Update Summer Vacation Series

From John Camerota..... NS 9034 in the lead of a westbound empty coal train, Alleghany Yard in Olean, NY

From Brad Peterson...

The crossing with my whole train in tow. Once I had some ties in place, I loaded the flat car with supplies and was able to use it as a seat for spiking/gauging. I'm using exterior drywall screws with a washer added to secure the rail to PT 2X4's. This will work great until the extension cords run short. Just kidding, I have a cordless that works fine. Looking east with the deck in the background.

From Tony Bucca.....
Work is progressing on the caboose at King's Station. At our work party last night , we unloaded the 1/4 inch steel gutters we had made up to weld to the edges of the roof. I took a trip all the way down to exit 11 of the northway to measure some things on the 35702-the ex-D&H caboose that's an ice-cream stand. It has v-groove bead-board siding, and we'll be able to match the dimensions very closely. We have been scrapping the roof of the aluminum
coating, and we should be able to get the gutters welded in place this week. Then we'll peel the first layer of plywood to determine if the primary layer is going to be OK as a substrate for the bead-board. Landscaping is ongoing, and I hope to bring in some ballast for around the ties. As always,photo documentation is ongoing. We are very lucky to have a number of non-rail citizens involved in the project, just for the historical side of it. But that's part of the Bridge Line Historical Society! Thanks to C.R.O.C.K.S. (Citizens Restoring Our Caboose at King Station,) progress has been made on our work on the caboose. We went before the town of Greenfield board with our work and schedule plans, and they not only approved our estimated budget, but increased it by about 25%. Our town supervisor, Al Janik wants to make sure things are done the right way. We've had a couple of work sesions, initially to clear overgrown shrubbery, and pull up buried brick pavers, in anticipation of engraved pavers we hope to sell for between the depot and the caboose. Work on the caboose began in earnest with a good cleaning of the inside. On a subsequent work-day we drilled out the screws securing the roof-walks so we could have a clear shot at re-doing the gutters and roofing. The caboose has TWO layers of plywood sheathing, the second extending past the edge of the roof-line, allowing for water infiltration. We, as a comittee have decided to strip both layers down to the frame-work, and re-do the siding in a more aesthetic bead-board as early cabooses had. While I was in Cass,WV, I was able to get some detail shots of some of their wood-side cabeese. The general good shape of the metal roof will allow us to divert monies ear-marked for roofing to the slightly more expensive bead-board. We plan on doing a side at a time,but not till after we have welded on new gutters. Thanks to BLHS historian Brad Peterson for keeping an eye on the caboose as he passes by each day, and to Bill Bibby who also wants to get involved from North Creek. I will be presenting a Power-point presentation at the BLHS convention in October, so I have been keeping a photographic record of progress to date.