Construction Update #75

Track construction was substantially completed on Sunday. Track 42 and 43 had their gauge rail spiked, and track 41 had the line rail spiked, and the gauge rail installed and spiked. Balast was placed on all three tracks to help hold the line, and tracks 41 & 42 were lifted and tamped just east of the barn doors. Ballast was also placed on Track 46 using the backhoe, and track 45 was ballasted using the hopper car and the trackmobile. Concurrent with track construction, the forms were dismantled, and the majority of the wood was salvaged for re-use. Parts of track 37 were lifted and tamped using the air tampers, and the ballast was levelled on the track 46 switch. The area south of Barn 4 was partially graded, and fill was placed against the floor slab. Cobbles were placed between the curb and wall on the north side of the building, and granular A was placed on the roadway north of the curb. Flangeways were cut on track 46, and preparations continue to move cars into the building.

All in all it was a tremendous weekend, and the current phase of the project is substantially complete, 2 weeks ahead of the scheduled completion date published in the August 8 workplan. With the concrete work and track construction complete, we can concentrate on minor deficiencies and cleanup. My sincerest thanks to everyone who has assisted so far. While a lot of work remains to ballast, lift and tamp the yard, and complete the electrical work and parts shelving in the building, we have accomplished the goal of getting the building ready for cars this fall.

Construction Update #74

The final concrete pour took place Saturday morning. The slabs adjacent to track 45 were poured, along with the slabs in front of the doors on the north side of the building. Unfortunately, the load of concrete was about half a meter short of finishing the last door slab so it will be completed with redi-mix. With the concrete pouring out of the way, attention turned to track construction. Track 45's north rail was spiked inside the building, and ties were laid out for tracks 41, 42 and 43 outside. The line and gauge rail were installed on track 42 and 43 before we ran out of light. The line rail was also set on track 41 in preparation for Sunday. Concurrent with the above, the track 46 and #7 switches had the ballast levelled off, and they were tapmed using the air tampers and a rented compressor.

Construction Update #73

Friday was another productive day. The forms for the curb and ramp were removed and stockpiled for dismantling. The drainage pipe was installed along the north wall of the building, and the slabs for the north wall doors were formed. The area between the track 41/42 switch and the building was graded in preparation for track construction over the weekend, and the ballast roadway over tracks 44-46 was completed. The devilstrips between tracks 44 & 45, and 45 & 46 were ballasted, and the catchbasin frames were fabricated and installed in preparation for the final concrete pour.

Construction Update #72

Thursday was another productive day. The curb form was completed first thing in the morning, as was the catchbasin frame for Track 45. The first concrete truck arrived at 0900, and the curb was poured. The second truck arrived at 1030, and the ramp into the parts area was poured, along with the pad between the rails on Track 45. Once the concrete set up, all of the curb forms were stripped to allow for finishing. As well as being a nice cosmetic detail, the curb performs an important stormwater management function - It retains the cobbles which break up the run-off from the roof, and directs the runoff into the drain pipe along the wall, which in turn carries the stormwater away.