THE TWO FOOTERS                

The Two Footers Convention in Maine was huge hit amongst those attending.  The weather was beyond perfect with temperatures in the 90s.  The high temperatures fueled everyone’s excitement and also kept the Moose away.  However, we encountered some issues with a very pesky bear.  One of the members became friendly with a bear at Clark’s Trading post.  When the bear heard about our convention, he immediately packed his bags and came aboard the bus.  At first, the bear was enjoyable to be around, but once he found our coolers full of Straub Beer, the bear became a party animal.

 The above photo was taken at our first stop, Clark's Trading Post.  The Climax Engine performed flawlessly – probably due to the fact that Two Footer Members helped load the wood onto the engine.  There was one issue with the ride.  The train was attacked by “Wolf Man”, who claimed that we were trespassing on his property.  This potentially major issue was avoided by the skill and courage of our train crew. 

The Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway was a focal point of our convention and we were not disappointed.  Many thanks to the WW&F folks for their hospitality for we all had a fantastic time visiting your railroad.

 Additional stops were made at the Conway Scenic Railroad and Main Narrow Gauge Railroad.

I am the president of the Carson City RR Association.  We are a three-focus club that has a 20 x 30 foot permanent HO-scale railroad that runs in our clubhouse. We also have a modular division with 50 plus modules.  We run a 2-foot gauge park train operation in Mills Park, Carson City, Nevada.  It is a loop to loop operation with approx. 1 to 1 1/2 miles of track. We are a club of 33 members. All conductors, engineers, gandy dancers and snack bar attendants are volunteers. I have 5 pix of the train we are currently running, which I will send if you wish. We are currently running our #1 Loco and three cars, 1 gondola and two covered cars. We also have another loco and two more cars.  

Our Open House will be held Oct 6^th and 7^th.  All Two Foot Members are invited to attend!

"The most expensive rail we ever purchased that turned out not to be"

Eight months ago, a scrapper that had been dealing with a friend's factory left word for me about some new 30-lb rail 50 miles south of us. After calling the gentleman, things really went slow.  Rail had just been moved outside for the first time as it had always been stored inside. When we got back from winter vacation the rail was under a foot of snow, so had to wait for a count and to go look at it. 

When I was just about ready to give up, I got a call and was told there was 750 feet.  Being that it was a metal supply company, I knew the cost might be too much.  After a visit, we found the rail to be in great shape and all straight 30-foot lengths with the hardware, but not cheap!

I told the owner we liked the rail but had no easy way to haul 30 footers.  After looking at our railroad photos, the owner of the company offered to bring it up, and, being that his company made steel siding, he also offered to donate the roof for our new waiting platform.  All this for a cab ride for him and his son.  Not bad but it gets better.

When they showed up 3 weeks later (the owner went to Sweden looking at a new machine, and we waited because he wanted to come up with the truck), their like-new truck had this great crane on it. As you can see by the photo, they loaded right from the truck to our flat car.

At this writing, we have replaced 85% of the rail which was near the river and hope to be done by the time you read this. This area was done just before the TFOOTERS visit in 1999 with what was left over and was in need of being redone and replaced. To make matters better, the old rail was sold before we pulled it up.  It went 6 miles away to build a 36" railroad, which has much lighter equipment that we do. Glad to say this is one load that was saved from going to the scrap and a boat ride to China.

It all started at the September 2004 Bucksgahuda & Western R.R. open house. I overheard Todd Hunter say he may reluctantly sell T.V.R.R. Eng. #88.  He told me to call him in January 2005 for his decision.  I called, a price was agreed upon, and I waited eagerly to go pick it up. 

I made arrangements with my friend, Rick Craig (Alvada Two-Footer R.R.,  an up-and-coming 24” gauge R.R. near Findlay, Ohio) to go to the B&W R.R. yard to pick it up.  We took his semi-truck and new 52’ rollback flatbed trailer with a winch to do the job.  Lucky for me!  Todd and the guys switched #88 out of a storage shed at the B&W R.R. yard and put it on the turntable.  From there it was turned to match the middle of Rick’s tilt-trailer.  Then it was hooked to the winch and up on the trailer.  Of course it started raining lightly, but no problem for we were loaded and ready to go in about an hour! 

After a brief visit, we said farewell to Todd and the other B&W R.R. personnel who helped us load.  Then we headed back to Rick’s house, home of the Alvada Two-Footer R.R. and repair facility.  Rick had graciously offered to let me store it and help repair it at his facility.  It would be easier and more convenient.  You see the Paint Valley R.R. had no engine repair shed or pit to move about the engine.  But this past March 2007, we built a new 40’x60’ shed to house our rolling stock in the future. 

When Todd and I were discussing the sale of #88, he told me it needed some major repairs.  He was right on all counts.  I ended up replacing the old Chevrolet engine with a 292 Chevrolet engine with governor that I got off of an old combine.   All chains and sprockets were replaced.  A pattern was made for new brake shoes to be cast.  All of this was done with the help of Rick Craig and friend Mark Regel.  We also added a few things such as a heater, oil-glass, changed brake rigging and throttle controls, etc. 

For you folks not familiar with #88, it is an older Whitcomb engine (unknown vintage) frame with a rebuilt cab and a replacement Chevrolet 6 cylinder 250 motor.   It had been rebuilt by Todd Hunter and his late friend, C.J. Moore.  It had been kept indoors, and the body was in great shape.  The cab is big enough to carry three people.  Highway truck scales showed its weight to be 9,000 lbs. I am working on an air-bell to put on it at present time. 

Anyway, after working on the engine off and on for a year, Rick delivered the engine to the P.V.R.R. on July 16, 2006.  He used his tilt-bed trailer and it was on the rails in 30 minutes.  Also, I’d like to thank Rick Craig and Mark Regel for all of their help in making #88 a permanent fixture for the Paint Valley R.R.  Of course we wanted to take the engine around the railroad, but it wouldn’t start, much to our disappointment.  About a week later, my friend Chad and I cleaned the carburetor figuring some dirt must have shook loose from somewhere to keep it from starting.  We started the engine and took it around the railroad for the first time.  The engine and governor worked beautifully and the brakes worked fine.  We were doing really well until we went down the hill and around the curve where I had been doing some track work and promptly derailed………but that’s another story!!!!

 For Sale:

• 24" gauge Fairmont Rail Car - Standard gauge narrowed up ... asking $2250 OBO
• 24" gauge PANEL TRACK 20-LB RAIL $60 PER 15' PANEL OBO
• 24" gauge Atlas Battery Loci - Chassis without battery boxes and motors $1250 OBO
• 24" gauge 3 - (4 wheeled) brick kiln flat cars $400 each or $900 for all 3

Contact Chris Sylvester (csylvester@noresco.com) for additional information.

The Two Footers
534 Armory Road
St. Marys, PA  15857

tpbauer@alltel.net
or
tom@thetwofooters.com

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