Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

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Sandiapaul
Posts: 567
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2004 8:04 am
Location: Princeton, NJ

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by Sandiapaul »

That is going to be a great track. Too bad for the squirrels!
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JBodenmann
Posts: 3855
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Here is a night time photo of the steaming bays. The last two lamps were installed in the steaming bays last week. This is a major milestone as the steaming bay area is finally finished, except perhaps for some landscaping. Years ago, before the railway was even started I had a vision, or maybe a hallucination, call it what you like. The vision was looking down the main line past the steaming bays on a foggy night with the lamps on. Aside from the foggy night, it is just as I pictured it. I am really pleased with the way things turned out. It will be even better when it's filled with friends and tiny engines.
See you in the funny pages...
Jack
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Nightime.jpg
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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
One more thing I forgot to mention. If any of you are out this way drop me a line, I would be delighted to to give any of my friends from the board here the 25 cent tour for free. Hope to see you.
Jack
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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Haven't posted anything on the Railway for a while, so here are a couple snappies that were taken this morning. The first one is looking past the steaming bays towards the valley division. Not much has happened in this area since springtime. In the summer I usually just work outside in the morning and evening. Most evenings till darkness falls. The other picture is looking towards the mountain division. I have been busy doing the final grading in the cut and setting concrete pylons, also casting pylons. Now the track assembly can follow. I'll have more photos later in the week. I'll be going to the fall meet at LALS Saturday, see you there.
Jack
Attachments
Highline1.jpg
Highline2.jpg
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JBodenmann
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Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:37 pm
Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
It's a beautiful fall day here in the high mountain desert. Yesterday the temp was in the nineties, today it's in the seventies. This is the first day since early summer that it was pleasant to work (play) outside all day. Here are a few snappies taken in the mountain division cut. Here the highline is heading down hill at 1-1/2 percent and into a horse shoe curve. In the top photo we have two of the six foot two by sixes where they meet on a concrete pylon. You can see that the two by six on the left is not as tall as the one on the right. This is a common occurrence as they are not very uniform. The next photo shows a box of shims that were made up. They range in thickness from a sixteenth of an inch to about a quarter. Thinner shims are sheet metal. The next photo shows a shim selected that will make up the difference in height and in the third photo the shim has been put under the left hand two by six. You can just see it between the two by six and the concrete pylon. A railway like this has to be adjustable, initially to get things to line up, and later on as things settle and move. The two by sixes can easily be removed and adjusted up and down. The ties and rail can then be adjusted side to side. If major adjustment is needed, the concrete pylons can be shifted. The last photo for now is looking up hill towards the steaming bays. Look out...railway's comin' through. When? Right now! ha ha, too much fun!
Jack
Attachments
Highline1.jpg
Highline2.jpg
Highline3.jpg
Highline4.jpg
Highline5.jpg
10 Wheeler Rob
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by 10 Wheeler Rob »

I love to plan a west coast road trip with the 3/4" P7 Pacific locomotive I have that was built by Joe Hild in early 30's. But it is a long way from New Engand. And would like line up with a meet weekend San Francisco at least. And maybe bring my gas fired Invicta to go up to Train Mountain as well. They would both fit into my Dodge Caravan.

There is not any good safe commercial transport that I know by for air or train transport for locomotives. So it would have to be a road trip.

Rob
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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Hi Rob, you would be welcome anytime. I have had thoughts of a west coast 3/4" and 1" scale ramble where we co ordinated between Golden Gate Live Steamers, Los Angeles Live Steamers, and my little pike. And any others, Sacramento has a very cool 4-3/4" track, but that is all I know of for now. It would be a couple years out, as I still have plenty to do but I think it would be a real hoot.
Jack
James Powell
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Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by James Powell »

Well to the north, up here in Canada, I believe you will find Abbotsford MES with about 1200' of 2 1/2", 3 1/2" and 5". BCSME has a back and forth 3 1/2" (not finished, last I heard...) and a mile of 7.5 or so. Vancouver Island Model Engineers has a 1200' 3 1/2, 4 3/4 & 5" raised track & about a mile of 7.5".

Shipping engines: the answer is a really stout shipping box. My Britannia has one, which the Caribou will also fit into. It's about 20 lb of shipping box, made of welded 1 1/4" angle & plywood. They can tip it, they can pallet jack it, they can basically do most stupid with it, and the engine is safe inside. It's shock protected by having enough foam around the loco to protect it from the box. I've not tried the Rapido Patent Packing Test with it, but it has so far survived being shipped by air, post & bus across Canada x6 or so.

James

*rapido packing test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpVgKTjmZHE
FKreider
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by FKreider »

JBodenmann wrote: Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:34 pm Hello My Friends
Hi Rob, you would be welcome anytime. I have had thoughts of a west coast 3/4" and 1" scale ramble where we co ordinated between Golden Gate Live Steamers, Los Angeles Live Steamers, and my little pike. And any others, Sacramento has a very cool 4-3/4" track, but that is all I know of for now. It would be a couple years out, as I still have plenty to do but I think it would be a real hoot.
Jack
That would be awesome, a couple years out works for me I think. 8)
-Frank K.
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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Summer is coming to an end, and as the weather is cooling progress on the highline is picking up. Just cast two more concrete pylons this morning and will probably hop on the tractor and bang away on the rocks in the valley division cut. Very little grading remains, but I left the worst for last. Yesterday afternoon about twenty more feet of ties and rail were put together in the mountain division cut. This is a really slow process as the ties each have six screws in them. This is where stubbornness comes in handy. :lol: Here is a snappy from a while back along with one taken yesterday. A construction zone, and then steaming bays, quite a difference! Then two more photos taken yesterday. The top one is looking past the steaming Bay Area towards the mountain division. I spent a good bit of time dialing in the track, trying to get the gentle S curve nice and smooth. I put a 2" galvanized nail through a tie into the 2" x 6" runners every so far. The heads are left sticking up a bit so they can be pulled out and the alignment re adjusted. Lots of walking back and forth to have a look, putting a nail in, walking down the line, having another look, another nail... The last photo is from the end of track looking in the opposite direction toward the steaming bay area. I will be getting a load of decomposed granite soon to cover the walkway along the track and smooth it out. Also the dirt here, (what is not rock) is clay and it sticks to your shoes like glue when it's wet, so the DG will be a great improvement.
Having fun here.
Jack
Attachments
Before2.jpg
After2.jpg
Highline11.jpg
Highline12.jpg
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JBodenmann
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Location: Tehachapi, California

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Major milestone here, the railway is now through Monolyth cut. This cut was the worst of all the grading, and I am really happy it's behind now. The top photo here was taken back in 2012 when the railway was just a line of rocks laid in the dirt. The second photo was taken in 2013 when the grading started. And the third photo shows the evil rock. This rock ranged from two to four feet thick and was about thirty feet long. There were times when it took most of the day to go a foot or two. My poor back hoe. First I ripped the teeth off the bucket. They were welded back on, then a steel hydraulic line blew. Then the back hoe frame that goes under the tractor and holds the back hoe in place broke in two, twice. The second time it was reinforced with some heavy steel. The cut was finally finished up last week. The third photo shows the end of track through the cut and finally out onto the fill. :D Our last photo shows this part of the railway from the other direction looking down grade. I really like S curves, especially when viewed from the end of a train. Someday I hope to have a nice string of 3/4" freight cars and they will look really cool snaking through here. That's all for now, time to get a couple more concrete pylons set in place, look out...railway's coming through.
Jack
Attachments
Monolyth1.jpg
Monolyth2.jpg
Monolyth3.jpg
Monolyth4.jpg
Monolyth5.jpg
FKreider
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Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:44 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Alcalde & Coalfield High Line

Post by FKreider »

Hi Jack,

Looks awesome! That sure is a lot of work! Maybe you posted earlier in this thread but how long will the entire track be?
-Frank K.
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