Mill Creek Central Railroad
2010 News
 Initial 1/01//2007, last updated 07/21/2010

This "News" page was added to provide timely activity updates.  It is patterned after a similar page on the Canton, St Paul and Pacific Railway website.   Items are listed with the latest at the top.   The date of the last update is indicated beside the link on the home page.

July 21- Temp Tracks:   The photo shows a temporary yard that has been constructed south of Orchard to accommodate some of the rolling stock expected at the Discover Live Steam Convention.  Click photo to enlarge.

July 21 - Steaming Bays:  The new steaming bays are nearing completion thanks to the help of diggers, plumbers, welders, electricians and hopefully painters in the next day or so.   Doesn't the area look neat?   Check out the new paint on the MOW office.

July 21 - Whitaker: The nightshift has be excavating the Whitaker  swamp for many months.   The swamp has now been drained with the dirt from ditches used to make a dry flat area for a future yard. The top photo is taken looking south into Whitaker.  The north end of a new passing siding is just visible. The middle photo shows the new siding and the north end of the flat area on the right for the new yard. The bottom photo shows the location for the new yard.   There is room for three yard tracks. Clock thumbnails to enlarge.

July 8 - Steaming Bays: One of the major construction projects in preparation for the Discover Live Steam Convention is the addition of a turntable/lift and 12 steaming bays just north of the covered steaming bays. The diagram shows the addition in red. (Click thumbnails to view large photos.)  Note that the track diagram on the Track page has been updated but is already out of date as tracks are being added daily. Over the past week the major effort was to dig holes and install the posts for the steaming bays --- 12 bays at 3 posts per bay means 36 holes, 36 posts, etc.  Underground wiring  and receptacles have also be installed on most the bays.   Each post also requires a piece of angle and flat plate welded together to form a mounting bracket.  That has also been completed ---- stacks of brackets are visible in the photos.  The turntable is 16 foot long and there will be five 12 foot bays, one 14 foot bay, four 16 foot bays and two 20 foot bays.  The major remaining task is to secure the 3" channels, cut them to length, weld them to the brackets and secure the brackets. The lower photo shows the hydraulics mounted under the first steaming bay.  The system runs on low pressure (less than 100 lbs) and must transfer about 15 gallons of fluid to raise or lower the turntable.  The two tanks hold the ~ 20 gallons of fluid.  The current time to raise or lower the turntable is about 3 minutes.  If our patience wears thin we can replace the motor with one than runs twice as fast to cut the time in half.

June 25 - Grain Elevator:  An impressive grain elevator has been erected at Vandercarr.

June 18 - Storage Tracks:  The storage tracks on the south end of Barney yard have been rearranged so that a track could be added (three switches and tracks removed and replaced with four switches and tracks).   Brody took the lead on this job.   Nice track work!   (Click on photo to enlarge it.)
June 18 - Transfer Table Ramps: The new transfer table can be lowered much closer to the ground than the old transfer table so the ramps were lowered as shown in the two photos on the right.  The lower ramps make the area seems more open because it is easy to walk over the low ramps.  The upper photo shows the west end of the transfer table track where a second track was added to the north side leading to the passenger siding.  A third track was added to the lowered east end ramp  as shown in the lower photo.  (Click on photo to enlarge it.)
June 18 - New Turntable:  The turntable shown in the photo is being added north of the east side transfer table ramp.  This turntable will provide access to about a dozen steaming bays.   That is an auto hoist hydraulic cylinder that can be raised to the level of the steaming bays and lowered to match up with an ground level entrance/exit rack.  (Click on photo to enlarge it.)

May 1- Spring Meet: Friday was warm and sunny but the forecast for Saturday was severe thunderstorms.   Fortunately there was no thunder and just a few sprinkles.   There is a big storm heading this way for Sunday but hopefully it will pass to the south. Quite a few of the old friends and a few new friends showed up Friday and Saturday.  Many came without their equipment ---- maybe it hadn't had the spring tune up or the threat of rain was too great.  In spite of this there was a lot of traffic. Saturday afternoon Kevin (on Wayne's locomotive) and Jon on his Northern teamed up to put a ~ 25 car train with a few riders up to the Mountain Division.   There are three videos of this that can be viewed s by clicking the thumbnails on the right.

Apr 30: It's been a busy week preparing for the first meet this weekend.   The track, steaming bay, etc. have been cleaned up and Dick mowed the grass for the first time ----- bet a few moles got haircuts.  The hoist and roundhouse constructions were also essentially completed as described below.

Hoist:  The first four photos on the right show Jon (with Brody assisting) unloading his Northern and a couple cars onto the hoist/transfer table.   Click photos to enlarge them.  The hoist has three 20 foot tracks which makes it easy to unload several locomotives and half dozen cars at one time.  The hoist can go much higher than the old transfer table so it should be a snap to unload vehicles with two or three levels of storage. The three tracks are easily removed so the hoist can be used to work on autos, lawnmowers and the excavating equipment.  The center track is open between the rails making it easy to get at the underside of railroad equipment.  The last photo shows Dick working on the brakes of his diesel. A concern during the design of the base was that it might be too difficult to move the hoist along the track.  We had several ideas on how to motorize the wheels.  It turns out that it rolls very easily, so much so that it sometimes moves when you want it steady for loading or unloading.  Brakes may be the next enhancement. The ramp on the southwest corner of the transfer area (on the left as you drive in) has been lowered to about 8 inch elevation which has the effect of making the area look much larger ---- and one can walk over it instead of around it.   A ramp for two discharge tracks on the northwest side into the passenger siding is under construction.  The ramps on the northeast end of the transfer area that lead into Barney yard will also be lowered in the coming weeks which should make that area easier to walk around. Thanks to all those who helped with the construction of the base, rails and ramps.

Roundhouse:  The doors and interior electrical work have been finished.  The roundhouse is ready for occupancy --- and it already is about one third full.  Only a couple stalls are still available for purchase.    A few items still need completion such as spotlights, a steaming bay on the south end and a higher power electric feed to both the roundhouse and the lower yard. The photos show the the front from a couple different angles.  Note the hopper car loaded with supplies and tools in the last photo.  This area of the railroad is only accessible by rail.    Thanks to all who helped with the construction of the roundhouse, turntable and associated tracks.

 

Apr 24: In spite of the periods of light rain much was accomplished this weekend including a lot of track work in the main yard and removal of most of the ramp on the west end of the transfer table track.

Hoist: The hoist project is nearing completion.   Bruce Werner stopped by Friday to weld up the base and to make the three tracks for the top.  Saturday Brad Wucik burned some holes for us so we could complete the assembly.  The hoist worked great until we tried to roll it over a high spot in the concrete between the rails.  After a bit of brain storming it was decided to make a design improvement so the bottom wouldn't drag --- Brad lowered the wheels a couple inches.  The picture shows some of the crew on Saturday.  We're considering some additional stiffening but will probably postpone that until we've used it for  while.   Motorized propulsion is also under consideration.

Roundhouse: The first few doors were fitted to the roundhouse to verify the design.  The remaining 10 doors can now be finished and installed ---- hopefully before next weekend.   The Michigan electrician came Saturday. If he has time, we may have some lights and power by next weekend. One of the challenges with a near scale building is that we don't have scale engineers to get in the locomotive to drive it out or to push out cars. Dan Staron solved this by making a long handled fixture   (dubbed the hooker) which hooks over a coupler so that a car or locomotive can be pulled out.

 

Apr 17:   Another busy work weekend.  The shed door finally closes properly--- several years after it was moved--- it's amazing what a real carpenter can do.   Dick's Plum Cove was repaired-much to the delight of the very young.   More track maintenance, etc, etc.     

The frost free hydrant in the steaming bay started to leak a few weeks ago.  The valve is below the frost line.   Click on the photos to enlarge them.
This is how the plumber had to position himself to reach the valve.  If it was any lower the arm stretcher would have been required.
The transfer table/auto hoist arrived Friday and has been partially assembled.  The next task is to build the base that will carry it on the pair of rails.  There is room for three tracks on this table and it can go much higher than the old table which will ease unloading.     This use of an auto hoist was influenced by the hoist at the S R & R L Western Railroad

Apr 14:  The Roundhouse is nearing completion ---- just the doors, associated trim and a little electrical to go.  It should be completed by the end of April.  The cost per stall is $400 which includes the 2010 maintenance fee of $50.  The stalls are numbered 1 at the north end (on the right) to 12 on the south.  A well known rat deficient enterprise has placed a deposit on the suite containing stalls 5 & 6.  Another deposit has been placed on an unspecified stall.   A raccoon infested lumber company which operates lubrication dripping geared locomotives that belch oil laced soot has purchased the south end VIP suite containing stalls 11 &12.  Contact Dick to reserve your stall.

Click to enlarge

Apr 10:  The  first ever Discover Live Steam  convention will be held at Mill Creek Central July 29 - Aug 1.    Check the Discover Live Steam website for details.

There has been much effort over the last couple weeks cleaning up the fallen branches and broken trees from the severe winter.  Also many repairs have been made to the frost damaged track.  The toilet has been painted ---- its now so bright one needs shades.  Last week the crew put on the roundhouse roof and this week much of the siding was installed --- see photo.

Click to enlarge

Mar 29: It was another productive weekend --- the gang made 25 track panels, cleaned up debris and prepared the walls in the bathroom for painting. The wood ties on about  40 feet of the main line out of Barney Yard heading toward Sand Hill were replaced with plastic ties  and the track raised -- this is the track next to the steps down to the creek and new roundhouse. The Roundhouse framing was completed, roof sheeted, covered with felt and drip edge installed.  Roof is ready for the roofer to install the rolled roofing material.  Next tasks are to make & install the windows and doors.  The siding is on order and should be here in about 4 weeks.   With a bit of luck the roundhouse should be nearly finished for the Spring Meet.

Click to enlarge

Mar 15 - Roundhouse: The work party this weekend made great progress as did the old guys today  All the track panels Brody made are now installed and we need three more to finish.   The tracks between the turntable and the roundhouse are all in and ballasted --- but the ballast needs tamped.   The next hurdle is to get the gravel in the south half of the roundhouse ---- maybe this next weekend.

Click to enlarge

Mar 14 - Facebook:  Mill Creek Central is now on Facebook.   Facebook offers a place to share photos, videos and have discussions about the railroad.   Click here  to check it out and become a fan!  Thanks to Bruce Bryan for creating the page

Mar 8 - Work Weekend:  Quite a few folks showed up for the work weekend.  Accomplishments include hanging the big cabinet in the steaming bay and the construction of 41 track panels ---- including sawing all the ties.  Also, Chris rebuilt a stack of couplers.   Some modifications (design improvements) were also made to the turntable in the lower yard.   We have started to do the roundhouse framing while waiting for the gravel pile to thaw - photo at right.  The tracks are installed and ballasted in the right two stalls but are covered with snow.  A couple rafters are up on the right stall which shows the roof line.

Click to enlarge

Mar 7 -Tracks Ahead Video: The video shot by Tracks Ahead in July of last year is now available on line.  Click the image on the right to access the Tracks Ahead website which in turn has a link to the video.  The video is well done.  (Sorry, the video is no longer posted on the Tracks Ahead website.)

Feb 28 - MCC Loggers:  This year the logging locomotive meet will be held at Eagle Point Railroad in Dunlap Tennessee.   A look at the EPRR track layout (http://www.sn3.org/eprr/track/track-plan-master-plan.gif) will confirm that that it is ideal for our little loggers.  All those with an interest in logging and short line equipment are invited to join us.   Friday September 24th is planned as the travel day and EPRR will be available to unload equipment.  We plan to run on Saturday & Sunday September 25th & 26th.  Some will probably return Sunday afternoon/evening.   Others are considering diving over to Cass on Monday and taking the long ride to Bald Knob on Tuesday.  Anyone interested in a stopover at Cass should email Nelson.   If there is enough interest maybe we can rent a caboose for the day and ride up in that ---- it's really neat!   Later in the year we'll need a rough headcount of those planning to go to EPRR .

Feb 22 - Prototype Snowplow:  Bruce Werner emailed a video of a prototype snow plow operating in North Dakota - click the image to view the video.  The videos from Feb 6 showed that our snowplow worked but the little switcher had insufficient traction ---- maybe we need 3 or 4 units like the prototype.   Another problem we had was the snowfall wasn't to 1.5" scale.  Dicks been looking fondly at Marianne's snow blower which could be made to look like a rotary snow plow with little effort.  That thing could handle the out of scale snow.

Feb 6 - Snowstorm: The snow fell and fell and fell.  Then the power went out.  However, neither snow nor loss of power will deter the trains at Mill Creek Central.   The maintenance of way crews were out much of the night clearing the tracks before the wet snow became ice as the temperature dropped to near zero. (Click on the photos below to enlarge.)

These three links are video clips: Snow1.avi  Snow2.avi  Snow3.avi  (click to run).  The clips are highly compressed to minimize download time.   The webmaster didn't actually witness any of this stuff ---- he was keeping warm by the home fire.   However, he did observe that the little switcher could use some help pushing the plow.

Feb 1- Roundhouse: We continue to work on the roundhouse.   We also are learning valuable lessons.  For example, today we learned that loose damp ballast is no longer loose when the temperate is 10 degrees.  Photo shows Dick and Dan working on the roundhouse track with Clee looking on.   Since the roundhouse is going to be only about 3 ft high at the ends,  we're finishing the interior (track, gravel, power, plumbing, CATV, etc) before doing the roof and sides.

click to enlarge

Jan 18- Roundhouse: We took advantage of the first thaw this winter to install the 23  4X4 posts for the roundhouse.    All the holes except one were 3 feet deep, the last 6 inches in water.   Dan managed to hit a gas line about 2 feet down in one hole.  We decided to set that post on the gas line rather than running the pipe through a hole in the post.   More framing is next.

click to enlarge

Jan 1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Lower Yard Turntable: Photos show first use of the turntable on December 30, 2009.   It was about 20 degrees when work was started after breakfast--- brrrrrrr.    Fill is required in the pit and around the wall --- now that the turntable is operational the fill will be delivered by rail.   Construction of a 12 stall roundhouse off the turntable will start in the next couple weeks --- weather permitting.  Stalls should be available for leasing in the spring.  Contact Dick to reserve your 16 foot by 20 inch stall. click  photos to enlarge