Issue044

THE TWO FOOTERS

Issue 44 November/December 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Shady Creek

By David Freeman

I have not laid anymore track this year for I have put my attention into completing the exterior of my station. The basic structure is 8x18, with the roof covering the platform as long as the rain comes straight down. It is located at the end of a ten-acre lake with a beautiful view of the water. One of my friends found a CNR office chair and donated it for the station office. The double window in the front of the office was once in the kitchen of our home prior to renovations in 1977. A neighbor on our lake was building a log cottage at that time, and he asked if he could have it for his front window. Then about three years ago, he upgraded all the windows in his cabin and gave the window back to me so now it is back in our family forever. I have just completed the exterior of the station. Next year we hope to do most of the interior. We presently operate on about a thousand feet of track with plans for much more. The Thicket Portage sign came from the CNR rail line from Winnipeg to Churchill. The picture below shows the station, at this location the main line is the 4.5 % spur line down hill to the lower lake. All material for building the railroad are boated across the lower lake to the rail jetty.

Rock River Cannonball

By Terry Welsh

ROCK RIVER CANNONBALL gets new clothes.

Over the last two years, the Cannonball has had the tender repaired and painted, along with the outer jacket on the locomotive. The wood frame for the cab was also stripped and re-varnished. The old girl has been dolled up and looks like a kid again. She has also had new tires put on along with new stay bolts in the fire box.

The past couple of years we have run her at Halloween time for a “Fright Train.” It has worked out well. Besides this last year, we ran her at our swap meet in June and Labor Day Weekend for our big show. We have some corporate picnics that rent the train also for everyone to ride. I even got a turn at the throttle this year.

The train crew is looking at many things to do to add to the railroad. We have started a construction demo area for old drag lines and shovels. The brush was cleaned out along the track so the people on the train can see the machines working. Our head engineer told me that he had lots of people tell him that was a great site to see. We are planning on putting in a siding by the construction site so we can bring people down to it during the show. So there will be some track work done.

Work is under way to get the little engine back in running shape. It is like new, but has injector problems. This will need to be fixed before the boiler inspectors will pass it. It will remain the same as when we got it. Like a European engine. Both engines at Henschels. One built in 1942 and the other in 1938.

Future planes on the drawing board include the siding at the north end of the park, building a third car for the second engine and a round house. Oh, yes, a speeder shack to keep our speeder in.

Submitted by Terry Welch

CHDC Railroad

By Mike H Mottler

Rolling up their shirt sleeves and putting muscle power to the work, members of the Central Arkansas Model Railroad Club (CAMRC) have earned appreciation for their work on a 1950s vintage NAD two-footer train. Summertime track work on the railroad continues on the grounds of the Conway Human Development Center (CHDC) in Conway, Ark., which is home to the “CHDC Fun Flyer”.

Thanks to repairs to the prime mover begun in late 2008 and continued in early 2009, the diesel-profile train is now running reliably. Current attention and work sessions are directed to the rails and the roadbed originally installed 50 years ago. Many crossties are weathered and worn, and some spikes aren’t holding the rails firmly in place. One damaged rail section must be replaced, and some kinked rail joints must be adjusted. Because of the deteriorated crossties, several areas along the one-third mile right of way are out of gauge. In one spot, a derailment seemed nearly certain.

The CAMRC work team gathers at the site on Tuesday evenings, weather permitting, and applies the tools of the trade to the task at hand: shovels, a spike puller and a rail lifter. Fortunately, a backhoe-equipped utility tractor is available to do much of the strenuous work – removing worn crossties from under the rails and hauling and installing new crossties in place.

Two crossing signals along the right-of-way are now being rewired, and that task will be completed soon. Club member Bobby Huber, a Signal Maintenance Technician with the Union Pacific railroad, has installed a power supply, relays, sensors and circuitry that will perform just like the signals on a real railroad.

Through a web search, CAMRC President Daniel Gladstone discovered two NAD flat cars in Ohio that were available for purchase. With funds provided by the Volunteer Council of CHDC, these two cars were acquired and transported to Conway. They will be rebuilt for use by center residents who ambulate by wheelchairs. A perimeter safety railing, wheel chocks, and tie-downs will be installed on the rebuilt cars so that passengers with special needs can ride the train. Onboard seating for an accompanying escort will also be provided.

The council is seeking grants and contributions to continue the restoration project, enhance the train and expand the trackage of the railroad into the western area of the grounds of the center. A celebration of the project is scheduled for August, 2009. Persons and organizations interested in assisting with this project as volunteers may contact Daniel Gladstone of CAMRC by phone at 501-269-3030 or by e-mail at ca_mrc@yahoo.com

Photo 1: Wiring it Up
Bobby Huber dresses-up the wiring in an equipment cabinet for control of two crossing signals along the right of way.

Photo 2: Tractor and “Gandy Dancers”
(L to R) Daniel Dixon, Bill Smith, and Will McFadden maneuver a worn crosstie out from under the rails with the backhoe-equipped tractor. A new crosstie will be put in its place.

Photo 3: Cars for Use by Center Residents
One of the two NAD flat cars is spliced into the train for a compatibility test. When rebuilt, the two cars will enable CHDC residents, many of whom ambulate by wheel chairs, to enjoy a ride on the “CHDC Fun Flyer.”

A newly constructed replica narrow-gauge troop car joined a replica narrow gauge locomotive on tracks outside the Army Reserve Mobilization Museum on Army Support Activity, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (ASA, JB MDL), Oct. 29. The construction of the troop car took place throughout the month of October by the workers at IAP Worldwide Services. In 2006, the locomotive commonly known as Dinky was installed next to the museum near where a portion of the former track once ran. A dinky train describes a smaller type of train usually run on a narrow-gauge railroad track used to transport short supply runs in closely spaced cities and towns. A narrow-gauge railway usually measures three and a half feet or less and a standard railway typically measures four feet, eight and a half inches. The railroad system, which was known as the Fort Dix Narrow Gauge Railroad, represents a historical time period where the train operated on Fort Dix and previously Camp Dix for more than 30 years. It was built in the early 1920s and was used to transport troops, food, ammunition and equipment to and from the training ranges. "The whole idea behind it was to preserve the history and heritage of the Narrow Gauge Railroad at Fort Dix," said John Warrick, who works in the ASA, JB MDL Directorate of Public Works Real Property Office and spearheaded the project. Warrick is also a trainmaster with the Black River Railroad System in Flemington. The Fort Dix Narrow Gauge Railroad was in operation during World Wars I and II and ran until the mid 1950s. It ran across areas of Dix and McGuire Air Force Base and went out to where the range headquarters building stands today. "We eventually want to have every type of car out there to represent what it used to look like. The troop car is downsized slightly at about 90 percent of what the actual size was," said Warrick. "This is something we really wanted to get done before the end of the year, but also realize there's room to do more. That's for sure," he said. There is a plaque at the monument which tells a brief history of the railroad and who it's dedicated to. It reads, "This monument is dedicated to the military and civilian railroaders of the past, present, and future and to the countless personnel who rode the Fort Dix Narrow Gauge Railway."

I read with a pleasure your nice web sites - it is very interesting. Let me introduce our project of Sugar beet railway from Czech Republic (Kolín City). More information you can see on our web sites http://zeleznicka.bloudil.cz/?page=stranka&idp=15 (English version). If you will have interest of this any cooperation with our club, please send me your answer. Thank you for your understanding and We will looking for on may cooperation with you.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. As winter settles in, please sit down and write a little about your railroad or send some pictures. I like putting this together but find it tough to get enough material to fill eight pages. Also the B&W has a small 4-wheel tank car for sale. It came out of a paint factory in Kansas. We used it as a weed sprayer for a long time. If interested, I will send you some pictures. Make an offer!

Shady Creek

By David Freeman

Rock River Cannonball

By Terry Welsh

CHDC Railroad

By Mike H Mottler

Fort Dix

Fort Dix Public affairs and photos

by Alex Rodriquez

Suger beet railway

Pavel Myšák Mojžíš