Quite a few folks showed up for the June 4-5 work weekend. The big effort on Saturday was to complete the modification of the crest of the hill at the north end of Henry Block. That project is described next. The lower loop main track was completed last week --- photos of that are after the Henry Block construction discussion. (Click thumbnails to enlarge images.)
Henry Block Hill Crest: Randy polled many of the folks using the track and found the most troubling section of track was the crest of the hill at the north end of Henry Block; some of the larger engines have derailed there. The consensus was that the combination of a curve with the sharp crest was the culprut. Randy had excavated each side of the right away on a previous visit --- that is shown on the first two photos below. This weekend 150 feet of track was removed and the track bed lowered about 4 inched at the crest. The drainage in the area was also improved as this section washed out at least one time previously. (This crest may be a high point on the track but is nearly directly below a highway culvert.) Next, the track was reinstalled, partially ballasted and then adjusted to remove all kinks. The remaining ten photos show the progress from early Saturday morning through mid afternoon; great job!











Lower Loop: The main track for the lower loop has been installed and tested. Remaining work includes completion of the sidings, installation of signals for the two added blocks, enlargement of the pond and final grading and seeding. The following photos show the loop starting at the south end of Coshocton, crossing the creek branch, driveway and then clockwise around the loop. The big open field is less open that first envisioned with much of the track shaded; very pleasant! The last photo shows a crew digging in signal cable. The loop should be at least partially operational for the Summer Meet June 16-19.












