Got Piles?

Piledriver OB put on several demonstrations at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO, on two weekends recently.  On October 10-11 and 17-18, again assisted by locomotive 346 and Museum personnel,  OB was put through her paces.  Some metalwork was done by the museum to the weight guide near the lower part of the mast where the weight had been binding.  The donkey engine behaved fairly well, although will require some attention to keep it operating smoothly.  Otherwise, there were no glitches, except for near frostbite to operators on the first weekend.

Above, left, OB comes to the worksite behind 346.  The Golden Museum is building a portion of a trestle using the same techniques as was used during the time of this equipment.  We will drive the pilings for this trestle, and Museum volunteers will complete it at a later time.  After some switching to get 346 behind OB, and attaching steam lines, etc. she is ready to operate.  First we raise the mast, above right.  Points have been cut on the pilings to facilitate driving.

The mast braces are secured by the efficient ground crew, and we are ready to proceed.

The mast raising cable is disconnected from its drum on the donkey engine, and the lifting cable is attached instead.  A pile is hooked to the cable, and raised into position for driving into the ground.

The locomotive has moved OB forward to the end of the track where the trestle is being built.  After careful alignment of the piling, the weight is raised approximately 1-1/2 feet and allowed to drop.  If it is raised too high, the pilings tend to split.  Some guidance with straps, etc. is required to keep the piles straight.

At the end of the day (actually 4 days), below, right, we had set four pilings for the trestle, plus a practice one  further back along the track.  John is getting the rhythm down, and it is quite an experience to see and hear the operation of OB.

Thanks to Glenn Hall for help with the photos.