David Russell said:Rooster you S....(oops family programming) but you know. And the dumbass comment reminds me of Jeff Dunhams 'Walter' :)Jon Radder said:Dumbass! :)
I took Dave's advise .
Got some photos of the test train and some more work done on the project tonight. Here is the test train at the transition point from nearly level to 4%…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-01.jpg)
And working up the new grade…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-02.jpg)
At End-of-Track. Note the difference between the new track level and the old on the right…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-03.jpg)
The temporary blocking setting the grade. I’ll replace these with something a little more permanent once the final grade is set…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-04.jpg)
All of the blocks and stone sand removed from the wall in preparation for a more stable base. This wall top has not been seen in nearly 10 years…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-05.jpg)
The material that made up the fill. A lot more than I expected…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-06.jpg)
Borrowing a page from Ric and Mik’s roadbed book. The blocks will not show when all is finished. The red light at right is the laser level sitting on the next section of straight track. I measured the rise but forgot to write it down 
I think it was 3.5 inches. That would put the curve track at 3%, a 50% reduction from the existing 6%…
(http://lsc.cvsry.com/Post2/GradeFix-0711-07.jpg)
That’s it for tonight.
Jon,
Good to see somebody getting some work done 
Between the 10-11 hour work days and the heat, I’m not getting anything done.
I need to give myself a swift kick in the a** 
Ralph
I don’t know bout your eyes, but when I looked at the top photo I saw trouble… It looks bad 2 me. :0 Maybe I could loan you my glasses.
Jon Radder said:
How the curve got it’s name…(http://photo.cvsry.com/Derail1-640.jpg)
Interesting that in this old photo the grade doesn’t look that steep, It’s had one major adjustment in since this was taken. That work is shown in the photo below…
(http://photo.cvsry.com/GradeWork4-640.jpg)
I think over time growth of the tree has pushed things higher.
Jon,
Get a Three Truck Shay, it won’t even notice the grade. Yeh I know, but , I just like the pulling power they have.
Jon looks like you have been busy. Looks good so far.
Ralph glad to see im not the only one working crazy shifts. I have been non stop at work.
David Kapp said:Well, obviously it was, or it wouldn't have been re-built [i]twice[/i] :D
I don't know bout your eyes, but when I looked at the top photo I saw trouble... It looks bad 2 me. :0 Maybe I could loan you my glasses.
That top picture is my first attempt at climbing Indian Hill. I knew the grades were too steep, but a USA Geep with traction tires could handle it. The worst part was at the top of the grade there was a nasty vertical curve where the grade went from around 8% to under 4%. That was determined to be the cause of the wreck in the photo.
Dan DeVoto said:
Jon,Get a Three Truck Shay, it won’t even notice the grade. Yeh I know, but , I just like the pulling power they have.
Perhaps. One of the main reasons to re-build this section is that my two truck / 2 cyl. live steam shay wouldn’t make the grade two times in a row. The first time with dry rails it would go up, but once a little oily water got on the track it would just slip.
My main concern now is how to make the wall top look as nice as it did before adding 6 inches to the fill.
Jon,
I’m thinking you have told me you rebuilt some of that wall. If so, why don’t you just add to it with natural stone instead of a trestle or at least for some of it. I’d still have the temp track to show the grade, but I’d get some stone and mortar in there.
Ric - I thought of that for a few minutes. Not sure I want to raise it permanently for no apparent reason if the railroad goes away. It’s also really difficult to match the stones and mortar they had around here 60 years ago. There is a wall on the other side of the house that I started raising. That project began in 2004 and is still unfinished. We even paid a contractor to finish it and he only did about a third before disappearing This is probably the photo you remember. From 2005 or so…
(http://photo.cvsry.com/track-long_640.jpg)
Shot from the other side…
What is making it so difficult to finish?
On the 60 year old rock, isn’t most of it local? Seems like you could find some around the lake. We have a guy around here that has built a replica of a huge pre-Civil War fort. All the rock is local and scavenged from the destruction of old building foundations. Been working on it for 40 years. Its huge and all of it was done by hand and most of it just by one guy.
“What is making it so difficult to finish?” Motivation or lack thereof.
Yes, the original rock is local. I can pick them up 1 or two at a time around the lake. That’s where everything I’ve used on the RR has come from. It’s a slow process that requires several gallons of gasoline and at least 24 Oz. of beer per rock. The stuff I can buy, or have delivered by the pallet is not local and doesn’t look right. Mortar differences I just have to live with - there are no options short of mix-it-yourself which I’m not up for.
So I guess I’ve just been pressured into going out on the boat this weekend, burning gas and consuming beer on a quest for rock 
That poor table saw
Jon Radder said:
"What is making it so difficult to finish?" Motivation or lack thereof.Yes, the original rock is local. I can pick them up 1 or two at a time around the lake. That’s where everything I’ve used on the RR has come from. It’s a slow process that requires several gallons of gasoline and at least 24 Oz. of beer per rock. The stuff I can buy, or have delivered by the pallet is not local and doesn’t look right. Mortar differences I just have to live with - there are no options short of mix-it-yourself which I’m not up for.
So I guess I’ve just been pressured into going out on the boat this weekend, burning gas and consuming beer on a quest for rock
Jon shouldn’t that be going out on the boat, consuming beer, and expelling gas
Dave ;
Naw, he’s already expelled the gas.
How bout a stone venire?
Jon Radder said:Dan DeVoto said:
Jon,Get a Three Truck Shay, it won’t even notice the grade. Yeh I know, but , I just like the pulling power they have.
Perhaps. One of the main reasons to re-build this section is that my two truck / 2 cyl. live steam shay wouldn’t make the grade two times in a row. The first time with dry rails it would go up, but once a little oily water got on the track it would just slip.My main concern now is how to make the wall top look as nice as it did before adding 6 inches to the fill.
That’s pretty much the plan David. Dry stacked without mortar. Finding the right rocks could be a challenge, but it will happen one way or another.
One way is good… I hate doing it the ““other””…
“So I guess I’ve just been pressured into going out on the boat this weekend, burning gas and consuming beer on a quest for rock big_smile”
It sounds like a plan and a mission. Sounds like a good year round project. The temporary grade will allow you to place the rocks in the right place. Wonder if you could use that stuff they hold rocks in place for landscaping, waterfalls and ponds to help hold the dry stack in place? I bet you could use that “Great Stuff” to hold those rocks in place. After it dries cut away below the surface and fill back in with mortar. There is a learning curve with that stuff and a little goes a long way. Truly messy, but quite functional - doesn’t like sunshine so the mortar over it would offer U/V protection.
Right now you better get a couple of gallons of gas and at least an equal amount of a selected brew to help you with your assigned tasks.
Yes, you can blame me, that is if Marilyn gives you grief.
Mission accomplished. Film at 11.
The load rating on the Pontoon was tested to the limit. Had to go home and get a two-wheel cart to move them from the deck of the boat down the dock to the car. Who would have thought that rocks are buoyant. They sure are… One particularly large one was easy to move around in the water, but as soon as I tried lifting it the 2 feet to the deck it almost killed me!
We pulled into a spot we have never been before. Tricky to access skirting by some killer rocks, but once in it’s a great place. Every place I looked at the waters edge were flat or block shaped rocks. This is quite unusual, even for this part of New England. I had to quit long before I ran out of good prospects, there was no room left ion the boat to walk