The Track Crew meets twice per month, on the second and fourth Saturday. Track Crew News Archive

March 2011

The end of 2010 saw the Track Crew return to the annual effort of replacing ties. The Track Crew has a goal of replacing at least 400 ties in the operating tracks each year. The Crew was able to achieve this goal by December, making 2010 another successful year on the tie replacement front. The Track Crew has at their disposal a number of specialized machines which assist with this work, but a fair amount of physical work is still required to remove the old ties and install the new ones.

Meanwhile, track rehabilitation for the Destination Molena project swung into full gear. In November, using funds previously donated to the Association for that project, a contractor was hired to replace 1,000 ties. These were installed between Gum Grove and Birds Landing, and represent the most labor-intensive phase of the track rehabilitation in this segment. Working 5 days per week, the contractor was able to install these ties in three weeks. This would have taken much longer for the smaller volunteer Track Crew to accomplish. Further tie replacement will be required to complete the track rehabilitation all the way to Molena, but this tie work will support the current phase of electrification work.

Taking advantage of the season's wet weather, the Track Crew installed the power bonds on the track needed to support the current phase of the electrification work. These bonds, replacing ones that had been salvaged (stolen) many years prior to ownership by the Association, are needed to carry the ground return current back to the substation. One bond wire is welded to the head of the rail at each joint in order to ensure electrical continuity. First it is necessary to grind the rail, in order to remove any trace of the previous bond wire and to provide a clean surface to weld the new one. Then the new bond wire is fixed in place by an electric arc welding process. The grinding and welding process is a severe fire hazard in the dry season, but the wet conditions in the winter are a perfect for getting this work done. In one day of work, the Track Crew was able to install over 150 bond wires, covering almost half a mile of track.

Looking ahead, the Track Crew has begun 2011 by working towards the annual tie replacement goal, another 400 ties. The other major project for this year will be completing the rehabilitation of the Torsion Beam Tamper and then using it to raise, line and level the track. The first use will likely be in the segment of track now being rehabilitated between Gum Grove and Molena, to make it ready for operation with our regular service. Over the next few years, this machine will also be used to smooth out the entire Sacramento Northern right of way now being operated, to improve the ride quality of our service. Other routine (and non-routine) maintenance and construction projects will round out the coming year for the Track Crew.

If any of this sounds interesting, the Track Crew welcomes you! The Track Crew is open to anyone who enjoys working outdoors, and meets at 9:00 on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. If you are interested, send an email to info@wrm.org. We'll see you down the line!

November 2010

As an interesting diversion from their usual work, the Track Crew recently used a work train to accomplish a number of tasks. The train consisted of two ballast cars, two flatcars and a caboose. The ballast cars were used to distribute ballast where needed following tie replacement work that occurred previously. One of the flat cars was used to carry dumpsters and the other was used to transport rails.

The ballast cars had been loaded earlier, so distributing the ballast was a matter of opening the appropriate door at the bottom of the car and letting the ballast flow out as the train moved along slowly. This resulted in a small row of ballast along the edge of the track. At some future date, this ballast will be worked with the Association’s Tamper and Ballast Regulator to incorporate it into the track.

When the switch at Diablo Vista was constructed to connect the museum track to the Sacramento Northern main a number of years ago, this left a short disconnected stretch of track that had previously been the museum’s Line Extension. Since this track was not needed in this location, it was decided to relocate this track material to Garfield to re-create the spur that had once existed at this location. The track was dismantled, and using the Association’s Wheel Loader, the rails were loaded onto one flatcar for transport to Garfield. The Wheel Loader is well adapted to this work. With its large tires and four-wheel drive, it can negotiate the rough terrain easily to move the rails around. Once at Garfield, the Wheel Loader was again used to unload the rails and put them in position for construction of the spur. At a later date the ties were moved down to Garfield using the Tie Crane, to be ready to assemble the spur.

The other flat car in the work train held two large dumpsters. These were used to collect scrap ties and other trash from along the Sacramento Northern track. The ties were loaded into the bucket of the Wheel Loader that then put them in the dumpsters. This turned out to be a very efficient way of disposing of the junk ties and other material, although one disadvantage was that with it perched up on top of a flatcar, it was difficult for the Wheel Loader to reach up high enough to dump into the dumpster.

The next time the Track Crew worked on disposing of scrap ties, they decided to put the dumpster on a smaller rail cart so that it would be closer to the ground. This was pulled using the Association’s Highrail Truck, and turned out to be just the right height for the Wheel Loader. The Wheel Loader is turning out to be a truly versatile machine for moving all sorts of things! Using this system, nearly all the backlog of scrap ties and other junk along the Sacramento Northern track was cleaned up.

With the material in place at Garfield, the Track Crew decided to work on assembling the track for that spur. The turnout had been constructed some time ago, but now it was time to construct the spur track. The first job was to drill the holes in the rail of the turnout to mount the guard rail. Also, one rail needed to be cut and drilled for the rail joint. The Track Crew sure appreciated using the bed-mounted crane of the Highrail Truck to load and unload the heavy Rail Saw and Rail Drill. Once the cutting and drilling was done, the crew bolted up the rails and spaced out the ties under the spur track. Second hand ties from the dismantled track at Diablo Vista will be used for every second tie of the spur, so that every other tie will be new. At the end of the day, the rails were all bolted up and the second hand ties spaced out for the length of the spur. At a later date, the new ties will be installed and the rails spiked down. Finally, ballast will be unloaded and the track will be tamped. Then the track will be ready for use!

A major upcoming project will be the extension of the electrification from our current end-of-wire just south of Shiloh Road to Birds Landing on the Sacramento Northern line. To support this project, the Track Crew has begun to rehabilitate the track along this segment of the line. The first task was to replace the joint bars of several joints that were worn out or defective. This work is best done when the weather is hot so that the rails expand and close up the gap on their own. That way, it is not necessary to use a puller to bring the rail ends together to make up the joint. Removing the old joint bars is generally the most difficult part of the work, since some of the bars are worn to the point where the bolts would just spin around when removing the nut. The easiest way to remove such bolts is with a cutting torch, but the danger of fire is simply too great in the hot, dry weather. In this case, an air chisel was used to cut the nuts. When the old joint bars were removed, new ones were installed with new bolts and lock washers. With the rail joints rehabilitated, the next task will be to install power bonds at each joint. This requires welding the bond wires to the rail head, which due to fire danger will only be done in the winter months.

September 2010

The Association's Joint Straightener at work straightening the rail joints along the Sacramento Northern main line. Photo by Jerry Azzaro

The Association's Wheel Loader shows its stuff. Photo by Jerry Azzaro

The work of raising the South Shop Lead continued since the last report. In order to facilitate the movement of cars in and out of the shop, it was necessary to raise the second shop track to a more uniform profile. This required replacement of a number of ties, and then raising the track on hand jacks followed by tamping using the Association's Tamper. Further work will be required to complete the raise on these tracks, but this interim work has produced an acceptable profile.

The most significant track repair project every year is to replace deteriorated railroad ties. The Track Crew has a goal of replacing at least 400 ties in our operating track annually. Usually, the Track Crew tries to schedule this work for the cooler months of the year, since the work is labor intensive. However, a cool workday presented itself in August, so the Track Crew went to work replacing ties on that day. The Crew is on the downward stretch, having replaced more than half their annual goal so far this year. A couple more days of tie replacement should complete that work - then its on to next year's goal!

One very interesting machine in the Track Crew's arsenal is the Joint Straightener. This machine grips the rail at a joint and pulls upward with a giant hydraulic cylinder to straighten the rail. As it turns out, this is just what is needed for the Sacramento Northern main track, which suffers from numerous dipped joints. After this machine does its work, and followed by tamping the ties supporting the rail joint, the track is dramatically straighter and gives a much smoother ride for the museum's historic vehicles. Dovetailing nicely with the tie replacement, this work is best done in the hot summer months. The Crew worked this machine on two workdays in July and August, and completed nearly a mile of track. Further work with this machine will continue in the coming years, until the entire main line is rehabilitated.

The Track Crew has a small fleet of equipment used to maintain the track, and since it has all been acquired second hand, it always needs work to keep it functional. The latest piece of machinery restored to active status is the Dresser Wheel Loader. This machine was acquired about two years ago through the government surplus system, and had several major problems. When acquired, it was lacking a bucket. Finding one of the right size, with the right coupler system, proved to be a tough nut to crack. However, one was located recently (also through the surplus system) and was rehabilitated for use with the Loader. The next major problem was repair of the brakes. This was a major job involving removal of the axles and complete disassembly, since the brakes are buried inside the planetary gear mechanism attached to the differentials. Every part of this machine is heavy! Now that it is working, the Loader promises to be a very useful addition to the maintenance equipment fleet.

The Track Crew meets every second and fourth Saturday of each month through the year. They work on restoring and maintaining the track and related infrastructure for the museum operations. The work is mostly outside, in the wide-open fields of rural Solano County. The Crew has a good time enjoying each other's company and the great outdoors. If you think you would like to join this group of volunteers, please email the museum or contact Joel Cox on any Track Crew workday. The Track Crew is open to all who come - no experience is necessary, and even one day would a great help.

Track Crew News Archive