|
Buildings and Structures The engine barn is coming along nicely. Although we don't have a photo to show you the finished concrete floor, you can trust us (and our sore knees and aching backs) that it is in and looks great! Or as Marie tells Charlie, "it's good enough for who it's for!" He laughs until he thinks better on what she just said... We would like to take a moment and thank our good friends Richard, Levi, and Jess for their friendship and hardwork pouring and working the concrete. Without you all, it wouldn't have been a success! Thank you very much. This 30' by 30' structure is composed of three 10' by 30' stalls. The northern (to the right when facing the front) stall has rail lain completely through, with doors on both ends. The middle stall is only able to be entered from the front, eastern, side. This track stradles a 'man-deep' inspection pit. This will come in very handy when changing the oil or doing other maintenance to the 701 and for future restoration work to the Porter. Here is the photo of the front. The front faces almost directly east. The third siding, outside and to the north, is for equipment storage. The barn allows for the riding car, the 701, and the Porter to all be housed inside. Items like a rail buggy, crane car, and other 'less sensitive' equipment can be stored on the outdoor siding.
And here we see the rear, western side, of the barn, which shows the door that allows the siding to be lain completely through the building. You can also see the door for Charlie's office. This is a 10' by 10' room that you see the door and window in. The rest is a 10' by 20' space for Charlie's shop, which will house his metal working equipment.
These next two photos show the all-important inspection pit. It also shows Charlie, with his smile evidencing that he is indeed as happy as the proverbial pig in .... while he is working on the railroad. It also clearly shows the depth of the pit, as gauged against a 5 foot 9 inch Charlie. The steel box is built from 1/4 inch steel plate welded together. The second photo shows the pit with the rail attached. The concrete floor was poured on June 17th, 2004, and comes right up to the top of the rails. Forms were used to keep the concrete from the flange (inside) portion of the track. The 701 fits inside (with riding car) perfectly!
This next photo shows the nearly 100-year-old HK Porter as she finally sits over the inspection pit and becomes ready for an upcoming, fun winter of restoration!
The turntable has been completed, to include a drain pipe out into the pasture to keep it from becoming a koi pond. You can see it's construction here. More photos are to follow. These will be of other structures and implements along the line, such as our concrete railroad phone booth, crossing signals, and the like.
|
