Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Work continues on the Naugy...

This past weekend was a busy weekend on RMNE's Naugatuck Railroad. Saturday dawned the second weekend of our "Santa Express" train season. As is customary, Santa and Mrs. Claus made special appearances on the trains. Work also continued in the shop both Saturday and Sunday and the annual membership dinner was Saturday evening.

After torrential rains associated with the storm that caused much destruction in the form of large amounts of ice across central and northern New England, the Naugatuck River was well above normal levels on Saturday. Those who rode the train Saturday had the opportunity to see Thomaston Dam hard at work controlling the flow of water down the river. This dam was put in place to help prevent flooding from occurring in the valley, similar to the devastating flood in the 1950s.

You can see from the pictures that there was a large volume of water flowing through the dam's flood gates. It was definitely quite a sight! Because of the cold temperatures Saturday, the mist from the raging torrent of water even coated the trees nearby in ice making for quite a winter scene.





It was much warmer inside however, where work continued on the shop, and on coach 5805. The north buffer plate of 5805 was removed for repair and restoration.







The next photo shows a copy of a builder's photo of coach 5800, of the same group as 5805. The picture is posted on 5805 as "inspiration". There were 6 cars in this group, built Dec. 1923: 5800 through 5805. 5803 still exists at a railway museum in Canada.





The final photo shows member Dawn Sampson using an air-powered needle scaler to chip off old paint, rust, dirt on the underframe and trucks of coach 5805.

Monday, December 8, 2008

December Order Board

CHESHIRE HIGH SCHOOL TRAIN SHOW
On the 23rd of November the RMNE had a table and informational display at the Cheshire High School Ram Band Train Show. The show, held twice a year, is one of the oldest and most popular train shows in southern New England. Kevin Meehan, Lisa Drazen, Tony and Nancy Pratt, and Bill and Sue Sample staffed the exhibit, which featured a varied selection of RMNE and Naugatuck Railroad photographs.

THOMASTON “LIGHT UP THE TOWN” SPECIALS
Three special trains were operated on Saturday 29 November from Thomaston to the Reynolds Bridge Station site north of the Whyco crossing. Although patronage was off a bit from last year, we still carried over 260 passengers and the operation went smoothly.

OTHER UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21 – “Holiday Express” service trains from Thomaston. A group that included Celeste Echlin, Scott Hartley, Joe Wiener, and others has decorated the coaches.

January 24 & 25th 2009 – Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show, West Springfield, MA. Al Galanty is in the process of registering the RMNE, and the 2009 show requires pre-registration of participating members.

MAINTENANCE OF WAY DEPARTMENT
The project for the reconstruction of the Huntingdon Avenue passing siding has now reached the halfway point, working a few rail lengths at a time. A work train will be run soon to distribute additional rail and ties. The light 74 and 78 pound rail is being replaced by 107-pound (per yard) rail, the same size as most of the main line.

A work train to Torrington was run in late November, with crane W198 picking up scrap rail along the line. The rail, which was no longer suitable for main line use, will be used for yard trackage if possible.

Ballast that had been dumped on the new yard tracks at the Thomaston Shop Yard (TSY) is being “hand regulated” by various members – your editor recently saw Hal Reiser and Al Pomeroy on this job. Tamping has not yet taken place as some work is needed on the tamper before it can return to full service, and most likely this won’t take place until spring.

Over the winter it is hoped to run a few work trains along the south end of the line, performing some lineside brush cutting and trash cleanup.

The TSY track-numbering proposal has been revisited. Sounds like the official numbers will start at the fence along the main line (the west side of the yard) with track 6, 8, and 10 in the outside yard, and the tracks that run through the shop will be numbered 12 (pit) and 14 ([future] office side), the easternmost track. Borrowing a term from Danbury, track 10 has been referred to as the “night coach track,” named after the storage spur that once was located behind the roundhouse there. Track 10 is where our passenger consist is usually kept when not in use.

MOTOR VEHICLE DEPARTMENT
Work continues on the rebuilding of the Cummins-powered front-end loader and it is hope to have it up and running and out of the shop within a few months. A used scissors-type man-lift has been obtained so that work can continue on the higher elevations inside the shop. It’s engine is running well on gasoline, next step will to be getting it to run on propane so it can safely be used indoors.

LOCOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT
Naugatuck Railroad U23B 2203 will be the regularly assigned locomotive through the end of the year. Later in the month, the NH 529 will be drained and winterized, and RMNE's 45-tonner will be getting an oil change if time permits.

CAR DEPARTMENT
A major milestone has been reached with the installation of a 6500-watt generator in one of the battery boxes of coach 4980. This is a temporary location for this season, to be replaced by a skid mounting system that will be installed in the battery boxes of coaches 5046 and 5805. The machine, designed for recreational vehicle use, is so quiet that when running under a load it merely sounded like a slight air leak! Sam Walker, Louis Edmonds, and Howard Pincus handled the installation. Work in coach 5805 continues to progress, with most of the steel replacement now fitted, welded and prime coated. The curved, lower deck ceiling panels are now being manufactured.

Thanks to Bob Harrington, Celeste Echlin, Kevin Meehan, Barb Walcott and Sue Sample for help with this issue.
--Bill Sample

We go through snow

On the Naugatuck Railroad, we go, snow or no!

This past weekend visitors to the Naugy enjoyed the first 2 days of our annual Santa Express trains. The Santa Express trains continue for the next 2 weekends (Dec. 13-14 and Dec. 20-21). The trains depart the Thomaston station at noon and 2 PM.

The Santa Express train is a departure from the norm for anyone who rides. The train is decorated for the holiday season, and thanks to the tireless work of our volunteers a new electrical generator was installed under the train allowing the coaches to be reliably and pleasantly warm on a cold winter afternoon.

Aside from the creature comforts on the train, kids of all ages can enjoy a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus and their elves, who have graciously accepted our invitation to join us for all of our Santa Express trains. Tickets, and more information is available by following this link. Start the holiday season by dropping by the Naugy for a ride with us!

As a taste of winter to come, a snow squall during the middle of the day on this past Sunday helped create these wintry images and get everyone on the train (including the crew!) into the holiday spirit. All photos from December 7. It's starting to feel like winter around here! Photos by Howard Pincus and Scott Hartley.






Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Light Up Thomaston

The Naugatuck Railroad ran special trains in coordination with the annual "Light Up Thomaston" celebration. Photos by Howard Pincus












Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Spreading Ballast in Thomsaton Yard

The RMNE’S first Fall Track Blitz Weekend was certainly helped by a pair of almost ideal days on the 1st and 2nd of November. As planned, the work centered at the Thomaston Shop Yard, concentrating on the construction of the middle and west outside tracks and the completion of the two switches leading to them. The two switches, located on a curve, were more difficult to build than those on tangent trackage, but the complex design was dictated by the need to get the maximum storage capacity within the “footprint” of the site.

The end of day on Sunday found the center and west tracks completed southward to just south of the end of the shop building. Although surfacing had not been done, the track rested on a solid and level grade – permitting the use of the trackage at low speeds and for storage as all the ties were good. “Build it and they will come” certainly works for us – the tracks were filled as the sun set.

Sunday the 16th saw a ballast crew working through most of the day. The two hoppers were empties of their remaining loads of ballast stone, which was spread over about 75 percent of the trackage including the switches. That will likely be it for ballasting for 2008 as freezing weather is only weeks away. Two switch stand targets were installed on the new switches at the end of the day.

Volunteers numbered about 35 on Saturday, 24 on Sunday. Around 200 ties and about 32,000 lb of former NYNH&H 107 lb rail were installed, connected by 1600 spikes and about 3 tons of “other track material.”

Planning for the next extension will be undertaken during the winter. Plans will most likely include extending each track about 450 feet south, with provision for a car barn structure over a portion of the trackage. More photos and news available here.





--Photos by Howard Pincus

Monday, November 17, 2008

November Order Board

MAINTENANCE OF WAY DEPARTMENT
The reconstruction of the Huntingdon Avenue passing siding has continued a few rail lengths at a time, with the trackage returning to service for now. Over the winter it is hoped to run a few work trains along the south end of the line, performing some lineside brush cutting and trash cleanup.

MOTOR VEHICLE DEPARTMENT
The reassembly of the rebuilt Cummins front-end loader engine has been completed and work is now ongoing on the other components such as the torque converter. Work usually takes place on Saturdays and Thursdays at the minimum, unless the DMV is called out to assist other departments. Gene Pfeiffer, Bob Harrington and Sam Walker have been the mainstays on this project.

LOCOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT
The defective seal on the number two axle of engine NAUG 2203 was successfully completed. Later in the month, the NH 529 will be drained and winterized, and RMNE 45-tonner will be getting an oil change if time permits.
--Bill Sample

Naugatuck Train Crew

Our volunteers come from all walks of life. Here's a photo of one of our "typical" Naugatuck Railroad train crews! From Left to Right: Joan Jackson, Thomaston Station Agent; Joe Knowles, Jr., Conductor (his father was a New Haven Conductor on the Naugy back in the day); Sue Sample, Brakeman; Gordon Wheeler, retired NHRR tower and block operator (92 yrs old); Ralph Harris, Conductor; Lou Beres, Car Host. October 2008, photo by Howard Pincus.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

More Photos from Track Blitz Weekend

More photos from our successful November track blitz weekend.

Our new three-track yard takes shape!

Striking a classic pose aboard RMNE 42

The pneumatic spiker helps move work along

Fine tuning our new switch lead


NH 529 hauls a load of ballast out of the yard

Coaches inside Thomaston Shop

Carefully testing the new switch

Our wary, watchful Foreman

Adjusting switch points in Thomaston Yard

--Photos by Otto M. Vondrak

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Awesome track blitz weekend

A few pics from the weekend work. Lots of work done and tens of thousands of calories consumed. About 35 people on Saturday and about 24 on Sunday; they built 400+ feet of tracks and did a few other projects as well (Naugatuck locomotive 2203 and coach 5805, as well as some of the shop building interior systems). The numbers: 200 track ties, 1600+ spikes, 30,000 lbs of steel rails, and a few tons of other track parts went into all this. A tremendous effort by all involved, and tremendous progress made, with a working, three-track yard completed in a weekend. This effort builds upon our earlier work this past May, and increases our capacity to bring more of our historic equipment closer to the "home shop." Thanks so much to all of you who participated and made this Track Blitz Weekend the success that it was. You guys are the best!
—Howard Pincus