Current Events on the Northview & Frisco Railroad
August 22, 2008
I have finally completed the conversion of the last two stub switches on the railroad to point type switches. These switches are for the Northview Carbarn. The one on the mainline was finished a couple of weeks ago, the one for tracks 1 & 2 was just finished tonight. Also, I got the weight added to passenger flatcars 7006 & 7007 on Monday, so they are released for service again. I also poured a concrete pad at Northview for the park bench last Saturday (with Rick's help). In other news, I have tenatively set the date for the 5th Annual Fall Steam Up for Saturday, October 25th, 2008. I will have more information as we get closer to time....
August 9, 2008
I haven't added it to the Roster page yet, but here is a picture of riding car #6116.
August 4, 2008
Since the last entry, I managed to machine a few small parts for the Ottaway and built a forge for heat treating some of those parts. I have also built a small riding car with a padded seat that will be used for running the diesels. Also, we worked on drainage ditches for the Phase III mainline. Both passenger flatcars are back on the rails, although they still need some weight added so they will activate the spring switches. Finally, I am planning on converting the last two stub switches on the railroad to point type switches. I will work on the switches this week as I have time (and try to avoid heat stroke doing it). I will try to get the new riding car on the roster page as soon as I have time.
July 13, 2007
OK, I finally figured out this new website editor! Below is a picture of Ottaway #205 with all four drivers in place. I am working on wrapping up the loose ends on the engine, I hope to start work on the pony truck soon! In other news, we had another major flooding rain on the 28th of June, but this time we survived without much damage since the culvert at Redbud was replaced with bridges. The flood did wash out 50' of the old gravel siding right-of-way! It came close to washing away the west footing for Bridge #1. This is the reason the gravel spur was abandoned! I had left a switch sitting by the right-of-way by Bridge #1, it was almost completely covered with gravel after the flood. My helper Matthew came out and helped me extract the switch and move Bridge #1. Since the gravel siding is abandoned, I really didn't need Bridge #1 anymore, so we are now using it as a walk bridge between the Frisco Valley Turntable and the transfer table for the carbarn. This replaced a smaller, lower walking bridge and will let the creek flow freely past the Frisco Valley facilities. I also worked on improving the drainage and ditches on the new Phase III mainline... the big rains have shown me some areas to improve. Lastly, I finally got one of the passenger flatcars back on the rails! Both 7006 and 7007 were "bad-ordered" last fall due to derailment problems. This was caused by the lack of cross equalization on their trucks (a holdover from the original trucks that were salvaged from passenger cars 7003 - 7005). I finally got the trucks for 7006 modified and so far, no derailments. I should get 7007 back on the rails this week. The cars will undergo major testing before being going back into passenger service. More news later...
June 27, 2008
The Ottaway Steam Locomotive now has all of its drive wheels in place! I finished the major machine work and assembly earlier this week. I still need to machine a few small parts (spacers, races etc) before it is finished, but hopefully the worst is over. I am excited, now I will need to build the pony truck (from scratch). Once that project is done, the engine will be sitting on its own 8 wheels for the first time in over 40 years. I'll try to post pictures soon, but I need to figure out the new hosting software first...
June 24, 2008
OK, so it has been nearly a month since I have updated this page... my website host changed hosting platforms on me and it took me a while to figure out how to work the new software! At any rate, there has been some exciting times around here. First, we ran Joe's 7.5" gauge 4-4-0 on the rails for the first time at the Ozark Live Steamer's Spring Meet. We need to time the valves, but it was a good first run! Second, we had a nice article appear in the Springfield News-Leader by Hank Billings about our little railroad. Check out their website www.news-leader.com under columnists, and click on Hank Billings to get to the article online. Third, we have had record rainfall resulting in record flooding! The little creek overwhelmed the new culvert at Redbud, flooding the new station area and washing out track on the Friday before Father's Day. I got the track repaired on Sunday afternoon (Father's Day) just to have another flood that evening undo everything. I gave up, removed the two tracks leading up to the Redbud Turntable and dug out the culvert to prevent futher damage. The culvert was replaced with two small bridges the following week. Fourth, this last Saturday we hosted a run day for the Ozark Model Railroad Association. Fifth, I have been machining parts for the Ottaway steamer! Hope to have all the drive wheels in place soon. More news later...
May 26, 2008
I have been busy for the last couple of weeks (on non-railroad stuff), but there has been some progress made on the railroad. No pictures this time around, but here's what I've been up to. I did the first test fire of the year on #103 on the 16th, and I have been trying to keep up with branch trimming and keeping the weeds cut as needed. I have also been working on minor track and switch maintenance in my spare time. I went to my friend Joe's place on the 21st and we ran his 7.5" gauge 4-4-0 on steam for the first time! Congratulations to Joe, it is a huge milestone to see your locomotive chuffing after all the work it takes to build it. Last Thursday, we got a 12' x 20' building moved from my friend Bob's place to our property. This building is going to be my new shop! In case you haven't been out here, my only shop facilities were my half of a two car garage. That's the way it was at our last house, too. Needless to say, I am glad to have a dedicated space for train construction and heavy maintenance. I think Karin is even more excited than I am, since our garage will now be almost normal. Today I fired up #103 and ran it between rain showers. A few of our friends stopped by for rides also. In the next few weeks, work will continue on the shop, and I have some visits to other railroads planned. I will also continue track maintenance. I will try to include pictures next time...
May 11, 2008
I made a fast trip out to California and picked up a 60 year old boiler for the Ottaway this last week. I don't know if I will repair it or use it for a pattern and parts, but I'm glad to have it home. Thanks to Jim Hoback for the boiler and some other pieces, along with a great visit! I also got to see the Georgetown Loop in Colorado, the Nevada Northern Railroad, the Sierra Railroad in California and the Tehachapi Loop. Didn't get any work done on the N&F this week, but sure did enjoy the quick trip. Pictures are below...
The Ottaway Boiler ready to be loaded.
Nevada Northern Railroad #40.
Sierra Railroad #28.
Tehachapi Loop - Yes, that is all one long train around the loop!
April 29, 2008
The OMRA show on the 19th was great, lots of people, trains and good deals. I have been working on cleaning up around the railroad, the winter construction has left a lot of scrap and material piles here and there. I also got passenger car #7001 out of the Frisco Valley carbarn and started working on the interior again. I hope to have it useable for this summer - please note I said useable, not finished. I also have #103 washed out and hydro tested, a brand new water glass installed and other misc maintenance items finished. It is ready to fire, just haven't done it yet. No pictures this time around... check back in a week or two!
April 16, 2008
I got the grade crossings finished on the passing track at Redbud yesterday - these allow pedestrians to safely cross the track to board the train (I am planning on leaving the train sit on the main while I am turning the locomotive). Since I am writing this early on Wednesday morning, today I plan on getting #103 ready for display on Saturday at the OMRA show. Hope to see you there!
April 14, 2008
Below are photos of the Boxcab sitting on the Redbud Turntable alongside the new footbridge. I also included a closeup of the new footbridge, just finished it today. Work will continue to finish Redbud and I will start getting things ready for our display at the OMRA Model Railroad Swap Meet this Saturday. Check out the other pages of the site for more changes...
Redbud... for now.
Pedestrian footbridge over the creek at Redbud.
April 12, 2008
Just a quick note about the website - over the next few weeks I am planning on updating some of the pages and pictures. Part of the process includes deleting older entries on this page, in other words, getting rid of the not so current events on the Current Events page. Please check the website out over the next month or so, hopefully you will like the changes that are coming!
April 11, 2008
The trackwork for Phase III is finally complete! I finished building the siding to the turntable at Redbud this week. #86 was the first locomotive to make the complete round trip. I also tried out #2001 and #2008 on the new trackwork. The footbridge over the creek next to the turntable is under construction, I hope to get it finished sometime next week. After that, I will need to build the catwalk and depot to finish out Redbud. OMRA train meet is coming up, see the website at www.omra.homestead.com and click on the Spring Meet button. The N&F Railroad will have a locomotive on display - hope to see you there!
