Just in case you might miss the meeting come Sunday, I'll post my report here as well.
State of the 7 ½” Railroad at Joshua Tree, 2018
Here it is 2018, a lot has transpired since a hot summer
workday in 1979. When the corner rock was laid, on what is now approximately
five eighths of a mile of unique railroad in the
High Desert.
This last year we
added the second track into the station, making for an easier time to get up
the hill with downward traffic approaching.
Onward expansion up
the High Line has taken a break to once again catch up on infrastructure
maintenance on the rest of the railroad. We purchased new rail to allow us to
re lay the outer rail on some of the curves that have seen the most wear over
the thirty plus years that some of it has been in the ground. Our unique
railroad with sections of track that get ran over twice in a circuit, the outer
curves on the single track areas have paid their dues and are scheduled to be
replaced in the next few months.
A plan to start two
weeks ago was changed due to a very harsh storm, which gave us two plus inches
of rain in a short time in early October. Even though we had dirt wash down the
mountain side throughout the railroad, all except one location was just
accumulated on the roadbed where we could shovel it up and either transport it
to our dirt pile near Teddor or fill in roadbed where it was needed as ballast.
Our Season opener
truly was as we hauled 280 plus buckets by rail from affected areas, equaling
approximately 14 tons of material. All by rail, in five gallon buckets, on flatcars.
Thus, allowing us to be operational this weekend, so we can all enjoy our Rudy
Run. There is plenty of dirt left up at the top of the hill on the upper level
of the High Line at Pauline, that still needs a ride down the hill and I am
sure most of it will have gotten that ride by the time the Meet is over.
The condition of the
railroad after the massive rain, can only be attributed to the quality of the
rock retaining walls and the thorough compaction of the fill in our
embankments. We will continue to build our railroad in such a way so in the
future we again might be spared the damage which can occur. I do want to thank
Bill Shepherd for his guidance and knowledge in this area. Most of the washed
down dirt was in areas of newer construction and we certainly weathered the
storm well.
And a big hand to our
all season track maintenance Man, John Griffin. His diligence on keeping the
little problems at bay by attacking them when they are still small certainly
help us when we get out here after it cools off. Yes, his beloved flat cars
went traveling this Spring, Summer and Fall, but they are back on the railroad
and seeing plenty of service already.
If we have enough
time and talent, if and when we finish the rail re lay project, we should be
able to start construction of the siding at Bjerrum/Beer-Rum. This would really
help the operation, of work and pleasure traffic, on the High Line. And, of
course the turntable area is certainly settled now after that rain as
well.
The club locomotives
and equipment are being well cared for by their respective caretakers. John
Griffin is the custodian of the Freight Motor, and it is most handy in his work
about the railroad year round. Jerry McPheeters has taken on the Edwards Motor
Car and Trailer and it has had many things reworked and improved on it as well.
Matt Zacharzuk has made the Davenport Switcher into a fine and reliable
locomotive, a new set of batteries was in order and well deserved too. The work
car was reworked and it now contains our track work equipment. I just might get
around to finishing it someday too. Trying to make the roof details stay with
the car and making the roof hinge is not the easiest of tasks.
All in all, our railroad is doing quite well, some might say
it needs attention, and it just might. With only about eight times a year we
gather out here in any quantity, and most are only here twice a year, this
railroad is doing well. Most of the problems about the railroad are taken care
of and most of the equipment runs about it just fine. Coming from a mechanical
background, if one thing has a problem and all others don’t, it usually is the
one thing that is the problem.
Any further questions, you can find me out on the railroad,
enjoying the fruits of our labor.
Brian Ratliff, 7 ½”
Railroad Coordinator.