I've Been Working on the Railroad
Working on the railroad usually means long hours and
lots of hard work. While mechanization has replaced the
hundreds of labor jobs, there's still a lot of hand work
to be done when maintaining and repairing a railroad.
Our track is a privately owned track consisting of
17 miles which includes 2 run around tracks. There
are 65 curves in those 17 miles. They have two locomotives
one in the front and one on the rear which haul
40 to 43 cars each filled with 100 to 120 tons of
coal from the preparation plant to the harbor
facility where the coal is loaded on barges.
The rail carries about 7 million tons of coal a year
on it, the largest amount of any privately owned railroad
in the world.
We work on the rail road with a 2 man crew Friday for 10
hours, Saturday and Sunday for 12 hours and all holidays.
There's lots of overtime, as much work on the railroad
as you would want. Shutdowns like for miner's vacation
and long wall moves they usually hire a contractor to
come in and do the big jobs like replace bridge ties
and track ties.
We have a tamper, regulator, utility track truck and
rock car, plus a bolting machine since all our rail is
jointed (we replace a lot of bolts!)
Here's a daily log of what we do working on the railroad.
January 2010
01 12 hours: Track inspection & switches
02 12 hours: Track inspection & switches
03 12 hours: Track inspection & switches
05 11 hours: Track inspection & switches
07 8 hours: Track inspection & switches
08 10 hours: Track inspection & switches
09 12 hours: Track inspection & switches, fueled silo
heater.
10 12 hours: Track inspection & switches, fueled silo
heater.
12 8 hours: Track inspection & switches
14 9.5 hours rode track, cleaned switches, cleaned off
back of track truck.
15 10 hours: broomed curves 54, 36, 35, 28, milepost 14
rail change out area, west bridge 3, picked out two
pieces rail to put in at 14.
16 12 hours: Tamped curve 36 and 35, plotted 28. Staged
two pieces rail to milepost 14, made cover for switch
lock at chicken farm.
17 16 hours: Tamped curve 28, west end of 54, east end of 59.
Fueled silo heater. Greased, fueled and did maintenance on tamper.
22 12 hours: had 5 trucks hauling ballast to Mapletown
stockpile, ran loader back in to harbor, regulated stone
on curve 54 to 53, changed jackbeam and travel filters on tamper.
23 12 hours: went to Atlas shop to pick up jackbeam filter,
changed out 2 pieces of rail on west end of curve 55, tamped
curve 54 to 53.
24 15 hours: tamped rail change out curve 54, spiral in
curve 32, curve 16 spiral out to spiral in on curve 15,
changed oil gear box on tamper.
27 12 hours: plotted Bridge 3 tangent, plotted and tamped
curves 17, 16 and 10, lined tangent from curve 11 to curve 10.
29 12 hours: (cold down to 10 degrees), track inspection,
measured rail on curve 17, cleaned switch at load out,
drove spikes from curve 11 to curve 10, cleaned off back
of track truck.
30 12 hours: (very cold down to 10 degrees) replaced several
missing bolts, tried to heat rail at Bridge 1 to fix joint
but was too cold, replaced cord and battery charger at
bathhouse switch, switched rail cars, cleaned and oiled
switches at harbor.
31 14 hours: very cold, track inspection, fixed several missing bolts,
fixed joint on Bridge 1 and curve 53, switched cars out, tried
to fix broken bolts on Bridge 14, fixed rail saw, filled
heat rope cans with diesel.
February 2010
05 10 hours: the big snow started. Tamped curve 30
and part of curve 28.
06 12 hours: rode locomotive to mine and sawed trees
off rail, cleaned snow out of switches at harbor.
12 14 hours: cleaned snow out of yard switches, cleaned
ice from crossing and lock switch, plowed snow off
crossings.
13 12 hours cleaned snow from switches at mine, put
plug and joint bars in shop, switched rail cars,
ran tamper.
14 16 hours: cleaned snow from switch at unloader,
dug out crossing and put joint bar on cracked rail,
cleaned snow from milepost 8 switch, beat frozen coal
from rail cars, cleaned switches at harbor.
17 9.5 hours: cleaned snow and ice from crossing
and switches at harbor, unloaded regulator from truck.
18 12 hours: plowed snow on rail with regulator from
harbor to Bridge 10.
19 10 hours: plowed snow at chicken farm siding and
curve 16, from chicken farm east to Bridge 10.
20 12.5 hours: fixed joint curve 58, cut tree off rail
at Mapletown tunnel, replaced broken piece of rail in
crossing at harbor with a 12 foot plug, plowed snow from
greaser box at Bridge 2 to curve 12, fueled regulator.
21 16 hours: put out signs at long wall area, cut trees
there, moved rail on curve 17 off track, cleaned out crossing
at unloader, broomed snow from run around track at
harbor, finished grinding one end of plug, went
over tamper computer with Bob.
23 11 hours: greased tamper, tightened limit switch, changed
cab filter in truck, fueled tamper and regulator,
went to chicken farm and got instructions on how to
run our rented John Deere
724k loader, plowed snow there
with the loader, unloaded Trackmobile and got instructions
on how to run it.
724K John Deere Loader
Start Long Wall mining under track curves 17 and 16
24 12 hours: had 6 gravel trucks hauling gravel to
chicken farm, plowed snow and broomed curve 18, cleaned
unloader.
25 10.5 hours: broomed long wall area, fluffed up
gravel and broke up frozen clumps.
26 12 hours: broomed long wall area, moved resume speed
sign to west end of curve 19, put batteries in blinking
lights on two sign posts, hauled two loads of ballast to
long wall area, loaded them and fluffed up gravel at
milepost 8 siding, cleaned unloader and pulled coal back
to unloader on tangent below unloader. Another Big Snow!
27 12 hours: broomed switches at harbor, cleaned switch
at milepost 8 siding, broomed snow from siding, plowed
snow from there to Bridge 5, plowed from tunnel to Bridge 2,
fluffed up gravel, removed snow from siding area with
the big John Deere loader, plowed snow from the siding
to Mapletown gravel pile, cleaned out ballast car.
28 16 hours: had jump tamper to get it started, moved
equipment around, fueled tamper, tamped curve 17, fluffed
up ballast, loaded, hauled and regulated 1 load ballast
to curve 17.
March 2010
02 11 hours: Loaded ballast car and dumped one load curve
17 and 16, regulated stone, tamped west end curve 17, tangent
and east end curve 16, fueled regulator and trackmobile,
fluffed up gravel, put gravel in pot holes on road at
chicken farm and harbor and harbor crossing.
03 11 hours: had 5 trucks hauling in ballast, stockpiled
stone, loaded and dumped 1 load of ballast on Bridge 3 exit,
curve 18 and curve 17, tamped curve 18 and Bridge 3 exit,
regulated stone on all three places.
04 9 hours: cleaned and oiled all switches, cut trees
away from run around track at mine, installed new service
brake valve on tamper.
05 12 hours: 2 ballast trucks running, loaded 2 cars with
ballast and dumped on curves 18 and 17, regulated stone,
tamped curve 17 where longwall fell, track had dropped about
1 1/2 feet, had pull apart on Bridge 14 and fixed it.
06 12 hours: loaded 3 loads ballast and fluffed up stone pile,
regulated stone curve 17, trained Bob on tamping at curve 18,
plotted, tamped and lined curve 17 west end. (regis & steve)
07 16 hours: fixed switch point sand tower switch, switched
out train cars, hauled crew to chicken farm, fueled tamper
and loader, changed rail on curve 17, loaded 1 load ballast,
dumped and regulated it, tamped longwall area. (steve and nick)
09 11.5 hours: fluffed up ballast, loaded 2 cars ballast,
dumped and regulated on curve 17 and 16, took Trackmobile
in to harbor, tamped curve 17 and east end of 16.
10 13.5 hours: had 4 trucks hauling ballast in, greased
tamper and regulator, went to mine to pick up nuts
for hook switches on jackbeam, cleaned off back of track
truck and put down matting, cleaned out inside of truck.
12 12 hours: had 2 trucks hauling ballast in, dumped 2
loads ballast on curves 16 & 17, tamped curve 17 tangent,
regulated stone after dumping, flattened shoulders from
curve 16 to township tunnel.
13 12 hours: changed joint bars and did correction around
Bridge 2 greaser, broomed curve 17, part of 16 and tangent to
greaser, added extra spikes curve 17 tangent, tamped and
lined tangent west of Bridge 3.
14 16 hours: fueled truck, correction tangent from curve 16
to Bridge 2 greaser and from chicken farm to curve 29 tag,
replaced sandwich mount on work head, put water in batteries
in tamper, took 2 loads of rock to curve 17, dumped and
regulated, broomed after tamping, spread chips down on
equipment barn floor.
17 11 hours: put up rail road bridge sign that snowplow
had knocked over, loaded, hauled and regulated 3 and 1/2 loads
of ballast on long wall area, smoothed out gravel on access road.
18 9.5 hours: replaced power block on Bridge 8 greaser,
filled with grease and adjusted wiper bar, put down new
drop cloth, tamped tangent between curve 16 and 17, welded
clamp for chicken farm switch.
19 12 hours: tamped curve 16 to 17 tangent, had 2 gravel
trucks hauling in loads, broomed tangent, tamped curve 25,
changed oil and filters on tamper and regulator, tightened
up vibrator motor, greased work heads.
20 12 hours: did correction curve 25 tangent, changed rail
on curve 30, tamped curve 36 twice and broomed. (Bill & Donna)
21 13 hours: fueled truck, fixed impact gun, fixed bad tie
plate and missing bolt at harbor main line, cut trees at
Bridge 12 and curve 34, fixed milepost 9 sign, put in half
keg of spikes on curve 36, tamped curve 16, pulled in
wide gauge spot and replaced 4 joints of bad bolts on curve 1.
(Bill, Donna & Tony)
22 8 hours: annual retraining school.
23 10.5 hours: had 2 trucks hauling ballast, picked up
scrap rail at curve 3 and 17 and 2 plugs and took to
Mapletown, picked up 3 pieces of rail and took to
chicken farm for next rail change out.
24 12.5 hours: replaced air switch on tamper, tamped curve
16, loaded and hauled 2 loads ballast to curve 16, regulated
stone, moved rail from siding, moved rail pile at Mapletown.
25 off
26 12 hours: helped safety department take decibel readings
in tamper and regulator, tamped curve 16, drove truck for
water line break repair job, dumped and regulated ballast
on curve 16.
27 12 hours: tamped curve 16 and tangent from 79 tunnel to
curve 21, loaded, hauled, dumped and regulated 2 loads ballast
to those two areas, fueled truck.
28 16 hours: loaded and hauled and regulated 2 loads ballast
to curve 16, tamped curve 16, tamped switch and frog at
chicken farm, repaired switch, pulled in wide gauge joint
on curve 15.
April 2010
01 12 hours: had 5 trucks hauling ballast in, tamped curves
18, 17 and 16, took Denny to mine and brought him back.
02 11 hours: 4 trucks hauling ballast, loaded and dumped 3
loads ballast on curves 34, 32, 28, and 16, regulated
on curve 16.
03 12 hours tamped and regulated curve 16, dumped 1 load
ballast, tamped parts of curve 28, cleaned up around track shed.
04 16 hours: Easter, brought regulator in from chicken farm,
regulated stone curve 65, tamped part of 57 and 65, took
loader to Mapletown and loaded ballast car, cleaned unloader,
replaced air filter and air conditioning filter in tamper,
replaced weak joint bar on curve 57 and missing bolts,
loaded junk rail and switches on truck and took to chicken
farm, pressure washed truck and tamper.
07 11 hours: took track truck to get inspected in Washington,
added spikes and cut trees on curve 57, moved tamper and regulator
to chicken farm.
09 12.5 hours: tamped curve 16, loaded 2 loads ballast, dumped
1 on curve 16 and regulated, tried to tamp curve 42 tamper
jackbeam right clamp wouldn't come unclamped, spent the rest
of the shift trouble shooting with Larry Case.
10 12 hours: replaced coil on jackbeam right valve assembly
to fix clamping problem, tamped curve 42 three times, replaced
joint bar there, tamped curve 16, regulated ballast there.
11 16 hours: fixed 5 elbowed joints on curve 50, tamped
mud spot in curve 37, fueled truck, dumped load ballast
on curve 16, tamped curve 16, picked up all signs and cones
in the longwall area of track.
14 12 hours: had 5 trucks hauling ballast, fixed powerblock
on greaser at Bridge 8 and picked up old cloth, repaired
powerblock with rebuild kit, fixed tamper high low rod,
tamped curve 21, fixed powerblock on greaser at Bridge 3.
16 10.5 hours: fixed two elbowed joints on curve 50,
loaded rock car, dumped and regulated ballast on curve 21,
tamped curve 21, broomed curve 16 tangent, dumped load
rock on curve 16 tangent.
17 12 hours: changed two pieces of rail on the north side
of curve 30, tamped east end of curve 35 and 36, tamped
curve 33.
18 16 hours: tamped curves 20 and 33, dumped rock and regulated
curve 33, fixed teardrop pin on tamper, fixed joint on
curve 20, picked up mesh screen and poles from curve 17,
cut tree on curve 12, welded wire onto rail at bath house
switch, changed oil in bolter and filled transmission,
tried to get it running, brought rock car in to harbor
from chicken farm.
Long wall move started
24 12 hours: worked on getting bolter started, tamped
curve 32 twice, regulated ballast on curve 32.
25 16 hours: loaded supplies on truck, fixed 4 elbowed
joints on curve 50, tamped curve 44, loaded 2 loads ballast,
changed jackbeam and travel filter on tamper.
27: 9.5 hours: waited while Tim recharged accumulators
on tamper, tamped curve 28 and curve 24, loaded ballast car,
had 2 trucks hauling ballast.
28 11 hours: fueled tamper, tamped curve 7 & 8 twice,
regulated stone on curve 7.
29 switched equipment with Atlas, fueled tamper, tamped
cut out places on Duquesene Light tangent, two of them, 4
times each and cut out place on curve 54 4 times, brought
truck back from chicken farm.
30 10 hours: greased tamper, replaced missing chair bolts,
tightened loosed tear drop pins, tamped tangent west of the
hard road crossing and tangent from curve 55 to Bridge 12,
plotted curve 53.
May 2010
01 12 hours: fueled tamper, replaced two back accumulators,
straightened line going into Bridge 12, tamped west side of
Bridge 12, plotted curve 52, tamped cut out place and west
end of curve 49 four times. Made atv trails with the Case 850 dozer.
02 16 hours: moved big rock and cleaned rock cut on north
side of 690 cut, tamped curve 41 and 37 and east side of curve
35, fueled tamper, regulator and trackmobile.
05 12 hours: plotted, tamped curve 50 twice, plotted
curves 48, 47, 46, tamped curves 48 and 47, ran dozer,
greased tamper, changed sandwich mount.
06 8.5 hours: finished greasing tamper, changed grease
fitting on tear drop pin, tamped curve 35, 38, 46 and 47.
07 12.5 hours: tamped curve 58, 43, 42, 33, regulated stone
on curve 58, cleaned rocks by track at Bridge 10 with dozer.
08 12 hours: tamped cut out place at mile post 7 3 times,
plotted curve 28 tamped west end of it, plotted curve 18 tamped
it, plotted curve 9, dumped stone on curve 18 and 9 and
regulated and broomed them.
09 12 hours: fixed broken joint bar on curve 50, cleaned
rock cut, tamped west end of Bridge 3 tangent, tamped curve
30 twice, tamped cut out place at milepost 7.
11 12 hours Tamped curve 46 twice and curve 26 twice.
13 10 hours: took dozer from Bridge 10 to Mapletown
gravel pile, bolted south side of curve 50, picked
up scrap from curve 50 to milepost 8 and unloaded.
14 10 hours: changed oil and filters on tamper and
regulator, changed servo lining valve, fixed broken
grease line, rebuilt rear receiver, greased tamper
and regulator.
15 12.5 hours added extra anchors and did correction
on curve 45, started removal of rail by fuel tank at harbor.
16 16 hours: finished taking out rail at sand tower
fueling station, bolted north side curve 50, took spiker
in to harbor from chicken farm, worked on getting regulator
to start and then tram, dumped ballast on curve 32 and
filled car up.
18 11 hours: tried to fix lockwall switch, did spike
correction tangent west of hard road crossing, cut trees
on curve 8 and 7, picked up barrel at mine switch,
measured 2 pieces of rail to replace on curve 8, worked
with mechanics trying to get regulator fixed.
19 12 hours: tamped curve 58, 54, plotted, tamped
twice and lined curve 51.
20 13.5 hours went with the rail welders, did 2 on
curve 28, 2 on curve 18, 2 on curve 9 and 2 at harbor.
21 12.5 hours: replaced busted hydraulic hose on truck,
went to napa to get hose, to mine for fuel and supplies.
22 12 hours: picked up joint bars and cleaned up weld areas
curves 45, 42, 37, 28, 18 and 9, took 2 sticks of rail from
Bridge 3 to curve 8, did correction work on curve 9, picked
up ties for Bob's friend, picked up joint bars and junk
from load out, put back 1 rail at fueling station.
23 16 hours: tamped bridge 6 approach, plotted twice, tamped
curve 28, fixed bad kink, tamped load out approach and
run off, tamped curve 14.
26 11.5 hours: finished putting in rail at sand tower
stopping, fixed 2 oil leaks on tamper, fixed jackbeam
travel, adjusted lining and left jacking servo valves,
greased tamper and regulator, cleaned off back of truck,
picked up trash from welders at Bridge 14.
28. 12 hours: oiled joints on curves 29 and 33, fixed
tie plate at harbor crossing, regulated stone on curve
7, 8, 9, 14, 50 and made crossing at curve 50, loaded
ballast car.
29. 12 hours: tamped curve 9, 7, 8, plotted curve 8,
loosened 12 joints on each side of curve 6 and oiled joints
and then tightened them back up, fueled backhoe and
fuel cell on truck.
30. 13 hours: fueled tamper and regulator, made run to
mine for fuel and supplies, loaded ballast car, dumped
ballast on curves 8, 43, and 40 and regulated, got
stuff ready for rail change out tomorrow.
31. 16 hours: changed out two pieces of rail on curve 9,
fixed frog and switch bolts, did correction from curve 9
to Bridge 2, hauled old rail to chicken farm, cut big
cherry tree from track at 7.5.
June
02 11 hours: had 5 trucks hauling ballast in, cleaned up
chicken farm area, cut tree up, fueled truck.
04 12 hours: took backhoe to Duquesene Light to fill in
hole from broken water line, fixed air leak on rear of tamper.
05 12.5 hours: correction on curve 52, regulated and broomed
curves 14 and 13.
06 16 hours: loaded ballast car, tamped curve 35, 13, 12 twice,
and 10, took tamper to harbor, changed fuel tank from pickup
to track truck, cleaned out truck.
07
08 10.5 hours: staged rail on curve 32 and 15, fixed
power block on greaser at Bridge 2, added extra spikes
on tangent between curve 11 and 12.
09 11.5 hours: fixed air lock on truck high rail, greased
tamper and regulator, adjusted servo valve, replaced bolts
on curve 25 and oiled joints, cut trees on curve 11, cleaned
off back of truck.
10 11.75 hours: weed trimmed around switch at bath house
and load out switch, loaded 100 ties for Hans, weed trimmed
around chicken farm.
11 12 hours: did odds and ends, cleaned up regulator,
cleaned tangent below unloader, tried to get lock switch to work,
ground casting on frog so rail would fit it, weed trimmed
around track shed.
12 12 hours: Tamped curve 62 twice, tangent from haul road
crossing to curve 61, and curve 55.
13 16 hours: regulated & broomed curve 55, cleaned brush
off ballast from Bridge 14 to hard road, tamped from
crossing through frog at harbor, curve 62 and curve 55,
moved jackbeam & cribber to track shed.
16 11 hours: measured rail at curve 32, did correction work
on curve 32, went with Roy Huffman to trouble shoot solar
switch, cleaned air conditioning unit on regulator, cleaned
unloader, weed trimmed west side of Bridge 14.
17 13 hours: weed trimmed around lock switch, took Roy
down and diagnosed switch problem, went to Atlas and
brought back track pick up truck, took 8 ties to
township tunnel, tamped heat kink on curve 14.
18 12 hours: weed trimmed at chicken farm, loaded 60 ties
for Hans, de-stressed joints on both sides of curve 14,
cleaned out crossing at haul road.
19 changed piece of rail out below greaser on curve 15,
loaded ballast car, fueled truck and chipper, weed trimmed
and cleaned up at chicken farm.
20 12 hours: picked up piece rail at Bridge 3 and took
it to curve 12 where we changed it, loaded ballast car,
regulated stone where they dumped.
22 10.5 hours: tamped curve 45, loosened joints on
curve 45 and fixed elbowed joint there, rode track looking
for heat kinks.
23 11 hours: had 3 trucks hauling ballast, cleaned track
truck cab, put mask motor on tamper and tried to calibrate.
25 13.15 hours: tried to get mask motor running finally
discovered wires were wrong in motor from factory, re-wired
mask motor and calibrated the mask position, then made
3 plots to test, cut tree on curve 44, replaced loop
detector on lock switch and cut trees around solar panel
there, started digging out road from unloader to lock switch
with Kubota excavator.
26 12 hours: drilled holes in plug we placed at curve 32,
coated frog bolts with sealant, fueled cell on truck, Kubota,
and truck, rode track to mine, got oil.
27 16 hours: tamped curve 36 and curve 30, took tamper back
to harbor and fueled, went to pick up truck, fueled regulator,
worked on building road to lock switch with Kubota mini excavator.
29 10 hours: fixed bad bolts on curve 58, replaced bolts
on high side curve 59.
30 10 bolted 27 joints on high side of curve 32.
July
02 10 bolted 29 joints on curve 32.
03 12 finished bolting curve 32 and de-stressed
joints both sides of curve 36.
04 12 replaced rail and put in a plug on curve 32,
hauled two pieces of 136 rail to curve 32, inspected track
for heat kinks, changed cab filter on truck, went shopping
in outside yard.
05 16 fixed liner readout problem by adjusting receiver
down to capture light beam, plotted and tamped curve 61,
tamped 690 tangent and fixed heat kink, road rail,
de-stressed joints on curve 13, grubbed trees and brush
behind track shed with excavator.
09 14 Went to Atlas shop to pick up regulator parts,
went to NAPA to get hoses made for truck, put hoses
on truck, cut wood, cleaned tamper and truck radiator.
10 12 replaced old run idle switch on regulator,
took rail from bridge 3 to curve 3 for change out,
took rail from chicken farm to curve 50 and drilled
one hole in the end.
11 15 replaced rail on curve 3, knocked off anchors
on curve 28 and put on new ties, pressure washed tamper,
cleaned switches and truck.
17 12 Tamped curve 58 and tangent to curve 57, fueled
chipper and rode track to mine.
18 16 Changed rail on curve 50, tamped the ties off,
tamped west end of Bridge 6 twice, fueled tamper,
got rid of bad fuel on truck, put bolt in Bridge 14
and cleaned out truck and tamper.
24 12: took plug to curve 11, picked up rail at
curve 9 and took to township tunnel, track inspection,
fueled John Deere loader.
25 15: rode to Bridge 2 and helped Bob tamp Bridge 2,
loaded 2 loads of ballast, dumped one load on curve 57
and regulated, brought equipment back to Harbor.
27 9 tamped curve 57 and tangent out of it, cut out
section of rail and installed new plug on curve 11.
28 10 tamped tangent from 57 to 56 and tamped curve
56 twice, loaded ballast car.
29 10 cut rail out and put plug in south rail at
mile post 13, loaded ballast car, piled up gravel
at Mapletown stock pile.
30 11 lined curve 35 and Bridge 7, fixed up haul
road at Chicken Farm, talked with Larry Case about
computer problems, he said our computer on the tamper
has a headache.
31 tamped and dumped rock on cut out places above
Bridge 1, greased tamper, put in missing chair bolts.
August
01 16 cut out two pieces of rail and replaced with plugs
at township tunnel, tamped cut out place on curve 36 three
times, loaded ballast car.
03
06 11.5 Tamped cut out place at mile marker 7,
tamped Bridge 3 tangent and curve 16, fueled
tamper.
07 12, Tamped tangent from curve 7 to curve 6
and curve 6 twice, tamped west end of Bridge 7.
08 16, cleaned up garbage and scrap along rail,
loaded scrap into dump truck, picked up plugs on
curves 8 and 11, cleaned up milepost 8 area.
21 12: Plotted, tamped and lined curve 56, started
rebuilding receiver, broomed west side of bridge 11,
changed oil, filter, jackbeam and travel filter on
tamper, dumped stone on curve 56.
22 16 Lined back end of curve 56 into bridge,
replaced tie plate on bridge 13, dumped load of
ballast on curve 59, tamped curve 59, picked up
bolter at load out and took to chicken farm, loaded
40 ties for KC Excavating.
25 9.5 Changed oil and fuel filters on regulator,
picked up debris at Mapletown siding, filled fuel
cell on truck, put new joint bars on joint west
of Bridge 11.
26 10, Put new contacts in box on light carriage,
put 4 new solid state relays in overhead on tamper
and tested by plotting and simulating work on
curve 56, weed trimmed around Bridge 4.
27 Serviced all greasers, fueled truck, weed
trimmed around Bridge 4, cleaned out truck.
28 12 Did correction on curve 56 and loosened
frozen joints, took new joint bars off guard rail
on Bridge 2 and replaced with old joint bars,
put new set joint bars at Mapletown loading area.
29 16 picked up plug at township tunnel and took to
curve 49, picked up rail at Mapletown and took to
curve 56, bolted both sides of curve 62, loosened
frozen joints on curve 57.
31
September
03 14, tamped curve 60 & 61, bolted tangent going
into curve 61 both sides, fueled chipper, truck and
tamper, re-arranged back of truck.
04 12, Tamped curve 29 and tangent to bridge 5,
did correction on tangent.
05 12 Tamped curve 37 cut out place, approach into
Bridge 5, curve 29 and tangent, fueled chipper, loaded
ballast car and dumped rock on curve 29. Wrote the
Great Train Wreck.
06 16 Worked on regulator trying to fix tram problem,
low side selenoid may be weak, bolted 25 joints east
of Bridge 5, cleaned off back of truck.
08 10 Had 4 gravel trucks hauling, cleaned up
around Chicken Farm, dressed up access road.
09 10.5 Took broken hoses off track truck, went
to Waynesburg and picked up new hoses along with
asphalt patch at Wayne Lumber, put new hoses on
truck, went to Chicken Farm and texted picture of
jackbeam filter cannister to Larry Case, figured
out hoses were hooked up wrong on filter, cleaned
up old switch boxes and put them in dumpster.
10 14.5 Helped Tim get the air conditioning on the
regulator fixed, bolted 25 joints east of curve 29,
went to the mine and picked up cable for tamper.
11 12 Bolted 42 joints curve 29, new production
record for amount of joints bolted in 1 day.
12
28 10 Took track truck to Walt's for inspection,
took truck to mine and had tires put on, cleaned
switch at load out.
29. 9 cleaned coal from tangent below unloader,
put new tamping blades on tamper, cleaned and oiled
yard switches.
October
01 13 Picked up truck from Walt's, staged 2 rails
on curve 26 and one on Bridge 13, drove extra spikes
on ties tangent west of Bridge 3, loaded up truck with
supplies.
October
01 12 Changed two pieces of rail on curve 26, replaced
bad tie, de-stressed joints on north side of curve 45.
02
05 11 Loaded grease barrels on truck, serviced greasers,
painted plot tag marks, fixed storage building door,
put fuel in cell on truck, loaded ties for VFW.
06 12 Had rail testers in went with them, tried to
drill holes in rail but rail drill wouldn't work so
had to go back to shop to fix it, got Dutchman plugs
ready, cleaned out truck.
08 12 Brought rail to curve 59, loosened inside bolts
on Bridge 13, took 2 bad rails to the Chicken farm,
took 30 foot plug from Chicken farm to Bridge 13,
drilled holes and installed joint bars on bad piece
of rail curve 22 and inside 79 tunnel.
09 12 Replaced bad rail on curve 59, bumped 9
joints of rail west of Bridge 13 and put in a plug.
10 16 Cleaned up and sorted rail stuff down by
blue shed, bolted 23 joints east of Bridge 4 to curve 29,
cleaned up around truck, sharpened chain saw.
15 13.5 Measured bad piece of rail on curve 27,
found a good piece at Chicken farm and took there,
bolted 16 joints on curve 29, found water line leak
and helped fix with track truck.
16 13 Tamped 4 different rail change out places, tamped
joints where we bumped rail west of Bridge 13, tamped
approach to curve 39, fixed bad joints west of Bridge 4,
and on curve 49 and 35, dug out place at Chicken farm
to load rails.
17 16 Fueled truck, cell on truck and chipper, bolted
40 joints on curve 19 (New bolting record for 2 people),
put supplies on truck, went to mine and got 2 water
tanks, sharpened chain saw, got ties for Squirrel,
Al Giles and George Ganocy, cleaned tracks on chipper.
22 graduated vacation day
23 12 Replaced bad rail on curve 27, took bad rail
to Chicken farm, replaced bad tie plates at load out,
replaced all bolts on 2 joints east end of Bridge 13.
24 16 Replaced bad piece rail on Bridge 13 along with
new bridge pads, fixed bad joints and elbowed joints
from Bridge 9 past Bridge 8, fueled the chipper, truck,
and fuel cell on truck, cleaned off bed and cab of truck.
26 9.5 Cleaned out switch at load out, re-set
switch so it throws properly, replaced bad tie plates
at load out and installed anchors, got belt from
upper yard.
27 12 Went to Atlas shop to pick up fire snake,
tamped and lined curve 53 twice, hauled and dumped
two loads of ballast and loaded ballast car.
29 12 Unloaded 4 pieces of 60 foot rail from truck,
dug out crossing and prepped for rail change out tomorrow,
cleaned sand tower switch, moved 3 pieces of 60 foot rail
to their best location.
30 12 Tamped curve 57, replaced 60 foot piece of rail
on crossing at harbor.
31 16 Tamped curve 64 and 65, frog and switch, spread
out ballast away from rail at rail change out, assisted
welders for 3 joints on at crossing rail change out,
hauled old 60 foot rail to Chicken farm, fueled fuel cell
on truck and chipper, cleaned out truck.
November
02 11.15 Filled in crossing at harbor, filled ties
at frog with ballast, had 1 ballast truck running to
Mapletown, met with trucker at I 79 and took him
to Garard's Fort to load up the John Deere loader,
cut up 7 rails, took Cat loader to Mapletown and back.
03 11 Took joint bars to US Machine in Fairmont for
slotting, took 8 inch cribbing bucket back to Blue
Mountain rental, cleaned off back of truck, loaded
rails, cut end off rail and stacked on new rail pile.
05 11.5 Inspected track, fixed various joints and missing
bolts, hauled 3 pieces of rail from curve 9 to Chicken
farm, took 16 foot plug from Chicken farm to Bridge 14,
dressed up crossing.
06 12 Took Regulator and broomed curve 49 three times,
curve 46 and crossing area at Harbor, did some more
work on crossing area.
07 16 Tamped curve 48 and 47, helped Bob fix pull apart
rail on curve 48, bumped rail on Bridge 14 and put a
plug in, took old plug and rail at curve 59 to
Chicken farm, cleaned up gravel from crossing.
09 11 Loaded supplies on truck, staged rail from
Bridge 13 to Bridge 14, fixed bad joints on curves
36, 51 and 57, replaced all bolts on Bridge 8.
10 9.5 Went to Atlas shop to pick up supplies,
filled tires on track truck with proper air pressure,
checked front high rail wheel bearing, put supplies
away, picked up plugs on curves 55, 51, and 42 and took
to Chicken farm, weeed trimmed 3 rail piles on curve 36,
c. r., cleaned off truck bed.
11 (holiday) 12 Bolted both sides of curve 46, 34 joints,
did joint correction work on curve 57.
12 13.5 Took loader to Mapletown and stock piled ballast,
2 trucks running, bumped rail on Bridge 14 and put a new
piece of rail in, sorted and picked up plugs at Mapeltown
and put by siding.
13 G. V.
14 16 Loaded, hauled and dumped 2 loads of ballast,
tamped curve 57, picked up 2 bags of rock.
16 10 Tamped curve 44, walked track from 0.75 to
curve 11, replaced bad joint bars on curve 12 joint.
17 9 Picked up frog at unloader and took to Chicken
farm along with plugs from tunnel, curve 28 and curve 30,
picked up rail and plugs on Bridge 13 and 2 pieces of
rail on curve 36 and took to Chicken farm, took broken
cross bar off tamper work head.
18 10 Walked track from bath house switch to load out,
from 79 tunnel to Bridge 4, measured rail for curve 7,
took frog at Bridge 2 to Chicken farm, went to mechanics
shop and looked for red anti freeze.
19 10 Track inspection, took 2 pieces of rail from
curve 9, 1 to Chicken farm, picked up new piece of rail
there and took both to curve 49, spread gravel around
frog and switch at Harbor, sorted through and stacked
old rails at Harbor.
20 12 Tamped frog and switch at Harbor, curve 63,
41, 40, 39 and 38.
21 16 Took switch guard off rail, tamped curve 28
and curve 22, brought equipment back to Harbor and
fueled them.
23 Took frog and switch guard from Harbor to Chicken
farm, re-arranged ties to make rail pile, took #10
frog apart, picked up 7 pieces of bad rail from
curve 36 and curve 30 to Chicken farm.
25 Thanksgiving
26 Paid holiday
27 12 Rode track, went to Atlas to pick up greaser wiper
bars, cleaned unloader and broomed frog at sand tower.
28 15 Fixed broken joint bar curve 8 and various joint
work from curve 8 to curve 53, load rail out.
December
01 11 Rode track after big rains past couple days looking
for slips and slides, hauled piece of rail from Harbor
and curve 37 to Chicken farm, hauled 3 pieces from curve
18 to Chicken farm, stacked rail, took supports off
switch guard, ground door hinge on storage container,
cleaned out curb side cabinet on truck.
02 Hauled 4 plugs from Harbor to Chicken farm, 5 plugs
from Mapletown to Chicken farm, 4 rails from curve 37 to
Chicken farm, sorted rail and cut.
03 10 Tamped curves 58, 36, and 34.
04 12 Tamped curve 55, fueled silo heater twice, both
pickup trucks, fuel cell twice, put ice off in 5 gallon
buckets and put at 2 switches at Harbor, went to mine
for oil.
05 16 Set up and changed rail on curve 15, fueled silo
heater twice, cleaned out track truck.
06
All about the Railroads
Working Railroad July &
August 2009
Working Railroad September &
October 2009