Friday, July 21, 2017

July, 2017 Work Weekend

A wonderful day to do railroad work! Wonderful, that is, if you like a high of 85F and 60% humidity!

The location and type of markings on 6202's new sides had not been decided; Kendall O. and Brian B. discuss what and where the markings would be placed. Some electrical work had not been completed on the conversion to passenger service project which took place the previous week. Dave O. installs the wiring.



An ongoing project, the 6's water tank had been exposed two months ago but no progress was made on removing the rust or roughing the existing paint's surface. Matt W., with the assistance of James M., and Micah M. complete the task.



Nick M. and Micah M. remove sandblasting residue from the water tank.



The South Station expansion is near completion. The building has been extended, the LED lighting has been installed, and the concrete pad on the south side has been poured.

The next step was to raise the newly covered rails to match those in the old portion of the building. Over the years, the tracks outside the building leading to the road had sunk into the dirt but raising them had been delayed -- until now. The gap below the newly located west doors and the railhead was a bit more than optimum.



Due to the fine limestone fill, raising the tracks was more involved than on the rest of the system. Plus, the dust from the crushed limestone was simply a nuisance. On the other hand, the ties were in good shape as they had been kept out of the weather.



Make-believe backhoe operator Elliot H., scrapes the fine limestone from the ties in anticipation of jacking the tracks.



-steam.airman
Photos courtesy Rex F.