Friday, June 16, 2017

June, 2017 Work Weekend

A few dedicated volunteers (and a series of construction guys) braved the hot, windy, conditions and logged in time at the MCRR this weekend.

The highlight of South Station expansion effort this weekend was the completion of concrete work in and around the building.

The expanded area (the west 75 feet) has a 14 foot x 75 foot (approximate) level concrete pad. We plan to put some of the larger and seldom used shop tools in this area. Currently, most of these items are on the flatcars which makes them unusable.

The concrete pad in the original portion of the building was expanded from 8 feet wide to 14 feet wide for the entire length of the building. There is a sloping transition area between the additional concrete and the level pad in the west extension.




As a casual observer of concrete workers, I have always marveled at their ability to use the "float" to smooth concrete. This craftsman had an interesting addition on his float: a vibrator mechanism to insure a perfectly smooth surface with a minimum of strokes at the concrete.



This isn't exactly part of the South Station expansion but it is a new concrete pad for the MCRR's fueling shed. (It makes a nice patio to enjoy cooler evenings in Southeast Iowa.)



The blog entry following this one has a start to finish series of pictures documenting the South Station expansion.

It has often been a problem when we move rolling stock that doesn't have proper draft gear to connect with the locomotives. Matt W. and Elliot H. resolved most of those issues by making a "fits all" link with replaceable jaws to attach almost everything that we have to one of the switch engines.





Dave M. removes some of the ugliness from one of the panels for the water tank on the 6's tender.




The shop's pit needed a thorough cleaning. John K. and Matt W. scrubbed it until the concrete was visible.





An addition to the MCRR's collection of railroad tools is this power tamper, acquired in a trade with the Cumbres and Toltec Senic Railroad. It looks a bit rough but it should be usable sometime this summer.




-steam.airman

Thursday, June 15, 2017

South Station Expansion March 10 through June 9

Work begins with moving dirt in preparation of moving the north track.  Dan Hagist is at the controls of the Skid Steer while Chris Pacha observes.

Dan adds some rock for a base.

Chris Pacha and Scott Deaton test out the heater in the Cushman.


April 27, the building "kit" arrives.








May 9, Construction begins with the removal of the doors and tracks.

May 10, the west wall comes down.



Later that day Mother Nature decides that she will assist in the construction with some "Monsoon" rain and a tornado south of town.

What do you do when there is a tornado warning?  Grab a chair of course and await it's arrival.
Anyone want to go fishing?

May 15, after a little drying the walls begin to take shape.





May 16, up go the rafters.




With the rafters up, the new addition is really starting to take shape.


West wall begins to be put back together.  This wall is still the original west wall and doors.





May 23rd, the building is up, now it's time to start the inside work.

June 8th, Barton Construction is slinging mud in all the right places.


Scott and Mike Barton discuss the next step.

Dan prepares to seal some concrete.

Barton let me (Matt Crull) use their mini excavator to remove the mud from between the north track and the wall.  I really like this mini excavator!


Dan the Concrete Sealing Man!


All photos contributed by Matt Crull.