THE TWO FOOTERS   

“Happy Holidays”

A total of 300 feet of track has been laid.  In August 2002, a neighbor came over with a bobcat and excavated 150 feet of roadbed, including the station siding, and I got it ballasted, but no rail on it yet.  In October 2002, the same neighbor came back with a small earthmover and a bobcat, and we finished excavating the last 150 feet of roadbed, and removed a steep bank along the road so I can mow the grass easier.  We moved about 60 tons of dirt in the low area of my property.

All of the roadbed is now ballasted with 2 inch thickness of gravel for the 3”x5”x4’ landscape timbers (ties) to set on.  The grades are about 1 ¼%, and the curves are 21-½ ft Radius.  “Lewis”, the locomotive, handles these with no problem.

I have enough rail for this 600 foot loop, and will continue to lay it as long as the Ohio weather will let me.  My goal is June 2003 for the loop of rail to be done.  Landscaping, lighting, station, crossing, etc… will be ongoing.

I have acquired the engine and assorted other parts for the 1920’s T Ford rail car I am planning to build.  I hope to work on it this winter.  It will be 4 gauges – 24, 30, 36, and standard, by sliding the wheels.

Routine line and equipment maintenance has been done.  One more car of my amusement park open passenger cars is being prepared for restoration.  This has included removing and repairing a set of trucks, and patching some tears in the metal roof.  Now comes scraping and repainting.  Another passenger car’s trucks needed removal and restoration.  A work car has been repainted, and a bench for the station platform has been completely refinished and put in place.  This bench was built in 1930 and has been outside ever since.  We are preparing a 4-4-4T amusement park (gasoline powered) to be taken to a machine shop for rebuilding.  A substantial number of operating days this hot dry summer have kept us as busy as possible.

Bear Creek & Western R.R. (Class “A” Climax)

Whitcomb Engine #5 has undergone modifications since delivery earlier this year, and these include the addition of two bench seats in the cab, providing comfortable seating for four adults in addition to the operator’s seat which is on the left (or fireman’s side) of the cab.  New window glazing was installed, along with the catwalks and handrails, paint and lettering.  Knuckle couplers are now installed along with an authentic headlight and air horn.

#5 has been in service now for the last few weeks and is popular with crews.  As with any chain drive critter, this one is noisy on the road, but there are other advantages to this engine, chief among them is operator visibility while in a seated position and an automatic transmission.

Setting the gauge properly when laying track is easy... just use a portable gauge or tape measure while you're spiking.   Keeping the rails in gauge over time is just as important, but harder to do.  The B&W, for example, has about 2200 ties on the main loop.  Who wants to bend down 2200 times, or crawl 3500 feet, just to check the gauge?  

Todd Hunter suggested this tool after a derailment occurred on a curve that had spread to 25 and 1/2 inches.    A similar, all aluminum tool is commercially available for standard gauge, but here's how to build one for 24"track.   You can check your entire line in little more than the time it takes to walk the track. 

The key to the gauge is the two telescoping tubes, with the smaller (inside) tube sprung loaded to expand to the actual gauge of the track.  The gauge will be marked on this smaller tube (after the entire gauge is assembled), and is read at the point it is covered or exposed by the larger tube.  I used plastic pipe, a 21” long piece of 3/4” Schedule 40, running inside what is actually a sink drain pipe (both can be found at Home Depot).   The spring must fit inside the smaller pipe, but must have at least 1 1/2" of play between normal and compressed.  The amount of tension is critical, it must be enough to force the weight of the tube out against the far rail, but not enough to bind it.  Mine came from a local hardware store, from a drawer marked, I think #290 or #490.   

The telescoping tubes are mounted to 1" angles, about 8 inches long on the larger tube side and 4" long on the smaller tube side.    This joint has been the weakest link on my gauge, it should be reinforced with a diagonal brace or two.  The angles are used to mount the rollers, and the handle, which is made from the remaining 3/4” pipe and fastened to the longer angle with a bolt connecting through an eyehook to allow some swiveling action.   

The rollers make it possible to push the gauge down the track with low enough friction that the spring can work to push the smaller tube out against the far rail, so they must be free rolling.  Mine are 3/4" plastic rod, bored out on a lathe to fit over 1/4" brass shoulder bolts.    If I were to build another gauge, I would make them larger, as they tend to snag easily in any rail joints with gaps.  I'd suggest 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" outside diameter.  Rather than making rollers from plastic stock, consider using the small ones used under furniture.  Just remember that if they are too large, they will not fit through your frogs and guardrails.  Mount the rollers on both the bottom of the 1" angle, to ride against the side face of the rail, and on the side of the angle, to run on the top of the rail. 

When done with assembly, sit the completed gauge on a piece of track known to be 24" and mark the smaller tube at the point the larger tube is covering it.  Cut a small notch into the small tube with a hacksaw at that point and paint the inside of the notch green... that's the correct gauge mark. 

You can add other marks to show 1/4" increments if you want, but I didn't want to have to try to read the various marks to see just how wide any piece of track really is.  Instead, I added just one more mark to specify the widest permissible gauge, notched that mark and painted the notch red.   With the B&W using mostly wheels with 3 1/2" tread, I decided that a mark at 24 3/4" would be effective in catching the truly wide spots before they caused trouble, without finding so many spots that were only slightly out of gauge.  

Mid October of this year was the official running of our clubs new locomotive. We purchased the locomotive over a year ago. It was tested with a few runs around the track about six months ago. Our head engineer spent about six months over last winter cleaning and lubing up the locomotive. The little Henschel was rebuilt before being shipped to the United States after World War Two. We bought the engine from the owner who owned it from when it was shipped here in about 1948. He mounted it on a truck frame and stored it in a farm building, moving it out for family picnics. He wanted to build a track on a farm he owned but it never happened. This locomotive was NEVER run until we purchased it. It was built in 1938. The wheels still have the press marks in them. It has well over 50 years since this engine was last steamed. We heard about the engine as a few of us has heard about it for years. Charlie Hendrickson our head engineer contacted the former owner as asked  if he would like to see it run. He told Charlie that he would think about it and let us know. He stopped at the park one day to look over our railroad. Charlie gave him a ride on our speeder around the track so he could see the railroad. He came back a couple of weeks later and rode on our first locomotive the Cannon Ball, which is also a Henschel. The Cannon Ball is made over to look like a Civil War style train. The cannonball was built in 1944.

 The former owner decided that we should have the locomotive so he decided to sell it to us. We picked it up just before our 2001 Labor Day Thresheree Show. Charlie would like to use this locomotive as a pusher as we have a very steep grade on the east side of our track. He would like to build a third car for the Cannon Ball to pull.

Getting back to the October run. It was a chilly morning. Several of our members showed up including the former owner of the little locomotive. The boiler was full of water and was making steam. We also had the Cannon Ball out and it was being steamed up also. One of the things Charlie wanted to do is to see if the little locomotive could pull the two cars around the track. The first run though was for former owner Peter Bates to take the first official ride which he did. He made a good fireman. Next few runs were with Charlie and other members in the locomotive, Including Brad Smith, who builds 7 ½ scale locomotives. We then took the Cannon Ball and the two cars and pulled them around the track with the little engine, the Cannon Ball helped where needed. Next we uncoupled the Cannon Ball and pulled both cars with the new locomotive and this worked ok. We ran from about noon to 5 pm when it started raining hard enough that it was decided to put the trains away. Other than a few little problems everything worked  good all day.

Thresherman Park has about 1 ¾ mile of track. We run the train during our Labor day show and when rented for picnics though out the summer. The railroad has been at our park since 1966 when the first locomotive was purchased and moved to its current location. This was done by Walter Durst who wanted a little alpine type railroad on the grounds. Our track was completely rebuilt about five years ago. This was first major rebuild since it was put in 1966.

Charlie told me that if the group does a summer convention this way or if any of the members up this way would like to have a get together sometime, we would enjoy having you.

JULY 31, AUGUST 1, 2 & 3, 2003

It is hard to believe, but plans are well underway for our 2003 Two-Foot Convention to Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.  We have a very interesting, but fun four-day trip planned.  For those getting on board the bus in Pennsylvania, we have a stop planned at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.  For those jumping on board further South, we will be stopping at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Tweestie Railroad, Doe River Railroad and the Goose Creek Railroad.

We have secured “Coach” bus transportation and are finalizing hotel reservations.  There will be plenty of “refreshments” and snacks on board the bus and we are planning a steak cookout at the Goose Creek Railroad.  We will also be securing discounted tickets for all of our museum/railroad stops.

In an effort to better plan this trip and make the appropriate accommodations, we need to hear from you soon.  Please e-mail, call or write Tom Bauer with your reservations.

We are asking that by February 1, 2003 we have a $50 non-refundable deposit per person for all those interested in this trip. For those signing up after February 1, 2003 we cannot guarantee seating on the bus or hotel accommodations.  Checks should be made payable to Greg Bauer and sent to 117 Terrace Road, St. Marys, Pennsylvania 15857.  Within six weeks of departure we will require the balance of the bus transportation, tickets, refreshments, snacks and the cost of the steak dinner.  The hotels will be held with my credit card and at check in will be transferred to the credit card(s) of each room’s occupants.

The estimated cost of trip is somewhere between $280-$300 per person.  Meals, with the exception of the steak dinner, will be on your own.

Following is the tentative itinerary for the trip.  Please note there may be some minor modifications to this schedule.

Thursday, July 31, 2003

• 7:00am - Leave St. Marys, Pennsylvania
• (Stops in Altoona, Pennsylvania and Bristol, Tennessee to pick up passengers)
• 12noon - Lunch Break
• 2:00-3:00pm Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia 
• 7:00pm  Arrive Bryson City, North Carolina 
• Late Dinner/Free Time in Bryson City, North Carolina
• Overnight stay in Bryson City, North Carolina

Friday, August 1, 2003

• 9:00am-1:30pm - Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Excursion, Bryson City, NC
• Travel to Tweetsie Railroad, Blowing Rock, North Carolina 
• 4:00pm -  Shop tour and possible ride, Tweetsie Railroad, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
• Travel to Bristol, Tennessee
• Dinner in Bristol/Free Time
• Overnight stay in Bristol, Tennessee

Saturday, August 2, 2003

• Travel to Doe River Railroad and spend the morning
• 12noon – Lunch
• Travel to Goose Creek Railroad and spend the afternoon
• Dinner at Goose Creek Railroad (Steaks on the Grills)
• Free Time in Bristol, Tennessee
• Overnight stay in Bristol, Tennessee

Sunday, August 3, 2003

• 8:00am Depart Bristol, Tennessee for St. Marys 
• 12noon, Lunch Break
• 5:00pm – Stop in Altoona to drop off passengers and dinner break
• 7:00pm Arrive St. Mays, Pennsylvania

WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON!

As the year draws to a close, we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  At the close of 2002, we find that the information being forwarded ever increasing making our publication easier to compile.  We thank you for your interest and hope that you will continue to forward information in the New Year.  To date, we have commitments from over 20 individuals that will be attending our 2003 Two Foot Gauge Convention.  There is stillroom available.  Please let us know your interest in attending the 2003 convention as soon as possible.

Check this triple gauge out! (7.5, 15, 24)

Submit comments and articles to:

The Two Footers

534 Armory Road

St. Marys, PA  15857

tpbauer@alltel.net

or

tom@thetwofooters.com

Return to Home Page

Visitors: