LAST STEP IN THE TRACK EXPANSION PROJECT
JUNE 1-6, 2010
JUNE 18-20, 2010
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BUILDING THE CROSSING LAST STEP IN THE TRACK EXPANSION PROJECT JUNE 1-6, 2010 |
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| MY HELPER - Bella stayed with me for a lot of the construction work, always willing to cool me off by giving me a big lick in the face whenever she could. | CANINE CROSSING - In this action shot, Bella was running over the crossing, paws never touching the track. The crossing is almost done. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| BEFORE - The sharply curved track will have to be moved for now. Charlotte insists that I replace it soon...or else! | AFTER - The track has been moved to its new location, and soon the new route will be fully connected. No Golden Spike Ceremony this time. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ESS CURVE - By bending the track into an ess curve enabled us to have a 90 degree crossing. Besides, the curve fits in well with the rest of the railroad. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CLOSEUP - The original route (upper left to lower right) is basically unchanged except for two large ties and grooves in the rail. The new route's rails are bolted to the large ties. Two rails in the center will complete the basic crossing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| COMPLETED CROSSING - With the two center rails installed (the vertical ones in this picture), the crossing is now complete. The gaps are 1/4 inch wide, 3/16 deep. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SIDE VIEW - In addition to numerous #10 screws, all rails have been drilled on the base and secured with drywall screws to keep from sliding back and forth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FIRST RIDE - This is the first train driven over the new crossing, and it worked just fine. The gaps give a nice clicking sound as the train passes. The initial ballast is al-ready applied, but all the new trackage will need adjustment over the next few days. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE - This time the camera is pointed south toward the new route in the woods. We still need some ballasting and the finishing details on the crossing. But hopefully the trains will be running in a day or two! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MAKING MORE ROOM FOR TRAINS JUNE 18-20, 2010 |
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| THE FENCE - AFTER - This has opened up a nice area, basically a 60 x 40 foot right triangle. I used pruners, a trimmer, and a mower to clear the underbrush. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| THE FENCE - BEFORE - The previous owners had fenced off part of the property and the underbrush was growing thick. So I moved the fence back for more room. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||