Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Thank you bushav. Thats a cool golden spike Harold. I will be needing some of those. Here are some photos of the work weekend that Mike sent me.
Here Wolf is sticking down rail on the mountain division fill. Six screws per tie, fifty two ties every ten feet🤪 This aspect of building a railway goes mighty slow.
WorkDay1.jpg
And here mike is working with an old Bozo...Me. Actually during the work day I did very little work on the railway. I was mainly running around like a chicken with my head cut off fetching this or that.
WorkDay2.jpg
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Take it from me.
WorkDay3.JPG
WorkDay4.JPG
When I bought my GP9 I had no idea it had a built in drink holder.
WorkDay5.jpeg
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JBodenmann
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Here are a few more photos that Mike G. took. Ahhh, lunch time. Building a railway is hard work, so railroaders get hungry.
WorkDay7.JPG

After lunch it was pointing and talking in the shop for a while. I'm probably blabbing on and on to Wolf about some minor detail.
WorkDay8.JPG
The steaming bays after a busy day. Andy brought his beautiful LBSC Virginia that he just finished up, also his Raritan. Mike brought his Kozo 2-27 project that was started by John Hudak.
WorkDay6.JPG
One of our beautiful high mountain desert sunsets. Beauty is all around us, if we just stop to look.
WorkDay9.JPG
Now a bit of night running. It was really cool to have a gaggle of good friends here for the weekend. Lots of wonderful discussions about a wide variety of subjects. Running some steam, workin' on the railway. It was a wonderful time...and the railway isn't even finished. Too much fun!
WorkDay10.JPG
Jack
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NP317
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by NP317 »

Wonderful to see your place and RR colleagues in more detail.
Thank you for sharing.
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steamingdon
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by steamingdon »

very inspirational :D :D
steamer
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JBodenmann
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Thank You NP317 and steamingdon. I'll be working on the railway today. Hopefully there will be some photos this evening.
Jack
Odyknuck
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by Odyknuck »

Way Cool!
steamingdon
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by steamingdon »

eating, drinking and shooting the sht. something I can handle.
steamer
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JBodenmann
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Thank you Odycnuck, and steamingdon. I plan on many small gatherings in the future. Lots of eating, drinking, and pointing and talking. Also tiny locomotives tearing around the railway. Here are a few snappies from this last weekend.
Here we have a work train at the lowest part of the railway. There will be a water tank here called half way tank. We are facing toward the Mountain division. From here there is a 1-1/2" percent grade uphill to the steaming bay area.
Work Train.jpeg
This is where a trestle will be. It will be about sixteen feet long and about thirty inches tall at the highest point. There is a dry creek bed through here that drains the west end of the driveway and the steaming bay area.
Trestle.jpeg
'This photo shows a major milestone. If you look closely for the first time you can actually see one end of the high line from the other. It looks much further in the photo than it actually is. There only remains eight more concrete pylons to make. The final tally for pylons is 116. I will be so happy when the last one is cast. Yesterday I pulled two pylons from the molds. Then cleaned and re assembled the molds, and will be casting two more today. It requires three sixty pound bags of high strength ready mix plus three shovels of sand, a rebar assembly, and a little extra cement to make two pylons. The end is in sight, yippee. :D
EndTo End.jpeg
And here is one last photo for now. The steaming bays bathed in fall colors. Sometimes I look back on all the work done and wonder how I did it. It has also been a tremendous amount of fun. I always dreamed of having my own railway and I'm almost there. Now I did have some help, and I can't thank my wonderful friends enough. Hopefully there will be a golden spike party this spring. Too Much Fun!
Jack
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Mountaineer
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by Mountaineer »

Wise to make the steaming bay area first. I wouldn’t know anything about a club that took awhile to make a nice steaming bay area…
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kcameron
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by kcameron »

Did you document how you made the molds for the pylons somewhere in this thread? We've been making bases for signal masts and not happy with our current molds. Either the surface or the curing times have been problems. Result has been a lot of work to only get some results.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Jack: If you get snow tonight, post some pix!
Greg Lewis, Prop.
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JBodenmann
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
First to answer kcameron's question. There is a descscription of the molds somewhere in this thread. If you like I can provide more info.
Greg made a great suggestion about some snow photos so here is a photo tour of the Alcalde & Coalfield. This tour will be in a clockwise direction. The high line when finished will be just over seven hundred feet around. In this first snappy we have just left the steaming bay area. Here the railway is for the most part level. Plenty of water in the boiler so when we start heading down the hill there is still water showing in the glass. And a good fire. This is where the first track was plunked down. It seems like a long time ago. Well, it was about ten years ago.
Snow1.jpeg

Now the 1-1/2 percent descending grade starts. This is one of my most favorite parts of the high line as I like the way the S curve travels through the cut. This area is called Monolyth Cut. This is where I started with the tractor. I ripped the teeth off the back hoe, blew a hydraulic line, and broke the back hoe frame that connected to the tractor. A couple times I almost threw in the towel here. But hard headed stubbornness prevailed.🤪
Snow2.jpeg
Now we are on the valley division heading onto the fill. Still 1-1/2 percent down grade. We would be drifting along with the blower going, getting the fire in shape for the coming grade. Also a good time to put some water in.
Snow3.jpeg
Here we are still on the fill. Rolling along nicely through a grove of quaking aspens as it's still 1-1/2" percent downgrade.
Snow4.jpeg
Still downgrade here as we head through a grove of junipers past half way tank. I plan on a water tank here at the bottom of the grade.
Snow5.jpeg
Last edited by JBodenmann on Thu Nov 03, 2022 1:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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