the year was this past Saturday, February 27th. We had a good size crew with Calvin, Wes, Elijah, Tyler, Norm, Robby, Scott, and Bob helping out throughout the day. The crew built 200 feet of track panels, work on the club steamers and caught up since the last time we got together. The crew also sorted most of the old rail and talked about plans for the passenger line, member container and workshop project.

As we move into March our next official workday is planned for Saturday, March 27th but based on conversations yesterday we are going to try and have another workday sooner than that. Be on the lookout for communications around our next workday.

The track crew, which included Tyler, Norm, John, Ben, “Bob”, Robby, Calvin and guest, laid more than 100 feet of track on Saturday and built a few track panels. The passenger line is complete up to the switch which is about 40 feet short of the grade crossing. The passenger line siding only has about 20 feet and it will be complete.

Busy week and weekend around the club. A new powered slug was picked up along with more member owned riding cars, and the installation of another 120 feet of track for the passenger line.

This past Saturday, September 26, 2020, marked the 27th workday for the club this year. As we mark this incredible milestone it is a reminder that our club is made of a great group of individuals who volunteer in so many ways around the railroad and the club. This weekend our members did electrical work, steam engine repairs, cut grass, laid track, spread gravel, operated a Bobcat, taught new members about the hobby, and so much more.

The weather is going to be great for our workday on Saturday. The plan is to continue work on the new passenger line project, track panel construction, grey container items, grass cutting, and more. The fun starts at 8:30 a.m. Don’t forget this is the last Saturday before our Club Fun Day, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd which is also the same day of the annual boiler inspection and October club meeting. So, come out and get things ready so we can enjoy the Club Fun Day.

The summer heat continues as we do more work around the railroad. We had a small but productive crew on hard. The focus on the day was split between two areas with the first “Bob” and Ben took care of spreading the loads of dirt we recently received which some of it being used for our next shipping container project.

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 the next big project got underway which includes an additional 900’ of mainline to the railroad. This addition will bring passengers from the east loop towards the fence line cross a 60’ grade crossing down to the station. A view of the addition can be seen on our map which shoes the addition in red.

If my math is correct it has about 22 years since the “Doe Bridge” has looked this good. Over the past year Peter C. has taken this old bridge and made it new again. Every board, bracket, nuts, bolts, and more was inspected repaired or replaced. On Saturday, September 5, 2020 it made the journey back to the Conyers & Hightower Trail Railroad to be installed and put back in service sometime soon.

Today marked an incredible 24th workday at the railroad this year. The container project took another big step towards completion with the installation of the final pieces of flat bar for the track. The container now has about 160 feet of track on the ground giving us the ability to store all the riding cars, gondola, steam engine, and soon the club diesel all in one place. A couple of concrete blocks were also placed at the end of the container for the bridge to rest on. Next on the list of things to do in the container includes extending electrical into the new 20’ extension and install a couple of lights.

All week the forecast called for rain, but a determined crew still showed up today to take care of several items around the railroad and finished the day without any rain. Many members and a couple of visitors started showing up around 8:30 a.m. and started working on several projects. The projects included container extension, passenger line expansion, and more.

Today marked the 20th time this year many of our club members have gotten together to work on something for the railroad. This past Saturday, July 25, 2020 we had Wes and Wayne taking care of the grass cutting duties while Gene, Norm, Robby, Elijah, Ben, “Bob”, David E., Scott, and Bill worked on various projects around the railroad. Part of the crew installed a new switch coming out of the yard and removed a switch coming out of the woods in preparations of the “Grandma” line project. Bob C. and his wife stopped by to delivery the club steamer after some much needed repairs.

As preparations continue to get the railroad ready for the new passenger line installation Gene and Norm spent time today, July 21, 2020, and built another switch and delivering it to the site. Next step is to get the new switch installed and align the track. We also have another switch to pull out from the woods and realign the track to make room for the “Grandma” line installation.