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.
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.
