Crenshaw Extension

1-15-12

Sunday afternoon Tom Downing went out on Crenshaw with a small work train of two gons with tools. He installed 2x4 ties under the joints where the 15 foot track panels come together on the track that was installed on Saturday. He then adjusted the track panels so there was a nice S bend to it from the switch to the steel rail he then leveled the track across the rails and worked at getting the track level from the switch to the steel rail but there’s so much fill, 14 " in spots that we have found out in the past that it’s going to need leveling few times as in time the ballast will compact.

At this point the sun had gone down and it as getting dark but, where the steel rail starts is also where the street lights start on the street next to the railroad so he had light to work. Tom finish the day by raking off some of the ballast laid down by the boy scouts last year so we can see the tops of the steel ties and there was a lot of leaves and small tree branches that had built up on this track as we haven’t been running on it for the past year. Boy this track looks good now!

Tom worked the track all the way past the two switches where the two sidings begin and stopped for the day as it started to rain, good thing he brought his rain coat for the wet ride back to the yard. Next time tom will look at the placing of these switches, as Rory said the old rule of thumb is there should be one car length between these two switches as it makes a double S-turn in a long train and it may derail. So tom is thinking of moving one switch down towards the turn table, and one 20' track panel but we will have to measure the length of the siding and we may end up moving the upper switch which is a lot more work, but in the end it will be for the best, well, time will tell.

Tom Downing

  

Edited by Steve C - Jan 18 2012 at 9:41am

 

Saturday 1-28-12

   We had a work crew made up of Donna, Howie, Rory, and Tom. The day started with trying to get some small projects done around the club grounds. Tom got two gallonss of weed killer concentrate at Wal-Mart to try out. Tom started spraying the infield loop of track and then Rory took his turn and got the rest of the main part of the club layout sprayed.

Tom Downing

Edited by Steve C - Feb 02 2012 at 2:58pm

Well tunnel number two is up! This all happened as Howie called me (Tom Downing) on Thursday night and asked me, "if I had the time, could we work on the Crenshaw line Saturday" as he had the time.  So on Saturday after my son Wyatt and I ran around and got some parts for my race car project, we got to the club about 9 am and Howie was already working on a few of his own projects. Linda was also there working on her gardens.

I had a few things that needed to be done before we did the Crenshaw work. I put a new light sensor on the new yard light Steve and I put up a few weeks back, as it was staying on all the time. It took three trys to get it working! As it turns out the other two light sensors in the box I found in the club work shop were no good!.

After droping Wyatt at his Saturday school class I ran to Lowes and got a new one and it worked great. About this time, Steve C showed up with his son Nicholas to take a walk around the club as Nicholas has just started too walk, and take a train ride on the F7.

Kelly Smith and His son Jeff also showed up to check how a test piece of crown molding looked on there depot project.  I also had to jack up and shim up one side of Rory and my car barn ( Shipping Container), as the pin on the door lock was not fitting on the  new door lock we put on after getting broken into last year. Howie ended up doing the shimming job as he was waiting for me as I had to take a break from the job to run down the street to get Wyatt from his class.

Howie had the work train all set up and we then cut up a few 2x4s for the 45 degree braces for the tunnel then Howie drove the train as Wyatt and I cleared the downed branchs off the track out to the tunnel which we had built a few weeks back.

You may ask why we are building one more tunnel? Well there is a line of large bushes growing over the fence next to the track and If we build a frame with a roof the bush grows over the fance and the frame and than hangs down over the sides making a tunnel or snow shed for us to run the trains though. It also gives us a brake form the sun which can get very hot in the summertime.

This second frame is about 20 feet further up the line from the first one we built and is 12 feet long. The line of bushes between the two tunnels  is starting to grow up, but is just getting to the top of the fence so were thinking we will come back in the fall and build another  frame to fill in the 20 feet between the two tunnels.

Well we got all the wood laid out and came up with a plan on how to build the tunnel but it was lunch time. So we all went over to the farmers market which is in the parking lot just on the other side of Wilson Park from ware we were working.  Howie got a chicken stir fry thing and Wyatt and I got some chicken tacos. We came back and eat some of it but went back to work after eating only a few bites as we just wanted to get the job going after all of the running around we had been doing all morning.

We set up the 2x4 frame against the fence and dug the holes though the wood chips for the pilaster to set the 4x4 post and header on the right side of the tunnel. About this time Phil C came walking up the Crenshaw line and Wyatt had to walk back to the yard to get the F7 out and give his mom, my wife Maria and his younger brother Everett a ride around the club before he had to go with them to his violin class.

It didn't seem to take too long to get the cross pieces for the  frame  cut and up and the two pieces of 12 foot long corrugated metal roofing set on top when Wyatt showed up with the F7 with his mom and brother as riders so we had them do a run though the new tunnel to test it out and get their feedback on it.

On the new tunnel we had built we put the roof all the way across the top and on the older tunnel we had only put one piece in the middle of the top thinking it would stop any sparks from the steam locos for setting the underside of the bush on fire. But our test riders sad they liked the tunnel with the full roof much better as theres no little branches hanging down from the top of the tunnel.

Well now things started to get funny, as it seemed,  we needed a little humor to break up all the hard work going on. Maria asked for Wyatt's and my left over tacos from lunch as he was getting hungry so I gave the box with them in them to her and being a Mom the first thing she does is open the box and tries the tacos to see how they taste, and as shes taking a bite we told her they were good but  look out mine was a little HOT but it takes a minute for the heat to kick in ( yes maybe a little late on the HOT warring ). I told Maria the lady I got the taco from had mild, hot, and "OOO la la",and that was "OOO la la" as I like it hot, and of course she says it can't be that bad I can take it Boys. Well as a minute goes by she said "hey that bit I took is starting too get hot" and phil said "we have bottled water with us do you wont one" and I said "I didn't need any water with my taco you just got to man up and take it" and she says "no I'm fine I have water with me but I don't need it BOYS, we need to go back Now". So Wyatt backs up to the wiper turn table and she says "how long is that going to take we need to get going back NOW" and I tell her just a minute and we will get the loco turned and they well be on there way.  She looks at me and says, "TOM THAT TACO WAS WAY TOO HOT, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU AND THIS HOT STUFF THING". So I ask do you need me to get you a water and she says "no I have one on the riding car somewhere but I'm OK!" and I can tell he shes not looking OK and by now Phil and Howie are starting to laugh.

Well we get the loco turned and they head back down the line and I tell Phil and Howie lets see how far they get before they stop as I saw her bottle  of  water  was in the front of the riding car and shes in the back and I know that taco heat is coming on and there is no way they are going to make it back with out her needing water. Well we just keep looking as they went back and they got maybe 3/4 way which is maybe 800 feet and we see  her start waving her hands around and Wyatt hands the water back to her and shes drinking it and shaking her head.

Well after that Phil and I went back to the yard to cut some more 2x4s for braces,  got one more piece of metal roofing that Tim had left over from a project and brought out to the club for us, and got my impact driver to put the screws in as they were going in very hard in the dry wood we were using for the braces.

Howie had stayed at the tunnel and pulled a lot of the big weeds that were growing around the tracks out there. OK now comes the Love story  part of the day: When we got back  I told Howie he would fall in love with the impact driver and he said we had been using my drill all day and it had been good we will see about this impact driver thing. Well I think he did, as he put most of the braces up by himself with it, all the screws to hold the roofing on and said he was going to stop and buy one like it on his way home. Wow!

After talking with Rory Friday he suggested  I clean out all the wood chips from around the tracks in the tunnel so there is just gravel, thinking it will reduce the chance of fire, so I did that and it just looked a lot cleaner in the tunnel.

Next howie and Phil put the tools back on the work train as  I pulled more big weeds working my way towards the end of the line before it got too dark. We went back and put every thing away locked up and Phil and I went to Texas Looseys for some burgers and beer.

Well next I think we will go back and put more metal roofing on the top of the first tunnel we built so the roof is fully covered and add some more 45 braces to the post. Next we will start to get the turn table built and reset the track on the Y by the new depot.

Tom Downing                   

Edited by PhilC - Mar 25 2012 at 3:43pm

4-1-12 Run day, Tom Downing took the weed whacker and spent a few hours cutting the weeds along the Crenshaw line so the trains didn't have to mow though the weeds and to keep the riders from getting hit on the sides by the larger weeds that grew up after the rain we have had here in the past few weeks.

We have been working on ways to get a weed killer that works and doesn't cost a lot and take a lot of time but nothing has worked out for us.

On Friday  4-6-12, Mark Jordan set up a work train and cleared off all the brush and old stump parts that had built up at the end of the line were the turn table will be going in.

Next we will have to level out the ground (after we fix the steering on the club tractor) and figure out were a the center pin and the ring rails will go for the table. Mark said next he will work on getting the two lead tracks that go to the table level this is being done as the ground here looks to be going down hill as lest 1%.

On Saturday 4-7-12 Tom Downing and his son Wyatt removed the track and one switch which make up the turn up to Crenshaw from the main line. This had to be done as a few of the bigger locos at the club didn't look like they were going to make it around the turn with out derailing. The path of the track on the turn we put in was D shaped and had too tight a radius in spots along its route so it had to be relaid.

Tom took the club tractor and cleaned off all the weeds and wood chips where the track was going to be put down.He then set the track back down on the new road bed and started to  adjust it by loosening the tie screws on the inside rail so the track would move a little to fit the new radius of the turn. After playing with the track by kicking it back and forth a few times with poor results in obtaining the correct radius, Tom went and rolled a new piece of rail with the correct radius to use as a guide. Tom used the tightest radius turn at the club that these larger locos run on as a guide when rolling this pieces of rail, hoping that way they will work out when the turn is done.

Well after Tom took a lunch break at Steve's Burgers and helped Tim and Phil with a few other on going projects at the club that day such as cleaning up trash, hauling stuff to the dumpster, and helping unload a new refrigerator for the club. Tom and now Phil Cohen went back to trying to get the track radius to look right.

The big thing that made all this hard was the return track and the outbound track come very close at the end of this turn. We had to Keep moving the start of the turn in the track closer to the main line switch which in turn moved the track closer to the new depot. A few inches each way at the beginning of the turn made a big difference at the end of the 110 foot turn.

About this time Tim Brothers showed up after working all day on other club projects, looked things over and suggested we loosen the screw's on the out side rail of the track panels and get all the ties screwed in back under the joints in the rails. By this time it was getting late in the day and we were running out of light so we picked up and went to dinner at Kings Hawaiian restaurant. I (Tom) had there Hawaiian style prime rib and it was very good.

Sunday 4-8-12 Tom got a good early start and set up a pop-up tent top as a cover from the sun that he could move back and forth over the track he was working on. Tom put all the ties in under the joints tightened all of the screws on the inside rail and then loosened all the screws on the out side rail, he then when back to the switch coming off the main line, in front of the new depot, and started bending the rail using the template he previously rolled.  After working the track back and forth a few times, all finely looked good with the turn.

Tom then removed two more track panels and set the switch back in with one straight panel between the end of the turn and the switch. Lately we have fond that if theres room its best to have one 10-15 foot straight track between the end of a turn and a switch. This switch hooks to a switch on the return track and these two switches make a cross over that makes up a Y track so members can turn entire trains. The switch on the return track will be moved up a few track panels so that it matches up with this switch in the next few weeks, so we have the Y track back up and running.

After getting all of the track installed, the up track turn had about 26 inches between it and the down track from outside rail to outside rail which will work but it will be close for the 3 3/4" scale locos if they pass at that point at the same time. So I think it well be best to put in a "Yield To Oncoming Trains" sign on the up track at this point just to be safe.

Tom started installing 16" stakes (old cut off rail) in the ground on the outside end of the ties about three feet apart all the way around the outside of the turn thinking it will help hold the track in place.  About this time Howie Hueler showed up and went to work tightening up all of the screws on the outside rail. Then Steve Claude showed up and helped Tom and Howie scrape up the old ballast stone from the old rail bed and put it on the reset track.

Steve drove the stakes down flush with the top of the ties. After that Howie and Steve ran the work train over the (new) reset turn as a test and all went well.  They then went down the Crenshaw line and put the big stump that had been sitting by the windshield wiper table since Tom had removed it form the end of Crenshaw line a year or so ago and left at that spot. It was a good size stump maybe 3 feet across wet and vary heavy when removed from the ground, but now it had dried out so Steve and Howie say they had no problem moving it with a flat car down to the bush pile by the club house. While they were moving the stump, Tom stayed behind and leveled the rail from side to side on the track on the reset turn track and replaced the wood chips and some dirt on the inside of the turn to try to keep the ballast stone in place, and make for short step down off a car if someone had to get off in the turn, as that may happen since it is close to the depot.

Tom then started to put stuff away but as there was still some day light left and he moved the flat car dump boxes from the yard to over next to the club house so it cleans up the yard and Tim will be soon putting down track where they were siting so he can get to his car barn.

Tom also moved a lot of stuff to the side of the yard and now and it looks much cleaner. He also emptied the trash cans and removed the last of the trash laying by the side of the club house that was left over from cleaning out the club house a few mouths ago. Hauling stuff over to the trash bin is an ongoing thing as in the past and sometimes now items have been left at the club thinking we could use it for some project that never happened, or it replaces something old with some thing less old and the old items gets left out.

Tom then went back and put the tractor back by the club house then he watered down the new ballasted track on the turn so it will set in before the run day in a few weeks. It was a few long days of doing projects that were not always much fun but we got it  done.

Tom Downing  

Edited by PhilC - Apr 11 2012 at 4:08pm

Well it has been since 4-14 -12 that I last did an update. Other projects at the club and my other hobby of running a race car have stopped me from working on the Crenshaw extension, but we are back at it now.

Myself, Dale, Brandon, and Robert Lee worked at clearing the line from the wiper turn table to the end. Then on the 8-16-14 run day Jim B. and I ran our trains on it for the run day. However, after in the day the switches went out of line causing problems. It looked like it was a heat kink it the rail.

On Saturday 9-6-14 my son Wyatt, me and new member Brandon worked at getting  both tracks cleared off past the switches. We got the dirt and wood chips leveled on both sides of the tracks so someone can walk beside the train if need be. Just a good safety thing I like to do if we can fit it in.

After working for an hour or so it was lunch time and the nice thing about being at the end of the Crenshaw line is that there is a gate in the  fence back 250' from the end for which I have the key. There are many food places just a short walk away.So the boys and I went to Lee's Sandwiches and had some spicy hot sandwiches then back to work.

I cut about 3/8" gap in the rails between the switches then aligned the switches and adjusted them. All seemed good so we staked the switch in a few places to try to keep them from moving around.

Our club VP Phil Cohen came by to help and we worked hard at getting the two sidings cleared and filled the ditches left over ballast from when we put in the tracks so riders can get off the car and turn around and get back on and not fall in a hole or ditch.

I didn't get a photo of when we were done as it was 9 PM and dark. We just had the street lights but boy the weather was so nice that night it wasn't bad being out there working on track. I had brought my folding chairs so we all could sit and take some breaks. If we had a BBQ and some beer we would have been all set! LOL

On the following day,  Sunday 9-7-14 run day, I ran my loco all the way to the end all day. We then had the riders get off and turn around and get back on the cars. Wyatt my conductor, would walk in front of the first car as I backed up the train all the way to the wiper turn table then we would turn the loco as the riders sat on the cars and watched us turning the loco around. We would then couple up and go on for the rest of their train ride. It worked well, but a turn table at the end would be better with less stopping.

Next I will start at building the turn table at the end of the Crenshaw track. We are thinking of a gallows type table. I have looked at other tables guys have built so I have something to go by. Right now I'm thinking of having a center pin in a 12"  cement Sonotube 3' deep, then a 5 or 6 foot rail ring for the weight of the table to ride on  with a 20 foot diameter ring rail for the ends of the table to ride on.  The table itself will be steel 6" channel while the rest of the beams will be wood and just for looks as the steel base will be doing all the work. But this may all change as I build it I guess we will see.

I still have to add one more siding track and after getting the ground all cleaned up down at the end of the track Phil seemed to think there was room for a track on the left side of the two siding tracks now there. I was planning on putting one more track on the right hand side  but it may work better on the left and that leaves us more room for a loading platform if someday we get to put a station in down there.

I think we well get a lot of riders for our trains as it is right at a stop light on Crenshaw Ave and there is a park parking lot right there too. All we would need is a few cement walkways, a loading pad and two gates and we are good to go. We will propose it to the city and see what they say. Time will tell but they have seemed very open to the plan when we talked to them about it.

Tom D   

Edited by administrator - Sep 08 2014 at 9:47pm