Hoist Workday, February 7,2009

Greetings all, young and young at heart,

Saturday was wet and the weather man said; more wet to come. Greg and I got an early start from Corona and the weather cleared up more as we traveled easterly. Snow dusted the upper reaches of the mountains as we passed through the Banning pass. The fans were turning in the desert keeping the place cooled off as if it wasn't cool enough. It never really rained on the trip out but you spent most of the time adjusting the intermittent wipers to keep from hearing the screech of dry blades on the windshield, then turning them up for better visibility.

Brendon Hilton and his son Ace spent Friday night out there and he said it rained all night. The place was wet, but water had not run in the roads or either of the washes, so the precipitation was soaking in well, anticipate a good crop of wildflowers this spring.


An Easy-up was one of the things loaded in the truck, as well as everything else we thought we would need for the day. It was the second thing to be set up at the hoist location when we arrived, the first was the fire barrel for some heat. First project was to wire up a receptacle for the welder. The second was to go to Barr Lumber and buy a new pigtail for the welder so it would fit the receptacle. The welder still had a plug from when it was used by the Romans to re weld chariots. Then would you believe that one of the tabs in the breaker box was dead and of course that was the one that we plugged into when we ran wire to the hoist in January. With all the start up fits out of the way, we started welding the trolleys on the transfer table.

Not being the most proficient welder in town the easiest way for me to get a decent weld was to flip the table over and weld the bottom first then turn it on its side to weld them.

After we flipped it back over, installed the rollers and placed the roller track on the cross supports it became evident that our planning and engineering had paid off. She rolled with the greatest of ease. We bolted the sheet metal guards over the lifting ram and put the cover over the hydraulic controls. A few hydraulic fittings to go to get them to work and wiring for the pump as well as the plumbing for the air system is pretty much all that is left in that area.

The day was cool, but the turnout for the 15" boys for their workday was good. People drove by in and out most of the day. We even had a Cadillac with Illinois plates on it show up, Nick Kallas from the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL was in town and spent the morning trying to find us, he was also looking for an open observation Pullman car the was supposed to be around here he said. I sent him up to Pioneertown to go see it after he left. Terry Watson gave him the cooks tour of all the cars and the Museum too. It sprinkled a few times during the day as the clouds scudded past on their way east. The fire barrel keeping us warm and the cover keeping us dry.


The bridge plates to the yard and the rail on the transfer table will get welded up this week and put in place next weekend. We will be able to finish the center track to the hoist and start on the two outer tracks as well over the Presidents Day weekend run. There should be no reason that the hoist will not be ready to be put in use for the Narrow Gauge Meet. The Yard will not be complete, only one track will be in service up to the main line. We have a few switches to complete before that happens and we are looking into finding some switch parts to ease this along.


The rest of the day went quickly and soon the sun was dropping over the edge. Greg and I made a trip up to see the progress on the 'hernia' gauge, they had welded up some pieces on the turntable and had started grading the roadbed towards the big cut. The temperature was sure to be lower as the evening progressed as the sky was clearing. A group formed around the patio area and it was getting time to leave even though to fun was just starting to pick up. The ride back home was uneventful and we didn't see rain again till we were almost home. A lot accomplished for a day that was supposed to be rained out. Keep an eye out for the invitation to the cocktail and dedication party at the 'Hoist' at the Narrow Gauge Meet.