The St. Louis & Denver Railroad - The Build

[GPdemayo]

Hey John...

Glad to see you back and safe from the Wild West. Thanks for following along and I'm sure that you know by now that you are welcome to visit the layout anytime.

Speaking of layouts, how about a Northern Division SBG meet?

I'd really like to see the progress you've made on your layout in person and catch up on all the BS. You, Bob, Tom and I haven't gotten together in ages and we need to correct that soonest!

[ACL1504]

Northern SBG meeting? Just let me know!

Tom

[GPdemayo]

Northern SBG meeting? Just let me know!

Tom

Hey Langford, the "Prez" is always on the list.......

[GPdemayo]

I got ahead of myself at the end of the last post -  "Stay tuned! In the next installment, I will be sawing and elevating away". Sorry if I got anyone's expectations up, but we have a few more boring things to do before I go onto the fun stuff. For now, on to the laying out the centerlines for phase 2.

But first, it has been asked - How were the elevations for the grades established?

The answer to that probing question is "by the survey crew". The unsung heroes of the construction and development industry. If they do their jobs right, you never hear or think of them. But, let them screw up and stake out the building or the track or the road in the wrong place and they never hear the end of it, especially when the lawyers get involved - NOT that there is anything wrong with lawyers.

In railroad terms, if you are building a line from St. Louis to Denver, you don't want to wind up in Omaha.
But let me backtrack a little. Also, see page 2 of the thread "Part I - The Introduction" for the more history of the StL&D. The link is:
{http://www.kitforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4604}

When the StL&D was expanding after the "War of Northern Aggression" and the decision was made to upgrade the track to standard gauge, the board of directors ("the suits") all agreed that there was only one man who could get the job done right.

That man was R.F. Palmer of Rolla and St. Louis, Missouri. He was given the title of  President of Official Projects and Head Engineer and Designer (POOPHEAD) and the staff and control to go with such a high falutin', long-winded title.

The short version is that he got the job done and was responsible for laying the foundation for the strength and profitability the line was to have into the 20th century. He correctly saw the need for railroad service into the interior of Colorado to serve the mineral and timber industries that he knew would flourish in the late 1800's. It was his vision that convinced the suits to expand past Denver into western Colorado.

RF's son, Ward, was by his side during his younger years while the railroad was being built and improved. He observed, asked questions and learned a great deal about building a railroad and it's infrastructure from the best. But, when he went out on his own, he favored building notable residential and commercial structures, rather than railroads.

When the time came to build the Columbia Branch the suits knew there would be tough problems and that since RF was no longer vertical, they thought their best choice was his kid, Ward. They brought Ward to St. Louis and wined and dined him, but to no avail. He was adamant that the railroad was not his future, but he did agree to consult with their general superintendent of construction and give him guidance and the benefit of his vast experience at his fathers side.

As with all he did, Ward sought out the best in all trades and this is the group he found to do the surveying of the track for the Columbia Branch. Below is the crew (Ward is the gent in the white shirt) hard at work setting the grade stakes for the branchline wye. Ward is at the site checking on the little details and getting a heads up from the crew of any problem areas ahead.


Exhibit #1 - surveyors at work (146)

The points along the centerline were laid out and drawn in the same manner as Phase 1. The lines that establish the grade cuts were then added in red. The line at the bottom of the photo paralleled with red lines is the branchline where it begins its climb up the grade to Moosebutt. The sidings in the center of the photo are for the tie and plank mill and the engine house. The service track, yard tracks (3 ea) and mainline tracks (2 ea) can be seen at the top of the photo.


Exhibit #2 - overall view of phase 2 (100)

The mainline can be seen sweeping around the curve from the bottom of the photo over to the left side. The lines right up from it are the yard leads and the lines paralleled with the red lines are the branchline wye that goes east to the chemical plant and west to Moosebutt.


Exhibit #3 - view looking south to yard (103)
 
This photo shows the branchline wye where it crosses the concrete highway and another shot of the branchline grade beginning it's climb to Moosebutt on the right side of the photo.


Exhibit #4 - view looking south on branchline to Moosebutt (104)

Stay tuned! In the next installment, I will really begin sawing and elevating the grades.

[GPdemayo]

Isn't it amazing how you can procrastinate when you are ready to do something? You come up with 1000 reasons to not forge ahead and think it to death.

This is how I felt about all those "pretty lines" I drew on the top of the homasote. I kept staring at the markings, looking for what I had done wrong or trying to come up with a way to make it even better. Stare at the lines to be cut, walk away, come back and stare some more, walk away, ............. You know that if its cut wrong, it can always be fixed, but you still stare and wonder if this is the best you can do.

Well, the time has come to bite the bullet and pick up the saw. No more procrastination, get to cutting the lines so the grades can be established and the trackwork can begin. Okay, I talked myself into it. Now, onto work!

The homasote/plywood sandwich was cut and the first section to elevate to proposed grade was the mainline along the backside of phase 1. First I cut a couple of risers, clamped them in place and checked for fit and level. The first photo is from the left side, the second is from the right side.


Exhibit #1 - mainline cut left (71)


Exhibit #2 - mainline cut right (74)

When I found all fit well, I cut all the 1x4's to size, ran a string line between the ends and attached all risers.


Exhibit #3 - mainline risers (78)

The mainline section is in place and attached to its risers.


Exhibit #4 - mainline attached (80)

next time.....

[ak-milw]

I really like seeing work being done!!

[GPdemayo]

I really like seeing work being done!!

Hi Andy...stay tuned more to come later this week. 

[ak-milw]

I'll be looking in.

[gnatshop]

The Florida State Constuction Review team, led by Head Inspector D. Ledbetter, will
be watching closely! 

[GPdemayo]

The Florida State Constuction Review team, led by Head Inspector D. Ledbetter, will
be watching closely! 

Not a problem here, the layout is in an undisclosed location and can't be accessed by any bureaucrap! 

Always best to keep things under the radar, otherwise those people will make life much more complicated.

[GPdemayo]

The next cuts are the grade from the chemical plant to the branchline wye and the brewery pad with its siding.


Exhibit #1 - beginning of chemical plant grade (90)

After the grade lines were cut, I placed the roadbed on some wood blocking so that they could be seen better in the pictures below.


Exhibit #2 - brewery pad and siding (75)


Exhibit #3 - brewery siding and wye switches (76)

As before, I cut the risers and attached them to the framework. This time however, there was a rising grade so I had to adjust the risers so that they gave a constant, even increase in elevation to the roadbed.


Exhibit #4 -  grades at phase 2 connect (91)

Next time, I will connect the benchwork for Phase 1 and 2 and cut the grade lines for Phase 2.

[GPdemayo]

Hello again! Welcome to the continuing saga of the building of the benchwork for the Columbia Branch of the StL&D RR.  (Doesn't that sound better than "here's more of the same old boring stuff"?)

In this episode I will finish cutting the grade change lines and raise those areas to final elevation in Phase 2. The same methods I used in Phase 1 apply to this phase - a lot of prayer, then some sawing.

Before I begin the dusty business of cutting the homasote/plywood sandwich (add a little spicy mustard and onion, you might have a hit) I connected Phase 1 to Phase 2. For this I used 2 ea - 1/2" x 2-1/2" nuts and bolts. I aligned the 2 phases, clamped them in place, double checked the alignment from all sides, drilled the holes, then bolted them together.


Exhibit #1 - phase 1 & 2 joint (105)

Once this was complete and double checked, I broke out the saw and began cutting. I started at the front with the easiest cuts and worked my way to the back to the more complicated areas.

This first photo is of the branchline (on the right) where it begins its climb up grade to Moosebutt - The grade here is at about 2-1/2" and winds up at 7" after winding through the mountain in Phase 4.

The lower area is for a residential subdivision that will have 4 houses under various stages of construction - from footers being dug on one to rough wall and roof framing on another and shingles and siding being applied on another.


Exhibit #2 - raised subdivision & branchline (110)

This photo shows where the two phases join at the branchline wye. The mainline track is the faint line on the left side, the grade climbs to the yard in the center and starts its climb up to Moosebutt on the right side.


Exhibit #3 - wye & grade to yard (111)

Here is a view from the mainline looking toward the yard area.


Exhibit #4 - wye up to yard (120)

Continued...........

[ak-milw]

Moving right along there Greg.

[gnatshop]

Like any good friend, I have to help Greg out with all the sawdust
he's creating in the house!

The verbage reads "The pink oyster mushroom kit from Fungi Perfecti arrived today. It is a tropical variety we can grow in the house innoculated in some sawdust.

Next, we put it in the humidity tent aka plastic bag, spray it with water, and wait ten days for bright pink mushrooms to appear."

Every wife should love Pink Mushrooms!

[GPdemayo]

Moving right along there Greg.

Thanks Andy, more soon.