I like Jim!!!..Good pics
As we continue our journey west on the old track we come to Kennedy’s Crossing at the west end of the Chinese Wall. Just west of the crossing is a switch and the rails to the right in the photo below once headed out onto the top of the Chinese Wall, If you look close you can see that the line to the wall is level and actually about 3’ higher than the main line on the left.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP3661.jpg)
When the Kennedy family bought the land and put in the road they removed the higher rails to the siding for the Wall. This occurred after the railroad shut down but before the Museum was founded. Here is a view looking west that shows the difference in elevation of the two tracks.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP3668.jpg)
When Larry and I first decided to reopen the West End I would haul my 2.5 gallon home weed sprayer and two 5 gallon water cans and 2.5 gallons of a generic Roundup to all of the crossings. I would mix the chemicals and walk the track in each direction spraying as I went. MY thinking was that if the track looked abandoned, people would treat it as if it was abandoned. This was the summer before I bought the Speeder and once the weeds were dead, we would knock them back with weed whackers.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/28July05.jpg)
Kennedy’s Crossing is a recurring problem. The county grades it and they grade it above the top of the rails. We show up and dig it out with picks and then the residents complain about the bumps at each rail. Another problem is constant trees falling. Some dead and some due to storms.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/MVC-289L.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/DCP_1684.jpg)
But this is all part of the joy of railroading…
From Kennedy’s Crossing we head west across a high fill, around a curve, and arrive at Scott’s Crossing which is a double crossing. A county paved road with a 55 mph speed limit (people roar around a blind curve closer to 80) and a County Gravel Road with a 45 mph speed limit. Here is a photo looking east, across the gravel road to the paved road.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP3463.jpg)
The only reason the area looks so good is I hauled my garden tractor down there and cut everything down after I sprayed it.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP2804.jpg)
Here is my speeder, facing west, between the two crossings. Note the dirt on top of the rails from the County road grader turning around where the track is.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/WestEnd006.jpg)
And here is the line looking west across the gravel road.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP3461-1.jpg)
Backwoods railroad was never dull!
As we continue west through mostly wooded areas we come to the “Trailer Park Crossing” which is an illegal crossing but in by a guy who is opening up some land and selling home sites for house trailers.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP4134.jpg)
It took us 5 months of heavy work to clear the 1/2 mile from the Trailer Park Crossing to Union Church Crossing. Heavy trees, saplings, and vines with stickers. But we finally arrived at Union Church.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP2590.jpg)
There is not constant traffic on this road but we would always park the speeder and hang out awhile. Every car that came by stopped to see what we were doing. We explained that we were re-opening the track. If the people who stopped had little kids, we would load them and their Mom up for a short ride and make some new friends. West of Union Church we come to the Champion Crossing. Years before my time with the Museum Champion timber company tore up the track. The Museum sued and won and the judge made them rebuild the crossing properly. But the land has been sold several times and as the road graders come by they cover up the track.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5175_880x660.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/Transferfolder005.jpg)
As we continue to head west, eventually we come to the end of the track. "
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP0278.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5433.jpg)
About 1/8 mile west of the end of the track is the Mills Creek Viaduct, on private land, but the owner is a friend of the Museum.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5440.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/Imgp0281.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP0284.jpg)
Jim,
Really enjoyed the photo log of your exploits and efforts.
I wish I’d have known you when all this was going on.
It would have been fun to be a part of 
Ralph
Great pictures and documentation. Love the viaduct - would be a great model.
Another 7/8" scale interlude… One of my favorite models I built years ago…
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/IMGP1006-1.jpg)
YES! It’s the Toonerville Trolley! It is built on an Aristocraft motor block with 7/8" scale (extra wide tread) wheels From Sierra Valley. The Operator was custom made by a friend for it. It is mounted on two screws so it rocks back and forth as it moves. Powered by 4 AA Batteries it will run slowly for two days on my small portable demonstration layout.
There are lots of wash outs on the West End Track!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/DSCN6618.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/DSCN6619.jpg)
We usually installed one of more gauge rods, checked the bolts on the rail connections, and moved on…
Transition Joints are special rail connectors that fit two different sizes of rail. This one connects 60# rail to 85# rail.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5673_716x537.jpg)
We found this connection out on the west end and painted it red because it is a “big bump” when you go from the lower to the higher rail. Of interest is the fact that the original R&R RR was running their steam engines over this joint.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5674.jpg)
For those of you not familiar with gauge rods, here is a good photo. The smaller ones are 1’ dia and the larger are 1.25" dia
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5650_716x537.jpg)
I rigged up some carriers for them on my Speeder and if we loaded them carefully we could carry 9 on each side. You can see in these photos the castings that clamped to the bottom of each rail. We would tighten one up tight and then use the other end to set the gauge. We used 12", 24", and 36" adjustable wrenches because they were easier. But we carried 6 foor open end wrenches from the Museum for the times we really need to force the track back into gauge.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5430.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP5661_716x537.jpg)
Larry and I usually met at the Museum on Wednesdays about 9 am. I lived 60 miles north and he lived 60 miles east. We would load up and head west and work until we pooped out or ran out of gauge rods. We usually packed lunches and always had lots of cold water and tea. Sometimes we would work on Saturdays and could pick up a few additional volunteers at the Museum.
Those carriers were built to haul 12’ long 4"x4" wood pieces. They came in really handy for derailments in the early days of the project.
The Speeder has “Lifting Handles” built into it that run fore and aft. They pull out either to the front or the rear. Larry and I could usually pick up the real of the speeder if we had to using the lifting handles. But we couldn’t budge the front where the engine was. 6 guys can lift either end of the Speeder easily to re-rail it, but it was usually just the two of us.
Another modeling interlude… My all time favorite model will always be this model of the James Wyman, a 2’ gauge 2-6-0 that started out in North Carolina and ended up in Maine. The wooden factory flat behind it is 48" wide.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/IMGP1021.jpg)
Here is a prototype photo. I have never been able to figure out for sure what is on the right end of the pilot beam. It looks like some sort of windmill.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/OldStar.jpg)
Steve King offered a “kit” for this engine. He supplied the mechanism and electric drive for the engine ready to run. The boiler, domes, cab, cab roof, and tender shell are all urethane castings. He also provided kits for the tender trucks and a 7/8" scale blow up of a builder’s drawing. The rest was up to the builder of the model.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/MVC-576L.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/MVC-565L.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/MVC-571L.jpg)
I worked on the model for almost 2 years until I was happy with it. I visited the Argent Lumber Company 3’ gauge Porter 2-6-0 in Hardeville, SC and photographed it completely. Actually seeing and touching all of the original pieces help me build them. The headlight is based on a 1’ copper pipe coupler.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/HeadLight-03.jpg)
I made all of the grab irons from brass
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/Handrails-01.jpg)
Other small pieces were individual projects. There were several of us building these models at the same time so we often built extra pieces and swapped them back and forth.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/Lubricator-03.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/Injectors-03.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/BrakeStand-01.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/SteamGauge05.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/Springs.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/Compresser-02.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/FTs-22.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/7-8%20Scale/FTs-12.jpg)
WEED SPRAYING! The SC RR Museum had been having a Rail contractor come in and spray the 5 miles of active mainline every year at a cost of around $4K
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP4433.jpg)
I talked with the President of the Museum and told him that Larry and could spray it much cheaper our selves. So the Museum paid for a 65 gallon tank, a 12v electric pump, a spray boom, and a spray gun (Total cost about $750) and Larry and I became sprayers. It cost $150 for the chemicals (a generic version of RoundUp) for us to spray all 11.5 miles of track once. Of course, the cost of the chemicals has tripled since we started but we still saved the Museum a bunch of money.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/06May27-02.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP4451.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/SCRM/IMGP6190.jpg)
Jim,
I bet they’re really missing you at the museum
Ralph
Jim, Welcome. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. However, you need a truck to haul that speeder. 
This is mine, cleaning bugs off after a rail fanning trip.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/jebouck/wash1a.jpg)
Boy…that generator and air compressoer look reall familiar…welcome to LSC Jim…
Nice story and modeling! The speeder looks like fun.
I’ve started making some grab irons like yours, but in 1:20. Seems hard to get them all alike. Got any tips?
Bruce,
I stick a nail of the right size in my heavy vice, vertically, and then bend one end of the brass around it and form the “loop” in that end.
Then I pick the length I want and form the other end.
Now I have one that is flat, with a loop on each end. I have not made either of the 90 degree bends in either end yet nor pounded the ends flat with a hammer.
This is what I duplicate until I have enough of them made. Then one at a time, hammer the two ends flat, add a bit of soft solder, drill the holes, and then put the two 90 degree bends in each end.
I think the key is to make up the pieces all of the same length first, then do the bends.
I hope this helps…