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Team:
Mike
Glen
Wimbley
Doug (SFHM Staff)
Domineaux (RRG staff)
Tucker
Everett
Jason
Summary:
The right people with a good plan and quality expertise and tools made
for great work on a beautiful fall weekend. Thank you to all for
volunteering!
Accomplishments:
Accomplishments:
- Flat/ punctured/ junk car tires and equipment tires brought to
disposal pile
- Switch tie at Switch #7 / Switchback Jct stabilized with blocking
- Free log car trucks and water tank car frame pushed to end of siding
(to free up storage track space and allow for more vegetation spraying)
- Gallery (bench) car and derrick (crane) brought into engine house and
placed over pit for inspection and repair
- Main Line Switch / Switch #8 (immediately by McGiffert) leveled and
repaired to safe operating order
- Light fixtures and small horsepower motors relocated from engine house
to newer powerhouse at sawmill
- Locomotive 202's air compressor relocated to machine shop and placed
behind 202
- Tool room organized and cleaned up
- General Engine House re-organization and cleanup (empty out garbage
cans, round up scrap / junk metal to scrap bin, relocate parts
and equipment to
appropriate long-term storage)
Friday
Before the Board of Directors meeting, I used the tractor and chains to
dispose of the pile of old, flat, punctured, and junk tires pulled out
of the Engine House as part of an earlier cleanup. After the Board
meeting, Everett cut some lumber to block up Switch #7 / Switchback
Junction switch to prevent twisting on the switch tie and the switch
stand. Mike, Doug, and I used the tractor and chains to push the log car
trucks to the end of the storage siding. We hit a metal bar we couldn't
see in the vines and the first truck derailed. After much jacking and
blocking, the truck was re-railed, the bar removed, and the trucks
rolled freely. Next, we pulled out the water tank car frame sans water
tank out past the switch and the road crossing. We chained it to prevent
it from rolling, then we pulled out the gallery (bench) car and
connected it to M2 to tote back to the Engine House pit for inspection
and repair. Due to a cross level and track gauge issue, the M2 front
axle derailed en route to the engine house at switch #8. Tractor and
chains re-railed the M2. The water tank car frame was pulled back to the
end of the storage siding once the crane and bench car were relocated to
the Engine House.
Saturday - Morning
Mike, Glen, Wimbley, Everett, Jason and I tackled the cross level and
gauge issue at Switch #8. The expertise of all involved, along with
plenty of hands, had this project finished within the morning. Track
jacks and wood blocks cut from scrap lumber on hand were used to level
off the ties. Mike operated the heating torch while Glen and Wimbley
used a claw bar and a lining bar to put a proper bend in the switch rod
(as the switch points were high and the bolts were preventing proper
closure). The gauge rod was adjusted, old spikes pulled, and new spikes
driven in to have the gauge and cross level in good order. The switch
was tested thoroughly and Jason operated the M4 for museum visitors
during the process. Fine work everyone! A quick response to a new issue
that had arisen. Since we had many tools out of the tool room for this
work, a reorganization and clean up of the tool room was started before
breaking for lunch.
Doug (SFHM Director) spent
Saturday replacing floor in the Planer Mill and removing broken windows
in the Saw Mill.
Saturday - Afternoon
Mike, Glen and Wimbley discussed the rebuilding of the Claiborne & Polk
M-8 (Fairmont A-5) motor car. Glen and Wimbley have volunteered to take
on much of the restoration of this car at Glen's shop and hope to have
the car restored and running early next year.
Everett and Jason worked on video recording for videos on RR&G 106, the
Superintendents house, the Chief Lumber Salesman's house, the Station
Agent's house and the CCC museum for more videos in our Long Leaf
Historical Series.
Sunday
General Engine House reorganization and cleanup. We have been
devoting time to proper organization, purposeful placement of tools and
items, and clean up of our high-use areas and these efforts are
producing great results. The Tool Room was fully cleaned out and
reorganized and it looks wonderful! Tools are hung up, accessible, and
easy to distinguish. Two shovels were repaired with new handles, bolts
and nuts sorted into buckets, piping and plumbing fixtures sorted into
buckets, old and junk metal brought to the scrap bin, garbage properly
disposed, a new light bulb inserted into the light fixtures, good rakes
located, block and tackle hung up for use, and crane tools located for
future use on the freshly relocated crane car.
Using the tractor, we relocated several locomotive parts and McGiffert
cable to good long-term storage areas out of the way. Light fixtures and
small horsepower motors were relocated to the sawmill new powerhouse for
long-term storage. Using chains and the tractor, the air pump for engine
202 was relocated to the shop cart immediately behind 202. Cleanup
continues along the wall next to engine house track #1 for increased
space and track use. We also had time to dump out all the engine house
garbage cans into the dumpster before wrapping up at midday.
Jason and Mike worked on the Bridge Crane for a bit while Everett and
Tucker were working in the Tool Room. They discovered that the beam of
the crane cranks up and down by hand with a ratchet mechanism, and does
not run off of the engine / hydraulic pump. This mechanism will require
the locating of or fabrication of a hand crank. After Jason and Tucker
left, Everett and Mike played with the crane some more, and we
discovered that the lifting cable mechanism may also be hand cranked
through the gear box. Thus we can use the crane as soon as it is cleaned
up and lubricated properly and we obtain a crank and the proper hooks.
We will hope to find a crank and hooks before our next work session.
-Tucker Baker
RR&G Road Master
Friday |
