Work Session

May 22, 2021

To join the fun, contact the railroad at: Work-Session @ RedRiverAndGulf.net (no spaces)

Team:
Andrew A.
Angela A.
Casey A.
Cody A.

Clint L. Jr
Glen A.
David H.
Chuck L.
Everett L.
Dennis M.
Mike M.
Jason & Noah R.
Wimbley V.
Domineaux & the Pest Control Staff

Accomplishments:
 

- Drop Pit Demolition continued
- M4 wheel repair
- Machine Shop planer repaired
- Track inspection
- Track repairs

Thursday
Chuck L brought the new outdoor signage for the buildings to replace the sun-bleached old signs. The new signs have UV protection so they should last longer than the 6 years that the current signs did.

Chuck and Everett spent the day in the Red River & Gulf Archives in the Crowell offices scanning old timetables, locomotive records and correspondence.

Friday
Mike M, Everett and Chuck attended the museum board meeting.

Casey and Cody A, Jason and Noah R. joined us Friday night.

Saturday
Glen A and Mike M worked in the Machine Shop lubricating and cleaning the metal planer, making if fully serviceable for the first time since 2005.

Wimbley V. cleaned out the Roundhouse Foreman’s office, preserving the materials inside, and preparing it for floor, wall and furniture repair so that it can be used as the RR&G and Volunteer office.

Jason, Casey, Cody, Angela, Andrew and Clint removed the last of the upper two rows of the timbers from the inspection pit in the Engine House. One was totally rotten, and one questionable. The next project will be the removal of the floor and lowermost timbers.

The M-4 was moved outside where the wheels could be inspected. The inspection showed that the tread on the rear wheel of the lead truck was loose and wobbling. Several hours were spent by Casey, Cody, Dennis and David moving the car back into the Engine House (which included David fabricating and replacing the coil relay), jacking up the front end and pilot truck and removing the wheel tread assembly from the wheel center. It turns out that the wheel tread is separated by a series of 12 rubber blocks from the wheel center, and virtually all of these blocks had worn out, probably due to some of the tread assembly coming loose. Mike M and Glen decided to see if Glen could use some of the excess rubber flooring purchased for the #106 to make new blocks, and Glen made new blocks at home on Sunday and Monday.

Cody and Everett repaired the exhaust system on the M-2 as the muffler clamp had broken and the muffler had fallen loose and was dragging on the axle.

Angela, Andrew, Clint and Everett took the M-2 out to do track inspection and repair on the big hill coming up from Long Leaf road. Everett flooded out the M-2, and the crew walked back to the Roundhouse. Wimbley fired up the M-8 and rescued the M-2 and its trailer.

Everett, Jason, Noah, Andrew and Clint walked the loop doing a track inspection. Jason, Noah, Andrew and Clint marked all of the visible bad ties with red paint. Everett checked gauge and cross level from the road crossing in front of the car knockers shed to Long Leaf road, and marked spots that were out of gauge or cross level. A count was made of the total number of ties that needed replacement in that section of track as well as the number of rail joint bars that need replacing or drilling, and the areas that need gauge correction. Several areas were noted where immediate tie replacement of several ties will need to be made.

Angela acted as a tour guide for several groups of visitors showing them around the 400, the Clyde Skidder and the Roundhouse and Machine Shop.

Everett, Cody, Casey, Clint, Angela and Andrew inspected the curve from the McGiffert loader down to the roundhouse access road as Glen had commented that it was quite wide in gauge in spots.

Finally, Angela, Andrew, Casey, Cody, Jason, Clint and Noah pulled spikes on the inner rail of the curve leading down from the McGiffert Loader to the roundhouse access road so that the curve was prepared for re-gauging in the morning.

Sunday

Andrew, Angela, Casey, Cody, Jason and Everett re-gauged the inner rail, re-spiking the rail and using gauge bars to properly curve the very short sections of 60# rail in the curve. At some point, when the tie replacement is done on this curve, it will have to be re-aligned to smooth out the curvature, but it is much better than it was before.

The debris from the rotten timbers in the Engine House was cleaned up and the crew signed out at noon.

 

-Everett Lueck
  RR&G Director of Operations

M4 derailed earlier in the week and some damage to the lead truck was reported.

After the initial inspection by Cody, Casey, and Jason, we called Everett over for a look.

UP Local passing behind the Pump House near the Planer Mill

Noah jacks up the M2 so that Cody can remove the muffler for repair and remounting

Cody and Everett

David and Dennis troubleshoot the M4 that refused to start.

David determined it was a bad coil wire, so he fabricated a replacement and installed it.

SUCCESS!

The busted coil wire.

M8 tows a flooded and stubborn M2

Shoving M2 back into the Engine House

Glen and Wimbley restoring the planer

Testing the planer.

It works!

Jacking up the M4

Removing the tire

Inspecting the track on the Loop and marking bad ties with paint.

Noah is the semi-official whistle blower for the railroad.

Clint learns how to operate M2.

Removing spikes so a 40 yard section of the Loop could be re-gauged.

Cody & Casey pull spikes while David and Noah supervise.

While pulling spikes, we found the radiator cap for M4 that was lost during this incident in 2020.

Pushing M8 out of the Engine House so M2 could be moved out to the main line.

M2 backs down to the Loop

Re-gauging a 40 yard section of the Loop

Angela, Everett, Andrew, and Cody

Before

(Look at the gauge bar)

After

These are the rubber insulators from inside the wheel of M4.

Glen is working to fabricate replacements.

Disassembled wheel on M4

Casey and Noah (mostly Casey) clearing new flangeways at the Long Leaf Road crossing near the Engine House

Final inspection and clean-up.

Cody - Angela - Andrew - Jason

DONE!
 

DONE!

Runaway Crossing on the Loop

After finishing the re-gauge project, we took M2 and a flatcar out to test it and inspect the Loop.

Depot/Commissary

Inspection Tour

Cody walks to the Engine House after throwing the switch at Main Line Jct

4 of the 5 new kittens

Tex (older kitten) and Domineaux (momma) are in the background.

The Rookies