Parallel projects (January 23, 2010)

Worksite preparation and car restoration are now considered separate projects, although we all may be working on one or the other at different times depending on need.  We received the correct poles for the shelter structure this week, and have begun the process of setting them so that they will be stable and not sink into the ground under load.  In the upper photo the project engineers are conferring as to the best way to accomplish this, as well as waiting for the ground to thaw a bit.  The sunny side (shown) is not too bad, but the other side is in the shade, and will be somewhat more fun.  The photo below on the right shows the hard working crew preparing the foundation.

We welcomed two newbies, Tom and Ray (not Click and Clack) in the photo, above, left.  They are Tom Fitzgerald and Ray Hoppe who are working on the car restoration project today.  They have been removing old wood which will need replacing, as well as showing more details about the construction of the car.  On the right is a portion of the plan in the area that they are working.  They and Craig also began removing more of the clerestory windows, most of which are original, with etched glass.  Some have been replaced with plain glass, but all will be etched when we are done.  To be continued....

January thaw (sort of) 1/9/10

It was a sunny but cool day for the first work session of the new year.  We received a large box of tubing for the shelter (on the left, above), but some of the pieces are the wrong size and will have to be returned.  Nevertheless, Bob continued with preparation of the post holes on the sunny side of the car (right, above), that were only partially frozen.

Meanwhile, dismantling of the car interior continued, with removal of the windows and window trim (above, left).  Craig (above, right) is carefully stacking what has been removed.  We are covering the windows with plastic to provide some protection from the cold, assuming the shelter won't be completed in the near future. 
We can use space heaters inside the car to improve the work environment.

Rich (above, left) is removing old nails from the lumber that has been removed.  Duncan (above, right) is making the "storm windows" for the car.

The two photos above show detail of one of the boards removed from between the windows.  On the left is the interior side showing the milling that is present throughout the interior of the car.  On the right is the reverse side of the same board showing the number "470" written in pencil.  Several boards with this number have been found which leads us to conclude that 470 is the original number of the car.

More later.

Finally.....also on 11/21/09

John Engs announced that the Friends has been awarded a Car Restoration Award by the Tourist Railway Association, Inc. for the restoration of Piledriver OB.

The happy (and hamming) group working this day posed with the plaque.

Meanwhile.......11/21/09

Craig started dismantling the interior to get an idea of what will be needed in the way of custom moulding, and I guess because he was curious as well.  He removed some of the interior panelling as well as framing around a window or two.  The window hardware is very basic and should not be difficult to replace.

Rosemary had the fun job of scraping old paint and varnish from the panelling.  The only good thing is that when you walk through the car it falls down on you, so it is no longer firmly adherent.

After more panelling has been removed, we can see the construction of the wall between the windows.  The cross-pieces were held in place by moulding which was glued in place, but the pieces are free-floating now.  Craig removed six of the vertical pieces between the windows, and discovered the NUMBER 470 written on three of them.  So, apparently the mystery of the original number of the car that we have been calling "0252" has been solved.  This would indicate that this car is the last of the series that was built.  Hopefully, we will find more documentation as we go forward.

Finally, this is a view of the icebox (who remembers when all refrigerators were called "iceboxes"?) that was installed later when the car was used for maintenance of way.  After the asbestos was (professionally) removed, dismantling was begun revealing the insulation used, i.e. wood shavings.

A Good Day

11/21/09  Today we began work on the foundation  for the protective structure for the car (and us) by laying out the footprint and the stakes for the holes for the frame poles.  Bob thinks the line looks pretty good, but is wondering how he is going to move that rail.  Actually, the plan is to use the rails to anchor the frame poles, rather than pouring concrete, in part to make the building more easily moved if and when necessary.

The next step is to drill the holes using the "helicopter" for the poles.  The "big boys" did the first one and the "little guys" finished the job.

Luckily we got all the holes drilled and covered, because the weather hasn't been very cooperative since.  The structure will extend beyond the car on this end to provide some covered work space in addition to the area in the woodshop (aka pod), which is rapidly diminishing because of the workbench, power tools, etc.

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.

OB Got Steam?!! 09-17-09

We are at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado with Piledriver OB attached to their beautiful old 346 steam locomotive.  This is to be the second time for a successful raising of the mast and smashing of a watermelon.  OB is at the front of a maintenance of way train put together by the Museum, and was planned as a learning oportunity for the crew as well as a demonstration in conjunction with the Narrow Gauge Convention.

On the left, the mast is up and secure.  The weight was initially lowered from the upper portion of the mast to act as a weight to help raise it.  There was some binding of the weight in the track in the upper mast which will need attention, but it eventually was positioned properly.  The watermelon is in place ready for the drop.

Success!  (if you like creosote and gravel with your watermelon.)  As you can see, a couple of ties were sacrificed in the process.  The weight was raised and lowered several times, and the only glitches were the cable coming loose from the weight at one point, and some slight binding in the lower track, not completely corrected with grease.                                                          

    We were able to rotate the upper portion of OB on the base 10-15 degrees without difficulty in both directions.  We left in the late afternoon satisfied that everything worked fairly well, and thankful to the CRRM for supplying steam and experienced help with the event.