Erskine Tramway

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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

tomc wrote:isn't retired life great. hobby time anytime we want or when the wife lets us!

Tom C.
Yup......In between all this I helped move three big planters, dug in a couple new bushes, enlarged the wire cage around one of our young trees (to keep the deer from killing it), and worked on the stair railing coming up off the track level to the upper yard. I didn't work this hard when I was working :lol: I always said I was too lazy to retire :D

Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
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NP317
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by NP317 »

Erskine Tramway wrote:
tomc wrote:isn't retired life great. hobby time anytime we want or when the wife lets us!

Tom C.
Yup......In between all this I helped move three big planters, dug in a couple new bushes, enlarged the wire cage around one of our young trees (to keep the deer from killing it), and worked on the stair railing coming up off the track level to the upper yard. I didn't work this hard when I was working :lol: I always said I was too lazy to retire :D

Mike
This all sounds SO familiar!
I hope to get back to locomotive fabrication next week.
At least I get to steam my Ten Wheeler tomorrow at a Friend's home track. For the first time in a year!!!
~RN
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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

Well folks.....

last week, I put together four more panels, and put down a base layer of ballast. Then I hauled the panels out and laid them on the ballast. Yesterday, I went out and bolted up the joints. Since the new panels at on a gentle left hand curve, I'm going to loosen the screws on the inside rails so that I can get a smooth curve. I've got enough ties cut for two more panels, and that will take me up to the gravel piles. Then I can load ballast directly onto the cars instead of using a wheelbarrow or 'Kitty' the mini dozer.
7-2-17 rail train.jpg
7-3-17 joints bolted.jpg
Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Glenn Brooks »

HOOAHHH!!!
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by tomc »

lookin good Mike!

Tom C.
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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

Yesterday morning, while it was still cool, the granddaughter and I went out and put in the joint ties on a couple more panels. I lined the curve smoother, and we took out the last two panels and laid them down. By then, she was tired of trackwork, so we hung it up for the day.

The surface of the ballast is even enough that we could run out over the new track without any problems, though it still needs filling in and spot tamping.
7-6-17 new work.jpg
Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
tomc
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by tomc »

Its gonna be nice to be able to load direct into ur cars. It makes the RR more FUN!

Tom C.
tom_at_srclry_com
A student of the Southend RGS!
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

Hard for this ol' Tennessee Boy to get over that pink-looking gravel! In all seriousness, it looks great and I'm sure that you're going to be happy with the whole thing.
FYI, all the gravel we get around here is quarried and crushed Limestone, which is greyish/white. Either that or creek gravel, and who knows what you'd get with that. Come to think of it, I haven't seen creek gravel used anywhere in a while... Methinks the EPA put a stop to that.
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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

Pontiacguy1 wrote:Hard for this ol' Tennessee Boy to get over that pink-looking gravel! In all seriousness, it looks great and I'm sure that you're going to be happy with the whole thing.
FYI, all the gravel we get around here is quarried and crushed Limestone, which is greyish/white. Either that or creek gravel, and who knows what you'd get with that. Come to think of it, I haven't seen creek gravel used anywhere in a while... Methinks the EPA put a stop to that.
Pink is the color we get around here. I think it's sandstone, like the buildings downtown. The BN main was that color when I hired out, I've hauled lots of it down to Edgemont from the Lien quarry above Minnekahta on the Deadwood line. It wasn't the best ballast for coal trains, it broke down pretty fast. After they abandoned the 4th. Subdivision, they started hauling harder rock in from Minnesota and Colorado, so now the mainline is grey.
But, for my purposes, it's fine.

This morning I set up my 'tie plant' and cut up the 2x4's I got last week. I loaded them into a wagon, and maybe tomorrow, I'll haul them up to the track jig and stack them to dry out. Depends on the weather.
7-10-17 Tie plant.jpg
Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

Yesterday we a good day to work on track, only about 80F's, overcast with a nice 20-30 mph breeze. So we went out and lifted and ballasted six of the seven new panels. I left a little 'run off' at the end of track to be able to connect the next panels without having to prop them up. This morning, I'm going to go up and finish the last panel. I found a couple little low spots that need more raising, but I'll get them today too.
7-25-17 end of track.jpg
7-25-17 new ballast.jpg
Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
RONALD
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by RONALD »

Pink Ballast

About 60 years ago the C&NW Ry bought a mountain of Pink Quartzite in South Dakota or one of those other nearby states, it has been used ever since as ballast on the now Union Pacific former C&NW tracks.

Here is a statement from Wikipedia:

"Quartzite is a very hard metamorphic rock that originated as sandstone. Through a process of high heating and pressurization sandstone is transformed into Quartzite, an extremely strong and durable natural stone."

We live close to the UP line that goes toward Harvard, Illinois, so for our railroad we decided to use that pink ballast, it is much much smaller than the original.

Because this material at our size is costly, and does not really have much cohesiveness, we only use it as a top coat, underneath is CA-6 Grade 9 road gravel which is much cheaper, can be compacted and stays in place.

Below are two photos, delivery, and use as a top coat:
DSCN0322.jpg
DSCN2430.jpg
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Erskine Tramway
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Re: Erskine Tramway

Post by Erskine Tramway »

Yup, Ronald......

The North-Western used 'Pink Lady' from a quarry at (I think) Rock Springs, nee Abeleman, Wisc. too.

In any event, I got the track all raised, tamped and broomed yesterday. Today, we're having a nice, soaking, rain, which we need badly, and that is washing the dust down to the bottom of the ballast.

Mike
Former Locomotive Engineer and Designer, Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, Inc. and Riverside & Great Northern Railway 1962-77
BN RR Locomotive Engineer 1977-2014, Retired
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